John W. Butler, a roadbuilder and general entrepeneur, originally ran a pick-your-own strawberry farm and and an Air Port on this Elizabeth Township property (former Patterson and McKnight farms). The Air Port was closed suddenly when one of the stunt pilots took J.W.'s daughter, Mildred, up for a spin -- and he did a loop-di-loop. Soon, J.W. hired some folks who knew a bit about golf and built the original 18 holes in 1928 with horses and scoops. Nine additional holes were added in 1963, with some rerouting. Also, on August 3, 1963 and tornado blew
through and demolished the old clubhouse and a lot of trees. Now we're in the 4th generation, and in 2000, we opened a fourth nine holes, which covers ground that had been mainly farmland. The restaurant has been expanded many times over the years. It was formerly called the Mulligan, and the Banquet Rooms didn't exist until 1992 when they were formed out of our former Golf Shop location. The Bed & Breakfast also began operations in 1992.

This building was the old McKnight farmhouse (the peaked roof section), and its walls are over a foot thick. An addition in the rear served as the original restaurant and is now the business office and a cart garage. The old stainless steel sink and counter are still in place. For a while, there were two apartments in the building. Now there is just one. Great Uncle Theodore lived in the house in the 60's. He raised chickens upstairs -- "Oh, the smell!" At times, he would open the upstairs door in the dormer and allow the peeps to run around on the balcony.