Local Loops: Crystal Lake GC
A small-town course that goes heavy on the hospitality
When I walked into the clubhouse at Crystal Lake GC in Beulah for the first time, back in 2021, I entered at the pro shop and noticed some of the usual pro shop stuff there - golf balls, hats, a cooler full of beer. What I didn’t see was a desk. Anywhere. “We were keeping a second desk in the pro shop [at one point], but we took that out,” owner David Stapleton told me.
When you see the clubhouse, you will understand why. The pro shop section takes up a relatively small area compared to the full bar right next to it, which sits square in the middle of the building. From behind this bar, Stapleton books tee times, takes food orders, and slings some pretty strong drinks. It’s the hub of the operation, and perfectly encapsulates the vibe at Crystal Lake.
“We are a stress-free environment,” as David likes to say.
Stapleton started his current tenure at Crystal Lake in 2018, when he was brought in to be the General Manager of the course, and was put on a track to take over ownership of the property. It took about three years for that vision to become reality.
“At that moment, banks weren’t really financing golf courses, at all, in this area,” David says. “A local credit union in Traverse City took the chance on us, just after year three.” The work Stapleton and his employees had put in during those three years was enough to convince the bank. “We had showed some positive results,” he says.
The course, located along US-31 just north of Beulah, was first opened in 1970, originally as nine holes designed by Bruce Matthews. “The north nine was built as a part of a golf and residential community,” says Bruce Matthews III, grandson to Bruce Matthews. Bruce III and his uncle, Jerry Matthews, would later at the second nine holes in 1987. “I did the south nine while working with Jerry,” he says. “The owner wanted to sell the course, and he could get more money for an 18. The south nine was a cost efficient nine built for the sale, built on a plane runway.”
That sale did go through, in 1988, and a peculiar feature of the course that still exists today came along with it, in the form of a cinder block wall alongside the 12th green. I asked David if that was a remnant left over from the previous air strip. “No,” he says, “the owner who bought the property after it became 18 holes, he had to separate that area from the neighbor’s property line because that neighbor wasn’t exactly… happy… with people riding all over his area. They got in a disagreement, so he just put a wall up,” he laughs. “It fixed the disagreement.”
The selection of Stapleton as the new General Manager in 2018 was not a coincidence, as he had grown up playing at Crystal Lake ever since his first round in 1984 as a 10-year-old, and worked at the course throughout high school. A Betsie Current article from 2018, shortly after he was hired, captured David’s backstory:
Stapleton’s family had moved to Benzie County in May of 1980. He is the youngest of six children, all having graduated from Benzie Central High School. Stapleton actually had a summer job at the golf course during high school, from 1988 to 1991. After graduation in 1992, Stapleton went to Hope College for academics and athletics. He played football for the Flying Dutch, until a back injury that required surgery led him to transfer to Central Michigan University, where he earned a business degree.
Before, during, and after college, Stapleton helped to manage the family business—Stapleton’s Corner Store, at the stop light in Benzonia—before it sold to its current owner in 2004. Additionally, Stapleton has been using his business acumen for the past 14 years in Traverse City, where he led a multi-million dollar print company.
Early in 2018, however, life changed significantly after he was downsized from his long-time employer.
The course at Crystal Lake was in jeopardy of being sold for development when David received a call from the outgoing owner. “When he made the call for me to come down and check it out, I was kind of like his last opportunity before they were probably going to just sell it off as land.”
If the call came at the perfect time in Stapleton’s career, it also came at a pivotal point for his personal health. At the time of his layoff, David was suffering from stress-related psoriasis all over his body. The career reset gave him an opportunity to pay attention to what mattered for his health. He embarked on implementing a new self-care regimen, which included meditation, monitoring his diet, and eliminating alcohol.
“I went from psoriasis covering 85 percent of my body to just five percent of my body within three months of taking good care of myself,” Stapleton says. “My doctor told me that it takes most people four to six months to do that, sometimes even longer.”
