Harbor Springs, MI – Bernie Friedrich, Senior Vice President of Golf at BOYNE Resorts, has captured the first Golf Executive of the Year award by the Michigan PGA.
The honor bestows special recognition on a PGA Golf Professional who has performed outstanding services for a multiple facility/course management/ownership operation, allied association, or golf industry executive management position. As one of the highest honors the PGA can bestow, candidates must possess outstanding qualities of leadership, vision, courage, strong moral character, and a substantial record of service to the Association and the game of golf.
“I am thrilled to receive this award,” says Friedrich, a 38-year PGA member who oversees BOYNE Golf’s 13 courses and semi-private clubs in Michigan, Maine, and Montana that includes all staff, course agronomy and marketing nationwide plus two golf membership groups—Bay Harbor Golf Club and Country Club of Boyne. “It’s such an honor to be recognized for helping BOYNE become the premier golf destination in the Midwest. Our staff here is best-in-class and this award is every bit representative of their hard work as much as mine.”
The Schondorf, Germany native moved to Michigan as a young boy. He’s now in his 46th year working at Boyne, where he started as a golf professional. He was inducted into the Michigan PGA Hall of Fame in 2019, when he was also awarded the Bill Strausbaugh Award that recognizes a top PGA member for outstanding integrity and character, a significant contribution through mentoring fellow PGA professionals, and maintaining a high level of service, values and image within the organization. In addition, the Michigan PGA also honored him as the Professional of the Year twice (1998, 2001), and was recognized five times as Merchandiser of the Year (1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996). He also serves on the Michigan PGA Employment Committee.
Friedrich is also a member of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame and received the Lyle Leeke Distinguished Service Award (2018) from the Michigan Golf Course Owners Association (MGCOA) where he also serves on their Board of Directors. He was recognized by the American Junior Golf Association (A.J.G.A.) as the Golf Course Executive of the Year and serves on Adidas’ Dassler Board.
In Northern Michigan, Friedrich is a founding member and past board member of the America’s Summer Golf Capital, a founding member and board member of The First Tee of Northern Michigan and co-founder of the Harbor Cup Fund, a charitable fund that has raised over $525,000 since its inception in 1997.
About BOYNE Golf
Boyne Resorts have been recognized among the “Top 100 Resorts” by GOLF Magazine, the “Best Resorts in the Americas” by Golf Digest, and as a Distinguished Golf Destination by BoardRoom Magazine and Forbes Travel.
The Inn at Bay Harbor and Bay Harbor Golf Club, Boyne’s flagship properties, feature 45-holes including three golf course combinations designed by Arthur Hills (Links/Quarry, Quarry/Preserve, and Preserve/Links), and the scenic Crooked Tree Golf Club, with one of the most beautiful and iconic hotels in America, all set along a scenic five-mile stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline.
Boyne Highlands, rated the No. 1 Golf Resort for Value by Golf.com, features 72 holes of premier golf design. The Heather, the 2019 NGCOA Course of the Year, was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., while the Hills Course was crafted by Arthur Hills. In addition, the resort features The Donald Ross Memorial, which is a rendition of the legendary architect’s great holes from around the country, and The Moor, which has recently been upgraded. The Highlands is the perfect buddy trip destination for golfers who like to play as many holes as they can during the long summer daylight hours northern Michigan features.
Boyne Mountain not only features two fun 18-hole courses (The Monument and Alpine), along with the charming Mountain Grand Lodge & Spa, it is also the leading family friendly golf destination in the region with the Avalanche Bay Indoor Waterpark, junior golf camps, and various kid golf programs. Golf Digest named Boyne Mountain one of its “Top-10 Destinations for Family Golf Trips.”
For more information, visit www.BOYNEGolf.com.
