New General Manager Excited About Future at Black Lake Golf Club
By Greg Johnson –
Steve Zimmerla has worked in administrative positions for the United Auto Workers (UAW) for 30 years, and for 25 of those, he ventured north from the Detroit area for conferences, fun and golf with his family at what is now called the Black Lake Conference Center & Golf Club.
It wasn’t on his Bingo card that one day he would become the general manager and be in charge of the center, as well as the award-winning Black Lake Golf Club that opened in 2000.
The golf course celebrated 25 years last summer, and for all of those years has been one of 16 celebrated destination courses in the Gaylord Golf Mecca. Now retired, Nick Aune not only made his mark as general manager at Black Lake, but was a leader in the Mecca group, too. As the UAW leadership looked for a replacement for Aune last year, the idea of Zimmerla being that person came up in conversations and then gained traction.
“When you come up here a lot, you can’t help but fall in love with the place, and my family loves this place as well,” Zimmerla said. “When you are then offered the opportunity to come up and work in this capacity, that’s exciting. I look at it that my life experiences drove me here, and it is a great place to be at this point in my career. Obviously, Nick did a fantastic job. I have some huge shoes to fill. He made it look easy and, believe me, I will be asking him to help me with advice as we move along. I hope to run with the ball he gave me.”
Zimmerla, 55, said he would come to Black Lake several times a year, and golf on at least two or three of those summer visits. He loves the game and feels the golf course deserves its lofty award-winning reputation. He also sees the value in having the golf course, a Rees Jones design, be part of the Gaylord Golf Mecca cooperative marketing group. As part of the partnership, Black Lake, Gaylord Golf Club and Michaywe Pines Course make up one of the Mecca’s most popular golf packages called The Tour Golf Package.
“Being part of the Mecca is a big reason people know about the golf course, and it is why they visit us at Black Lake,” he said. “We want to maintain that relationship and also the prestigious caliber of golf here. Our goal will be to keep it as a successful high-end destination course.”
Zimmerla expects his personal impact to come in a fresh look at the operation, especially the facilities and entities around the course. “We will attempt to create an even better experience for the guests,” he said. “We will look at ways to enhance the golf experience, the food, atmosphere and entertainment in the clubhouse, that type of thing.”
He also commented on par-3 courses being added at resorts and clubs, and feels “The Little Course” at Black Lake is headed for more promotion. “It’s an overshadowed entity with the great big course, but nine holes is what more golf audiences are seeking these days, so we will push it and see what happens,” he said.
The Little Course was also designed by Jones, in part to enhance the large practice facility. It’s nine holes of shorter shots but includes bunkers and challenging greens aimed at helping golfers improve their short games. It’s been used for that over the years, but also has served as a family course where hitting the ball for distance isn’t part of the challenge.
“It’s a lot of fun, and we will look for ways to let more people know it is here,” Zimmerla said. “My family found out this is a wonderful place to be a long time ago. I feel good about showing it to other families.”
From all of us in the Gaylord Golf Mecca, welcome to the team, Steve Zimmerla!