It wasn’t just a lifestyle change that led to his stunning results. David’s mentality, perhaps more than any other factor, pushed him forward on his journey. “I’ve learned that it is possible at any age to focus on an idea or goal that gives life purpose and meaning,” he says. “The deliberate and intentional steps forward will not be perfect, however daily progress—meeting or exceeding small daily goals—has reduced my stress level to almost zero and healed my body.”
Over six years later, I asked David if he had kept up with those lifestyle changes, especially as an owner who does most of his business from behind a bar. He indicated that while he has kept up his self-care and still feels great, there are a few caveats. “I’m a moderation guy now. I made it two years,” he laughs, when asked about eliminating alcohol. “I have introduced it back in the past five years. When I’m in outings or leagues or at the end of the day when people want to have one, I like to sit with them and have one.”
And the meditation? “Very much so. Definitely a big fan of that.”
With his health in check and a new career giving him purpose, Stapleton set about bringing his golf course back to life. Back when he worked at the course in high school, prior to nearby courses Pinecroft and Champion Hill being built, David remembers Crystal Lake putting up 250 rounds per day. Bringing a lot of the local play back to the course was one of his top objectives in order to show some profitability to the banks.
Within the first month of ownership, Stapleton totally remodeled the clubhouse and put a bar in. “It was just a wall with a cooler behind it that had some beer in it. We didn’t have a real bar.” With the new bar he brought in a more diverse offering of beverages from local breweries and wineries, expanded the food menu to create a true brew-pub, and began hosting live music and other events for locals.
The golf course itself was a little rundown from previous ownership, a point that Stapleton is hesitant to admit, as he does not want to make any disparaging remarks about the former owners. He credits the turnaround to an influx of newer technology - newer fertilizers and some new equipment - and to the help of Dan Kelly, who has been the superintendent at Crystal Lake for over 20 years. “He’s got to see a lot of different conditions over those years,” David says.
Just as the clubhouse changes and course improvements were getting this revitalization project off of the ground, however, Covid hit. While Crystal Lake experienced a golf boom during the pandemic as most courses did, the food service and pub idea was the one area that suffered. “The golf rounds skyrocketed. And the beverage service skyrocketed. But our food service and the indoor…,” David trails off. “This is our first year [2024] actually opening a pub. For food anytime, including the public. So this summer, the month of July, we’ll have a full pub menu and a staff.”
“The pandemic increased all of the revenue, the whole industry blew up, but as far as our rounds, they doubled every year, over the first 6 years. They almost doubled again last year. We had such a good year last year. We will not double this year. But, we’re still going to increase, that’s for sure.”
And the clientele that is driving this increase in play? During the summer months, tourism plays a large role. “We say the Snowbirds are back. They’ll fill up the course during the days, from Mid-June until September. Tourism takes care of weekday mornings, and retirees.”
In the evenings, spanning the entire Spring through Fall golf season, locals pick up the slack. “The locals, they’re in all of the leagues Monday-Thursday evening. So basically we cater to all of the locals in the evening golf and leagues. We can offer them great rates.”
As part of the tourist crowd myself, I first considered the Crystal Lake area for a golf trip thanks to a profile by Andy Johnson of The Fried Egg on the nearby courses of Pinecroft and Champion Hill. As part of an extended trip to the area, my group needed a third course to add to our itinerary, and the close proximity of Crystal Lake GC made it a natural choice for us to seek out. I asked David if he had noticed any increase in golfers including Crystal Lake in trips to the area to see Pinecroft and Champion Hill.
“Yes. We are now on that tier. There are three courses within five miles. That’s pretty rare for this small of an area. I think we’ve all helped each other. They’re all small family like we are. They are good people, whenever I’ve dealt with them. Their layouts are beautiful. Our focus is our greens. When we’re mown and rolled and our greens are rolling fast, they’re some of the toughest in Northern Michigan.”
