For four years, Leslee Perley gave northern Door County golfers the chance to enjoy leagues, play famous courses and warm up for golf trips at Golf ‘n More In-Door.

Perley won’t reopen the business in Egg Harbor this winter. Instead, she leased out the former golf and pub portions of her building at Harbor School Road and state Highway 42, and is doing all she can to support the business that moved into that space – Fika, a bakery and coffee shop that will finish its season in Fish Creek before opening in Egg Harbor this spring. On social media, Perley noted that the staff would sell Swedish meatballs, pumpkin pie bars and cherry tarts at its new Egg Harbor location during Pumpkin Patch weekend, Oct. 12-13.

Perley sold one of her golf simulators quickly and had a line of people asking to buy the last one. 

“I guess I didn’t ask enough for them,” she joked.

Those golf simulators won’t be accessible elsewhere in northern Door County, unless golfers make friends with the buyers. While those were private sales, Perley hinted that another local businessperson has plans to open an indoor golf facility. That entrepreneur was not ready earlier this week to announce his plans, but rest assured, northern Door County will have access to public indoor golf sometime next year.

Perley loved hosting leagues – including six that utilized Golf ‘n More last winter – and getting to know the players. She said she’ll miss the business and customers, but she is making a positive move with her family. She’ll still be around to check on her building and to serve guests of an Airbnb she hosts in Egg Harbor.

Door County Sandbox in the Boardwalk entertainment complex on Egg Harbor Road in Sturgeon Bay provides indoor golf year-round. Idlewild Golf Course pro Brandon Hansen helped The Sandbox launch several leagues last year, but leagues have not been announced yet at the Sturgeon Bay venue.

Drought Lingers

Idlewild owner Hansen and his grounds staff have been busy trying to keep the course playable during a lengthy late-summer and early-fall drought. Hansen, like other managers countywide, is focused on protecting the entire course and keeping the greens in tiptop shape. He has never seen a Door County fall without cool, rainy days and nights that get the courses green before winter.

“Our greens are very nice and have handled it really well, but the grass on tees and fairways are pretty sparse,” Hansen said. “We have been trying to water as much as possible, but there is nothing like a good rainfall to get all areas.”

Idlewild is known in part for its lakes, wetlands and marshy spots, but the water levels have sunk considerably in the ponds.

“Our water features on hole five and hole 11 are completely drained,” Hansen said.

Hansen and his superintendent met with turf experts to set up a program for 2025 to help enable the grass to tolerate drought if there’s another extremely dry stretch.

“Although it comes at a big expense, we think it is worth it for our members and daily customers to get the golf course in better shape going forward,” Hansen said.