Aune Retires From Black Lake
By Greg Johnson –
Nick Aune has been serving golfers, especially Gaylord Golf Mecca golfers, in one way or another for most of the last 44 years, which also means he was working while others were playing the game.
The highly respected and multi-faceted general manager at Black Lake Golf Club and the UAW Black Lake Conference Center has decided he wants to play more golf next summer. He has decided to step away from leading the fortunes of the popular showcase golf course in Onaway.
“Not sure it’s really retirement, because I like the idea of doing a little consulting in and around golf and tourism, but I’m going to play some golf and I’m going to spend more time on the pontoon boat,” he said. “Some people have the perception that if you work in the golf industry you play a lot. You don’t, and it’s not that I haven’t loved working in the industry either. It’s just the demand on my time is a lot and that’s starting to get to me. I just feel it’s time.”
Aune, the son of an Air Force veteran, was born in Roswell, New Mexico, on base and the family moved around the country as he grew up, including a few years when his father was stationed at what is now Wurtsmith Air Force base in Oscoda.
“That was the first taste of Northern Michigan, and like a lot of people, once Northern Michigan gets in your blood, you keep returning,” he said.
His first job in the industry was working at the front desk of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in 1980 and he has been serving visitors in some fashion since. He has ushered the industry through boom times and hard times, from paper tee sheets to booking rounds and trips to the Mecca online.
“I’ve been in the golf business or something tourism-related for 44 years, the last 11 here, and most of it in Northern Michigan,” he said. “I was working for Treetops (Resort) for Harry Melling back when the Gaylord Golf Mecca got started. I left Michigan for three or four years to work in Wisconsin in tourism but then ended up back in Northern Michigan.
“Along the way, I met a lot of good people, worked for a variety of great owners at great places, a really diverse group of owners and places, too,” he said. “I’ve loved the challenges, the people I’ve worked with, and had great opportunities to do things I never thought I would get the chance to do.”
Aune and his wife Karen have raised two children and live in Indian River, on scenic Burt Lake. They plan to enjoy their little slice of Northern Michigan.
“The people in Northern Michigan are great, it’s become home,” he said. “I can’t think of another place I would want to live, and I’ve been in a lot of places.”
He feels Black Lake Golf Club, with its Rees Jones-designed course, will continue to flourish, as will the Gaylord Golf Mecca, the cooperative marketing group that includes Black Lake and 15 other golf courses as well as 20 lodging partners.
“The Mecca is like family in a way,” he said. “I went away for a few years but when I came back and walked into the room with the Mecca folks, I immediately felt at home. And when I came to Black Lake, I knew we had to make the most of being part of a marketing success. It works because even though we are competitors, we share ideas, we get golfers to come to Northern Michigan together, we help each other and together the Mecca has become a great, unique U.S. golf destination.”
He plans to play the Mecca courses now. And take the boat out more than just a few times in the summer.
“I’ve been telling people how great it is to play golf and relax up here for a long time,” he said and laughed. “I’m going to take my own advice.”
