Plenty of changes under way at Wolf Creek Golf Club for new owners

Jun. 24—CAYUGA — Buying a golf course really wasn't what Brian Sullivan or his nephew, Tyler Mills, initially had in mind.

Ryan McGuckin said he dreamed about it, but joked not winning the lottery was hindering those plans.

The trio now find themselves owners of Wolf Creek Golf Club, a semi-private 18-hole course north of Pontiac known for its large, smooth greens where they grew up playing the game.

"It kind of fell in our hands," said Mills.

The sale from the family of the late Peter Scully, a Dwight landowner and businessman who built the course in 1973, became official in December.

"We want to get it back to what the three of us remember it as kids," said McGuckin, who is the superintendent of Woodland schools. "It's the same members who have been here forever. I think we owe it to them to bring it back to where we remember it, but also add to it to bring the younger generation along like Tyler and I when we were junior golfers here years ago."

Sullivan, who was Wolf Creek's pro from 2001-09 and is now manager at Bull's Place in Pontiac, wanted to buy out the two years left on the lease of Wolf Creek manager Brett Hendren, who was going into the insurance business, for Mills.

That included the turf equipment, golf carts and use of the house near the eighth green.

"When COVID hit we were doing a Skype meeting with the (Scully) family to meet them again. After an hour they asked why not just buy the golf course instead of the lease?" said Sullivan. "We said we can't afford it, and they said you don't know our price."

The Scully family talked it over and a week later came back with a price that Sullivan thought was more than fair. Sullivan said the Scullys told him they wanted to sell it to someone who worked for their father. Peter Scully also owned Dwight Country Club when Sullivan was the pro/manager there.

That's when McGuckin entered the scene.

"We were all talking one day and he said I would be interested, and it all fell into place," said Sullivan. "We trying to get the lease for Tyler and his family to live out in the house, and it turned into buying 225 acres."

Mills is serving as the club's pro/manager and credits Sullivan for steering him toward that path. "He's the reason I'm in the golf business," said Mills of his uncle.

So what does that leave for Sullivan and McGuckin to do?

"Ryan and I just kind of ... I don't know what. Whatever needs to be done, that's what we do," said Sullivan, laughing. "Ryan does a lot of cooking for the outings and he does social media. He's good at all that stuff. I'm just kind of the guy who, whatever needs to be done, that's what I am going to do."

There has been plenty done at Wolf Creek since the change in ownership.

The clubhouse has gotten new siding on the outside, with the work being donated by the Livingston Area Career Center at Pontiac High School as a school project. The inside has gotten a needed facelift, too.

Sullivan saw on Facebook Marketplace a sale from the old Green Acres Country Club in Northbrook, a northern suburb of Chicago. He contacted the seller and they bought a slew of things, including wooden lockers, wood shelving for inside the clubhouse, locker room benches, ball washers, etc.

Being an owner is a different golf experience for Sullivan.

"I like it because when you're doing it for yourself it's not just a job," he said. "It's what you love and you're doing it to help yourself, obviously, but now you really want to please members. It's not like clocking in and clocking out anymore."

McGuckin finds being a golf course owner "exciting and scary all at the same time."

"We watch the weather a little bit more," he said. "It's been a real positive experience for us and the community, and we're happy to do it."

Mills said Wolf Creek's membership is 325, which includes all family members. Many of the members helped bring the lockers and other stuff from Green Acres and aided in removing about 100 dying trees this winter.

The course has enjoyed a steady stream of business already this year, Mills added. Keeping rates affordable for the public ($32 for golf and cart during the week, $36 on weekends) and membership is also important.

"We wanted to give our members a place where they could hang out, be prideful of where they're at and in a relaxed atmosphere where they're not pressured for anything," said Sullivan. "Just come out, have a drink, sit out on the patio and heckle some golfers."

Reed-Custer High School in Braidwood, whose principal is a member, is making a new wooden sign for the entrance along with new hole sign markers that should be up soon.

The bridge on the 17th hole has also been rebuilt and a bunker by No. 2 green is in the process of being filled.

Keeping the memories of Wolf Creek's past is important to Sullivan, Mills and McGuckin. Maybe of the course's old signs are hanging in the clubhouse.

While keeping the club's old logo, they've also designed a couples new logos. And a tower clock bought from Green Acres will sit just outside the clubhouse, said Sullivan, as soon as he can figure out how to synchronize the time on both sides.

"The community and membership have bought in," said McGuckin. "That's helped a lot."

Contact Jim Benson at (309) 820-3404. Follow him on Twitter: @pg_benson

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