Visionary Developer of Eagle Bend Passes Away

By: Jeff Shelley


The man who put Bigfork, Mont., on the international golf map has passed away. Mike Felt, who founded and built Eagle Bend Golf Club on Flathead Lake's northeast corner, died November 19.

With foresight and a considerable amount of perseverance, Felt converted the former dairy farm off Holt Drive into a thriving 27-hole resort and residential community. The original nine holes opened in 1984, followed by the second nine four years later; the initial 18 (now called the Championship 18) was designed by William Hull & Associates. The final set of holes - designed by Jack Nicklaus Jr. and called the Nicklaus Nine - completed Eagle Bend's golf component in 1995.

The businessman, who made his fortune with a successful crop-insurance firm in Great Falls, first came to Bigfork in 1968 with his wife Patty. When he found Eagle Bend's future site near the Flathead River he envisioned converting the property into a golf resort.

"In the late 1970s, we were thinking Bigfork had so much going for it we thought, let's build a golf course here," he told the Bigfork Eagle in a summer 2014 interview.

But when Felt proposed the project and started going through the permit process he met considerable local opposition for such a grand development in the Flathead Valley. "I remember one hearing in Kalispell that had 29 people attend, with 25 people speaking against it," Felt said during the interview.

"I thought, walking out of there, we'd never get this thing done. I had a vision, but people in the community didn't see that vision. Some of the old-timers said 'What are you doing to our sleepy little community?' "

But Felt persisted, seeking to understand the local opposition and meet their demands. "We tried to put ourselves in their shoes," he said. "And at that time we didn't have a lot of cooperation out of the planning office."

I visited Eagle Bend several times while writing and publishing three editions of my book, "Golf Courses of the Pacific Northwest," which includes western Montana. On my first trip to Bigfork I came upon this beautiful and then-remote set of nine holes - now part of the Championship 18 - winding through a pristine pine forest and offering magnificent mountain vistas in every direction.

Mike Felt gave me a tour of the place, which at that time was operating out of a small real estate sales office beside the tee on what later became the fifth hole of the Championship 18. Subsequent visits found an evolving and expanding, full-service golf resort with an impressive clubhouse and dozens of beautiful homes dotting the rolling site.

Felt's efforts were rewarded when Eagle Bend hosted the 1994 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. Another of my visits there came the week following this event; many of the same locals who were against the development were thrilled with all the national attention.

Felt came to know Nicklaus senior, who dedicated Eagle Bend's clubhouse in 1988, after spending several days riding horses with golf's "Golden Bear" on a backcountry elk hunt. "Those are things I never dreamed would have happened," Felt said during a Bigfork Eagle interview in September. "I had no idea that guys like Jack Nicklaus were going to show up one day. Becoming a friend of his and his family was a rewarding experience, and that happened because of what we did here."

Nicklaus's affinity for Eagle Bend drew the attention of his friends, including fellow PGA Tour veteran Bruce Crampton. The native of Sydney, Australia - who had an illustrious career with 14 Tour titles and 43 victories worldwide - greatly enjoyed the area and made a home for himself at Eagle Bend.

One of the funniest things I've ever seen while visiting and/or playing hundreds of golf courses worldwide was the "Bruce Crampton Suggestion Box" in the middle of one of Eagle Bend's massive lakes. One could understand this from one of the game's all-time curmudgeons.

A friend of Crampton's and another Aussie, two-time major winner and a fellow lover of Big Sky Country, David Graham, also moved to the area and took up residence at the Tom Fazio-designed Iron Horse Golf Club in nearby Whitefish.

In 1997, Felt sold Eagle Bend's course to the people who developed the Andy North-designed Northern Pines Golf Course south of Kalispell. By then, Mike Felt had made his mark on this beautiful part of the U.S., making the Flathead Valley one of America's outstanding - albeit underrated and underappreciated - golf destinations.

Felt was always proud of his efforts at Eagle Bend. "Most people would agree that it was Eagle Bend that changed the culture of Bigfork," Felt told the Bigfork Eagle.

"I'm proud of what we did here. I wish we'd have done some things differently, but I'm very proud of this. I don't regret any of it. I have the satisfaction of building a great project and I'm glad I did it."

For the full article in the Bigfork Eagle, visit http://www.flatheadnewsgroup.com/bigforkeagle/bigfork-golf-developer-mike-felt-passes-away/article_184323c8-75ad-11e4-beb1-9b7b212eedc6.html.