Boyne Golf’s Senior Staff Transitions

Boyne Golf’s Senior Staff Transitions For The Future

Longtime PGA professionals take on new roles to head up the BOYNE Golf operations

Harbor Springs, MI – BOYNE Golf, one of North America’s largest golf and resort destinations, announces that three of its top golf professionals and longtime operators are assuming new roles to transition the golf operations into the next generation.

Bernie Friedrich, Senior Vice President of Golf at BOYNE Resorts, transitions to Director of Golf Course Renovations and Development, while Josh Richter takes over as the new Senior Vice President of Golf Operations, and Casey Powers as Director of Golf.

Friedrich began his career with BOYNE 46 years ago and has epitomized the philosophy of company founder Everett Kircher and his mission to develop year-round employees who can oversee both golf and ski operations. Friedrich is a 38-year PGA member who has managed BOYNE’s 13 courses and semi-private clubs in Maine, Michigan, and Montana and all staff, course agronomy and marketing nationwide plus two golf membership groups—Bay Harbor Golf Club and Country Club of Boyne. He also oversaw golf and winter retail operations for more than 20 years.

“It’s been a long and exciting run helping to guide BOYNE’s golf operations, and I want to thank the Kircher family for this wonderful opportunity that’s shaped my life in so many ways,” said Friedrich. “I’m not completely out the door yet, and am looking forward to this next chapter to lead BOYNE in its future golf course construction, upgrades, and renovation projects with our golf properties in Maine, Michigan, and Montana.”

Bernie is a member of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame and the Michigan PGA Hall of Fame, and two-time Michigan PGA Golf Professional of the Year. In addition to mentoring many PGA professional and resort employees within and from outside of the company, Friedrich is credited with numerous programs and practices that have influenced and positively impacted the golf industry. He continues to serve in various capacities for the Michigan PGA and Michigan Golf Course Owners Association, fostered a partnership with AJGA that’s grown to include three of BOYNE’s courses as annual tour stops, and co-founded Northern Michigan’s First Tee chapter. His most rewarding achievement has been the charitable efforts he implemented, which continues to be made by BOYNE’s golf professionals through the Harbor Cup.

Richter and Powers assume day-to-day golf operation roles

Now BOYNE Golf’s Senior Vice President of Golf Operations, Richter has been Director of Golf for the Michigan operations and Director of Snowsports Equipment Rental for Boyne Resorts. He first came to the company in 1999, through a golf operations/management internship at The Highlands at Harbor Springs, and has since worked in several positions across BOYNE resorts, including head pro at the Heather, taking on year-round employment within BOYNE’s retail operations during the winter, and serving in various sales and management capacities. In 2018, he became Director of Snowsports Equipment Rental at all 10 BOYNE resorts in North America. He was elected member of the First Tee – Northern Michigan Board of Directors in 2017. Now Director of Golf for BOYNE’s Michigan operations, Powers was previously Head Pro and Director of Retail for Boyne Mountain, where he started as an assistant pro in 1996. He has also served as Director of Junior Golf Academy, head pro at The Highlands’ Ross Golf Center, and worked in the golf and retail operations. He’s currently president of the Northern Michigan Chapter of the Michigan PGA. 

About BOYNE Golf

BOYNE Resorts have been recognized among the “Top 100 Resorts” by GOLF Magazine and one of the “Best Resorts in the Americas” by Golf Digest.

The Inn at Bay Harborand Bay Harbor Golf Club, BOYNE’s flagship properties, feature 45 holes that include three 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.

The Highlands at Harbor Springs, 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. The resort also features The Donald Ross Memorial, which is a rendition of the legendary architect’s great holes from around the country, and the always-fun Moor course. The Highlands is a 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 features two fun 18-hole courses (The Monument and Alpine), along with the charming Mountain Grand Lodge & Spa. It’s also the region’s leading family-friendly golf destination 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.