Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2011 - 23

(MGAprofi le)
An Eye for Great Golf
Madden's Brian Thuringer is a
classic-not as a golfer, but as a
golf promoter.
By Jon Roe
J
ust a hint of mischief appears in Brian Thuringer's eyes
as he answers the question of how he became the president
of Madden's on Gull Lake.
" Well, " Thuringer says, " I married the boss's daughter. "
Thuringer grew up in St. Cloud and met Debbie Madden in
high school. For nearly 40 years, he has been working in some
capacity at Madden's, starting as an assistant manager.
He claims to have started playing golf 54 years ago, although he
has developed few skills as a player since then. But he has provided
golfers one of the best venues in Minnesota: The Classic.
What makes The Classic noteworthy is not just the picturesque
and challenging design, but also the mom-and-pop approach that
brought it to fruition 15 years ago. The course was more than four
years in construction and then nearly 18 years in development.
The Classic was named one of the best new courses in 1997 by a
national golf magazine.
" I don't know what happened back in the late 1980s and early
1990s, " Thuringer says. " But golfers wanted a new
kind of course, a longer, more challenging, tougher
course. We had two courses, Pine Beach East
and Pine Beach West, that probably 90 percent of
the players could play and shoot a good score on
and enjoy themselves.
" But we felt we needed the new kind
of course if we were going to compete, "
Thuringer adds. " We had checked
with the National Golf Foundation
as far back as 1983 to get their advice
on building a fi rst-rate course. They
said it would be expensive, and they
Madden's president Brian Thuringer.
didn't think people who came to our place would do so just for
golf. They came to boat and fi sh and enjoy the outdoors. "
But the nearby Grand View Lodge was building The Pines, and
Thuringer foresaw that other top-notch courses might be built in
the Brainerd area. He and long-time golf course superintendent
Scott Hoffman traveled to northern Michigan to inspect the top
resort courses there, and also consulted with top course designers,
including Robert Trent Jones, Rees Jones, Pete Dye, Tom Doak
and Jack Nicklaus.
" I had walked the property where The Classic was eventually
built many, many times, " Hoffman, 56, says. " I had even laid out a
course, fi rst just in my mind and then with some drawings. When
we talked to some of those well-known designers, I was kind of in
awe, but we seemed to have some of the same ideas. "
Thuringer might not be a great golfer, but his ability to hear and
understand is above par.
" We'd talk to one of the top designers, and I knew that I was
hearing the same kind of things Scott had been talking about, "
Thuringer says. " I started to realize we had the guy to design the
course we wanted right with us all along. "
The national magazine that honored The Classic after its opening
presented Madden's with The Green Star Award in 2010 for
outstanding environmental achievement in the operation of the
resort. Madden's was the only recipient last year.
" We've just tried to do what made sense as well as cents, " Thuringer
says. " Like, we think it's a good idea to turn off a light when
it's not being used. "
( The Brian Thuringer File
Golf index: " It's about 30. Really, it's about 30. Would you feel better about me-and my game-if I said it was
17? That would be a lie, but you might think I was telling the truth because you really don't believe I have a 30
handicap. "
Best golf memory: " I can still see our (former) Director of Golf, Chris Foley, walking down a fairway on the
Pine Beach East course with his son at his side as the sun was setting in the background. I saw that, and I told
myself that's what golf is all about. "
www.mngolf.org
Directory 2011 MINNESOTAGOLFER
21
PHOTOS BY MATT SEEFELDT

http://www.mngolf.org

Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2011