A summertime utopia: That’s what Mike and Gina Sheldon are hoping to create with River Club Glen Arbor (RCGA), a new miniature golf course, bar, restaurant, live music venue, and hangout spot currently under construction on the banks of the Crystal River.

The business, which is slated to open early this summer, will breathe new life into the property once occupied by The River, a mini golf course and canoe/kayak rental spot owned and operated for years by Mike and Becky Sutherland. That business changed hands in 2013, rebranding as Dale’s Glen Arbor under the ownership of Mike Sutherland’s brother Paul. But Dale’s has been dormant for the better part of a decade, and the property had fallen into disrepair. When the Sheldons bought the land last January, they set their sights on bringing a family-friendly business back to the three-acre parcel, which sits at 5963 South Oak Street, just a stone’s throw from Glen Arbor's Crystal River Outfitters Recreational District.

“The idea was simple,” Mike says. “We love the wineries, breweries, cideries, and distilleries up here; they’re a blast. But we also know that, when you’re visiting northern Michigan, there’s almost always a veto vote from somebody in the car. If you don’t like beer, you probably don’t want to go to a brewery. If you don’t like wine, you probably don’t want to go to a winery. So, we wanted to take that veto vote away by having a place that could appeal to a broad range of people, and that would really give locals and visitors alike something to do in Glen Arbor. Putting seemed like the perfect fit, because anyone can do it; you can be five or 95 and still have a good time.”

For the Sheldons, RCGA is a retirement passion project. Mike spent 22 years at Deutsch Advertising in Los Angeles – most recently as the company’s North America CEO – before dialing down his career at the end of 2019. Gina was a two-decade employee at MTV, serving as its vice president of advertising sales.

Trading California for Michigan was always on the Sheldons' bucket list due to Mike’s roots here – he grew up downstate and studied advertising at Michigan State University – and their love of visiting places like Leelanau in the summers. 

Mike says his goal is to offer “the ultimate in hospitality,” an aspiration that has pushed the Sheldons and their collaborators – Chuck Damman, partner and head of park operations; and Stephen Brotschul, RCGA general manager – to be thoughtful about every aspect of the property. Mike points to the 18-hole mini golf course as an example of that that meticulous approach. Designed by Adventure Golf & Sports (AGS), an industry-leading mini golf course designer that just happens to be based in Traverse City, the course is built so golfers can essentially play it on different difficulty modes.

“There’s three ways to play every hole,” Mike explains. “So, the idea is that you’ll start to understand, the more you play, where to put your ball so you can achieve a lower score. It’s going to be a little bit addicting, because you can discover those different ways of playing each hole.”

RCGA will also incorporate a range of other features and amenities, including a gift shop, a restaurant, multiple bars, “very Instagrammable” photo-op spots, various areas for guests to sit and relax, golf-themed mini games, and a live concert stage.

One key focus in designing the property, Mike says, was to achieve optimal interaction and flow between the various aspects. Guests arrive at a front clubhouse building where they can register, browse merchandise, and grab snacks or drinks to enjoy on the course. Each hole then boasts multiple spots to set drinks, and there’s a bar near hole nine so golfers easily can grab another libation before the second half.

The final hole wraps up near the RCGA restaurant, a Mexican-inspired, Qdoba-style fast-casual spot where guests can enjoy their food on an open-air patio, a rooftop “sky deck” with views of downtown Glen Arbor, or an outdoor beer garden space. All three seating areas offer sightlines to the concert stage, which backs up onto the Crystal River. 

“There's a lot of serious intention put into everything that we've built,” Mike says of the design.

RCGA is tentatively slated to open in “early or mid-June.” Construction and landscaping are still underway, but are on schedule for an early-summer opening. The company’s first direct interfacing with the public will take place at a job fair and “party in the park” on Saturday, May 18 from 11am to 3pm.

“The event will provide an opportunity to meet the team, get an exclusive firsthand tour of the park, and learn how the RCGA team works with and treats people,” a press release notes of the job fair, which is intended to fill the 30 positions necessary to staff the park. All attendees will get to play a few holes and receive a gift bag of RCGA swag.