Harrison Township - Wayne Babbish was a successful electric company executive when he got a new challenge in life two years ago to rescue the floundering Gowanie Golf Club in Harrison Township.
Gowanie was in debt, had lost members by the droves and eventually went into bankruptcy.
It looked like the end was near for the little club on South River Road until Babbish arrived. He gave up his job as vice president of Motor City Electric and has pumped new life into the 100-acre facility.
At a time when competitors in Macomb County are going out of business because of demand for their land for development and the glut of courses golfers can choose from, Gowanie is thriving.
Membership is up to 200, after sinking to 100 during the dark days two years ago. The club has a new chef, Lynn Carmona, who has worked at Dunleavy's in Detroit.
"She has made a difference," Babbish said. "She has a good menu at reasonable prices."
But the main reason for the rebound of Gowanie is Babbish and his wife, Kathy, said Roy Hunsinger, a club member and lawyer who helped out on the bankruptcy case.
"They have done a great job. It's quite a success story," Hunsinger said. "They've got a firm grasp on the economics of the club and cut out waste. There was waste because the (previous) management wasn't on their toes. One thing they cut was the cost of a general manager."
The first thing Babbish had to do was learn about bankruptcy proceedings. After a crash course, Babbish came up with a proposal to save Gowanie.
First of all, Babbish agreed to pay off creditors and then negotiated a deal with the Gowanie owner, Jean Axford of Ross Properties, to make yearly lease payments for the next 25 years with an option to buy at the end of that time.
"I assumed a debt for about $1 million," Babbish said. "Why? Because It's a grand old course. A hidden jewel."
One reason Gowanie is making a comeback is that Babbish is offering initiation fees at the bargain-basement price of $1,500 ? far less than what other private clubs demand.
"A private club fee for $1,500 in the Metro area is a good deal," Hunsinger said.
George Mayernik, 61, of Clinton Township, a Gowanie member for 26 years, said he likes that Gowanie members are regular people.
"It's a golf club and not a country club," Mayernik said. "It caters to the average person, and no one cares what you do for a living.
"If it didn't survive, it would have been a loss to the community and a loss to golf," Mayernik added. "This course has been around 92 years."
Gowanie also allows outsiders to golf on Mondays for the regular fee. And it has an agreement with the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club and the Detroit Athletic Club to allow their members to use Gowanie at any time, also at the regular fee. The yacht club and athletic club had loaned Gowanie $10,000 to pay for bankruptcy hearings. Gowanie allows their members to play the course as a pay back, Hunsinger said.
Babbish, who has been a member of Gowanie for 10 years, said there are no plans to sell the course to developers. That's been the trend for some golf courses in Macomb.
Partridge Creek, a 330-acre, 45-hole course in Clinton Township, went out of business Tuesday. The course was sold to Trinity Land, a development company, for a reported price of $36 million.
"The land got too valuable" for a golf course, said Paul Duda, general manager of Partridge Creek, which will keep its banquet facility open through the end of the year. "You could never make that kind of money in golf."
Wolverine Golf Club and Banquet Center in Macomb Township also has been sold to developers, but the course remains in business.
Another private club, Moravian Hills in Clinton Township, has fallen on hard times and now allows the general public to play the course.
Developers have also tempted Gowanie.
"When I was club president, a number of developers called me and were interested in buying the property and turning it into a housing development, but our membership is not interested," Hunsinger said. "They want to preserve the golf course."
Source: The Detroit News
