Bemidji Town and Country Club welcomes new general manager Mike Fogelson

Bemidji Town and Country Club’s new general manager comes in with the summer season already moving, the North Shore Grille open and the Birchmont Golf Tournament set for July 28-August 2. For members, event clients and local employers who rely on the club’s schedule, the bigger question is how Mike Fogelson will shape pricing, access, hiring and youth programming in the months ahead.

Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce ambassadors recently visited the club to welcome Fogelson into the job. The club’s staff page lists him as “Fractional General Manager,” and says he has been a member since 2016. The club says his focus is on long-term vision, member representation, community building and growing opportunities for young golfers.

That mix of priorities matters at a property that is more than a golf course. Bemidji Town and Country Club is an 18-hole, par 72, semi-private, member-owned course on the north shore of Lake Bemidji. It was established in 1916 and has seen major revisions in 1990 and updates in 2014, giving the club a long footprint in Bemidji’s recreation and social life.

The club also hosts the Birchmont, a century-old tournament that draws attention far beyond its membership. With the event landing in late July and early August, Fogelson’s early months will likely be judged on how smoothly the club handles tournament logistics, member tee times, dining traffic and the expectations of outside players and guests who use the facility during peak season.

Spencer Konecne is also returning as restaurant manager, giving the club a familiar face in the dining operation as the North Shore Grille serves the public. The restaurant opened for the season on April 22 at 4 p.m., adding another layer of visibility for a venue that sits at the intersection of private membership and public-facing hospitality.

The leadership change also follows a reminder of how quickly the course can be tested. In June 2025, a storm brought down roughly 350 trees on and around the property, but the clubhouse and playing surfaces were spared. Volunteers joined the grounds crew, and the course reopened in four days, a fast turnaround that showed how central the club is to Bemidji’s summer recreation economy. With Fogelson now in place, the club enters the season with a new manager, a returning restaurant lead and a calendar anchored by one of the city’s longest-running events.