Stone Ridge Golf Club, an 18-hole course designed by legendary architect Arthur Hills in southwest Bowling Green, is more than a golf course.

The 175 acres on which the course sits includes a residential development and the clubhouse and course have become a popular location for weddings and banquets. The Traditions Grille Bar and Restaurant features daily lunch and dinner specials year-round.

Those amenities help keep the operation running smoothly, but it takes a partnership from everyone involved to sustain that.

The idea for Stone Ridge’s construction started in the 1990s, which saw a big boom in the golf course industry. At about the same time the first stages of Stone Ridge’s construction were complete in July of 1998, other Arthur Hills designs, the Legacy in Ottawa Lake, Michigan, and Red Hawk Run Golf Course in Findlay were also opening. Since then, the golf course at Red Hawk Run has closed.

However, Stone Ridge General Manager Joe Ghesquiere said Stone Ridge is gaining membership and popularity in all phases of its operation.

The partnership is a mix of golf, including Stone Ridge Director of Golf, PGA professional Jonathan Lenox, owner Paul Thayer and the residents of the subdivision which surrounds the course off of South Wintergarden Road and Bowling Green Road West.

“I told Jonathan the other day, ‘I work for Mr. Thayer, who owns this property, but I also work for all the houses and the homeowners that are out here,’” Ghesquiere said. “They are relying on us to make this not only be a great facility with a great view from their houses, but to survive.

“The Red Hawk saw the other end of the spectrum where you have a golf course in your backyard that didn’t survive and now you just have long grass back there and a field, and that is not what they built for. So, they are relying on us and in turn we rely on them to support us.”

The banquet facility, which comfortably can hold 200 guests, hosts about 30 to 40 weddings annually and countless more banquets each year.

“Our wedding venue has grown — that part of the business,” Ghesquiere said. “There was still some COVID catchup with that. Last year we did 40 weddings because there were some that were pushed back.

“It might not seem like a lot, but a lot of people aren’t getting married from December through April, so those 40 are packed into May through October. There are a lot of doubleheader weekends where we are doing Friday and Saturday.”

Last October alone, Stone Ridge hosted eight weddings. An area behind the 18th green is great for the actual ceremony, providing a view of the golf course in the background.

Ghesquiere said banquet packages can be customized to meet the needs of the group — “everything from Mexican buffet to prime rib and filet mignon.”

The banquet room has hosted reunions, fraternity and sorority events, corporate events, baby and bridal showers, fundraising events, “lots of Bowling Green State University events,” Wood County Hospital events, to name a few.

Golfing popular again

Golf course membership has increased by nearly 20 members the last two years, up to about 150. While the pandemic hurt most businesses, it spurred on the golf industry.

“I think what we’re seeing now is, the two COVID years, which would be ’20 and ’21, were really booming in golf,” Ghesquiere said. “Now, ’22, it’s dialed back a little bit as far as the rounds played. We saw maybe a little less than a 10% drop off in the participation. Where I noticed it the most in my office overview is the driving range.

“So many kids were practicing, they were bringing their girlfriends out, and it introduced a lot of people to the game during that ’20 and ’21 stretch. Now I don’t see that.”

Of course, weekday league nights are always busy, but the course tries to keep one nine-hole side open for members. One of the biggest leagues, the Elks Club, remains strong at over 40 members, which is fitting because that is where the conversation started in the late 1980s that eventually led to the construction of the course.

Stone Ridge is the home course for the BGSU men’s and women’s teams. The men annually host a college-amateur tournament fundraiser and the women will host their annual Delores Black Falcon Invitational on April 7-8.

“They get a lot of the Midwest schools, and they know it’s going to be maybe 40 degrees but it’s an opportunity for them to get ready for their conference championships that are usually at the end of April,” Lenox said.

Two-man scramble events are held, including a Chilly Open in March and Turkey Open in November, plus an Old Pal qualifier, in addition to Toledo Junior District Golf events and numerous golf fundraising events.

Even the late Arthur Hills, who has been the architecture of courses worldwide, would drive from his Sylvania home to hit Stone Ridge as often as he could.

“Arthur Hills up until his passing would play here and this was one of his favorites in the area,” Lenox said.

Course maintenance costs

Maintaining a high-end golf course, 7064 yards on the gold tees (6,527 blue, 5,983 white, 5,247 silver, 4,993 red), is another end of the business side that people don’t see. Capital improvements and maintenance are always ongoing.

“We’ve been working on our cart paths, trying to knock out a couple each year,” Ghesquiere said. “The price of that — one cart path people might be surprised to know, is about $30,000.

“Just to do our parking lot was $50,000 and we did that. We’re trying to pick off some things and this year our goal is to do a couple more holes,” he said. “We’re kind of on a nine, 10-year plan to get the whole course done, so we did 17, 18 and 10 so far and now we are picking off some of the other ones that are in the roughest shape.”

There is also a new practice area, shared with BGSU players and members.

“A few years ago, we added our practice facility in the back in conjunction with the university. They funded half and we funded half of the chipping area (short game range) we have in the back to give them a chance to go back and work on their short game.”

Maintaining irrigation systems, greens, fairways, sand traps, and so forth so that what people see is a well-cared for golf course is another work in progress that never ends.

“The price of maintenance equipment now is unbelievable,” Ghesquiere said. “Just like cars, to buy a mower, a few years ago it was $50,000, and now it’s over $100,000.”