In a decision intended to expand golfer services, the resort named Mark Johnson as head professional at its Whitebirch and Traditional courses, starting in 1999 and as now Director of Golf in 2000.

The decision reflects Breezy Point’s commitment to build loyalty among local, as well as vacationing, golfers who are part of the lakes area’s ongoing golf expansion, according to General Manager Dave Gravdahl, who guides the resort’s golf division.

Johnson, 39, has served as head pro at Pine Meadows at Brainerd for the past four seasons, a major factor in his selection by Breezy Point, Gravdahl said.

"Mark really knows what is going on in the local golf business," Gravdahl said. "The lakes area, of course, is in a golf boom and Mark has been a big part of that throughout his career. He’s also a great teaching pro."

Johnson joined Pine Meadows as an assistant pro in 1986 when it was known as the Brainerd Country Club. A native of Moose Lake, south of Duluth, he resides in the Merrifield countryside with his wife Kathryn, a local vet technician. Johnson will begin taking lesson reservations April 1.

The decision to hire a pro with lifelong ties to the state and local golf industry is another step in securing its burgeoning reputation as one of the best that lakes area golf has to offer.

As a regional vacation destination, the resort’s timeshare development, for example, is considered a "Resort of International Distinction" by the industry, and its newest timeshare addition, Eagles Nest, has been awarded a coveted "Gold Crown Resort" status.

During this off-season alone, Breezy Point has overhauled its Whitebirch championship course with an eye-popping waste bunker project and several other design improvements that will make play more interesting and challenging at the eight-year-old 6,700-yard course.

The clubhouse at Traditional, which opened in the early 1920s as one of the area’s first resort courses, has been gutted to expand floor space for merchandizing and other golfer services. The interior design and re-building project will be completed in time for play this spring.

Just in time for this year’s season, Breezy Point is offering on-line reservations at both courses through TeeMaster, an Internet web with golf course subscribers across the country. Golfers can decide when and where to play and confirm their decisions on line.

In recent months the resort also has spearheaded the creation of a collective golf marketing strategy that includes many of the region’s top courses and the state Department of Tourism. The group recently hired Doug Hart, a marketing executive widely credited with turning Myrtle Beach into an international golf destination. His goal will be to do the same for north-central Minnesota.

Last year, Breezy Point re-built the exterior of the Traditional clubhouse, and in 1996 opened the Antlers clubhouse and restaurant at the Whitebirch course. The log-and-glass facility is widely considered an architectural landmark in the area.

Johnson toured the Traditional clubhouse and Whitebirch bunker projects last week with Gravdahl, shortly after his decision to take the head pro’s job.

"More than anything, the waste bunkers give definition to the fairways for the golfer and make it much tougher to play," Johnson said. "And they are beautiful additions to an already challenging course."

Johnson started playing the game as a seven-year-old in Moose Lake, a nine-hole public course he was later to manage as a college student home for the summer.

Following college and a brief stint in the shoe business, Johnson took the assistant pro’s job at the Brainerd Country Club, a move encouraged by childhood friends and fellow professionals Jim Terry and Jim Athey.

Terry, the head pro in Brainerd at the time, and Athey of the Ridgeview Country Club in Duluth, are both natives of Moose Lake.

"How many towns of 1,500 people do you know with three golf pros?" Johnson chuckled. "These old friends got me back into the game."

Johnson plans to offer a full schedule of lessons for all ages and abilities, he said, using the latest video technology including television-equipped carts for immediate video review of his student’s mechanics.

"Teaching skills will be much more important at Breezy Point than my playing skills," he said. Johnson hits in the low to upper 70s when he plays with regularity.

A PING-trained fitter and repairer, Johnson will provide expert advice and services in both categories and will be closely involved in the merchandizing decisions, particularly at Traditional. John and Doris Longnecker will return again as managers at Whitebirch.