The greens are indeed interesting, trending on the small and firm side, while presenting some quite audacious designs and slopes. But punishing the golfer is not David’s intention, nor is it the main theme of the course. “95% of the time, we’re stress free golf,” he says. “We try to let the customer know when they stop in, we don’t keep a starter on the first tee, it’s just up here by the clubhouse. We just let ‘em know, head down to the tee, stress free.”
The relaxed vibe at Crystal Lake extends well beyond the course, and is usually centered around the clubhouse bar. Removing the pro shop desk was one step towards making all golfers feel welcome when they enter, and also serves a functional purpose, as well.
“In the Spring and Fall I’ll be a one-man operation open to close,” David says. “When you can just do that from the bar, we noticed golfers were always purchasing more items in the food and beverage.”
“We have added some merchandise on the pro shop side,” he adds. “We’ve moved a lot of older stuff out and threw it away. This will be our first year.” However, the bar remains the main attraction. “People can have a drink and sit on the deck. People are acknowledging there’s just not a lot of places you can get a beverage in this county that overviews Crystal Lake. I think we are the only one. There’s one restaurant on Crystal Lake, but other than that, there’s not a really a bar with a view of Crystal.”
Every Thursday evening, locals gather at Crystal Lake GC to partake in what has become a unique tradition under Stapleton’s watch - the Thursday Night Two-Man Scramble. Or the Blue Collar Scramble, as David likes to call it. (“I like that name”, he says).
“When I got here they had about 12 teams that were doing a two person scramble on Thursdays, just friends that would meet up. 24 guys, 12 teams. I noticed how much fun they were having, and what a good time a two man scramble was. Again, taking out some of the stress of playing your own ball. We went up to 26 teams my first year, just by working it a little bit. The word of mouth from that, the next year we went to 48 teams. The next year we went to 60 teams. This year we’re at 62 teams.”
How do they keep that many groups moving on the course and finishing before dark?
“We use all 18 holes at 6 pm,” David says, “Almost two teams per hole. All the groups beforehand get off the course, worst case by 5:45pm, we hope. It takes about 2 hours and 20 minutes. Everyone pays attention.”
“It’s a cool operation. We have an outside check-in for people who still need to pay for their league. Inside we normally have three girls [working the bar] and then we have two beverage carts. They can do upwards of 300 small shots. The two for $5 MacGillicuddy’s. They can do 300-400 of them, no problem.”
What makes Crystal Lake special?
“It’s just a really nice mixture of family-based, community support, and our staff. I’m just extremely grateful. I get so much volunteer help. People just want a couple of rounds, so they’ll come work. You know, the little things. Just because I’ve lived here my entire life. People just come out of nowhere, ‘Hey, can I get that tree down on 14? It’s not looking good.’
‘Okay. What do you want?’
‘Nothing. Just the wood.’
It’s unique, just a super small town environment. Word of mouth is everything here.”
My Take
I can confirm that David’s philosophy is alive and well at Crystal Lake. It’s laid back and it’s friendly, with one of the most welcoming clubhouses I’ve ever been in. The golf isn’t the most exciting part of the round, but it does have it’s moments. As I mentioned, the greens are small and in some cases have some pretty audacious slopes. The course is fairly short, and doesn’t offer many holes which require careful planning from the tee, but the greens can bite quickly if you are too aggressive, or if you are playing in some wind. The first three par-3’s, in particular, are memorable moments in the round.
If you are visiting the area for golf, Champion Hill should be at the top of your list. And at only about a 20-minute drive away from Beulah, I would add Wolf River Golf Park as your next great option. But if you are having an extended stay, don’t sleep on Crystal Lake. It’s a great place for a switch-up round, maybe using limited clubs, or alt-shot. Or if you just have a free evening and need a place to hang, stop by the clubhouse and have a drink or a bite to eat. It’s a great local spot.
Bucket list item of mine is to be up on Crystal for a summer solstice and play Champ, Pinecroft, and Crystal all in the same day.