Would you like some grigio with your game?
In what may be the most brilliant pairing in platform tennis, a new public-access facility has opened at a winery. But like any good vintage, it took patience, time, and resourcefulness to become a tasty product.
The Leelanau Paddle Club has found its home at Dune Bird Winery in Northport, Michigan, a region in need of more winter sports options. Located in the pinkie of the Michigan mitten, between Lake Leelanau and Lake Michigan, this area is busy with boating and sand dune running in the summer and ice fishing and cross-country skiing in the winter. Welcome to your new home, platform tennis.
Funding a New Idea
The desire for local courts started percolating in 2018 when former Cleveland player Brooke Garrett realized how much she missed the game. She rallied several players to start the business setup but securing a site and sufficient funding proved difficult.
“The original board established a framework and explored a few locations but in 2022, the group was looking for some new energy. As fate would have it, I played golf with Craig McConnell and Maggie Mielczarek, then president of the Leelanau Platform Tennis initiative, and realized we shared a passion for paddle,” said Pam Kelley.
McConnell said, “We got buy-in from the original owners of Dune Bird, Bo and Nicole White. They were very supportive of us—they wanted their winery to be a community gathering place.”
The new LPC committee consisted of players from Chicago, Cincinnati, Connecticut, and New Jersey, many who had taken a hiatus from the game. McConnell emphasized, “We wanted this to be an affordable club. We reached out to people and started campaigning. We had 10 generous people who committed from $5,000 to $10,000.”
They raised more needed capital through a pickleball tournament, generating quick grassroots support and building a 50-person membership. With seed money established, they applied to the APTA Grants and Loans Committee, which assists solidly financed public-access projects cross the finish line.
An Old Court is Never Too Old
The team kept costs down by refurbishing two donated courts—one gifted to the APTA and another retrieved from a local property.
“A private court was built about 40 years ago, just a mile from Dune Bird, hidden in thick woods. It looked like a zombie apocalypse paddle court,” laughed McConnell. “The owner, Margo Funke, was passionate about seeing it reused and was also a wonderful financial supporter.”
Mark Kebe from Total Platform visited the court and declared it fit for reuse. Pam Kelley said, “I want to say that an old court is never too old. Craig, Jeff Keen, and Candace Fries trudged in there and removed decades of moss.” The components were safely stored in a warehouse.
Dealing With Delays
In 2024, Dune Bird Winery changed ownership. Fortunately, buyer John Heekin—a Cincinnati native familiar with paddle and owner of two other regional wineries—enthusiastically backed the project
“John’s been fantastic to work with,” said McConnell. “He’s very involved in the community, and extremely generous with his support.”
With great hope, construction was scheduled for completion by Thanksgiving 2025. However, the weather turned so cold and icy that construction stopped. The very argument for building the courts was the same one that delayed them.
Heekin offered a crucial lifeline by deferring rent until the installation was complete and the club could open. Total Platform also honored its three-year-old estimate, extending more savings. The committee was beyond thankful.
The project was completed in April 2026 with a soft opening on May 1st. The membership has since risen to 60. “Luckily, we have people here who want to play all summer,” McConnell said. “And we should have a very long paddle season this fall and winter.”
Amenities and Cute Ducks
“You drive down a tree-lined driveway, which are lit up after dark, past the winery buildings, to reach the courts. It’s a beautiful unique setting for paddle,” Kelley said.
Dune Bird serves as a stand-in paddle hut, offering live music, food, wine, cider, and a coffee bar. The property also features a pond, patios, three VRBO rental homes, and a flock of Indian Runner ducks roaming around cleaning the vineyard. “They’re adorable,” McConnell said.
In a stroke of genius, Mike Teen, a local master electrician, created a state-of-the-art electrical system so that club members can use their phones to control the lights and heaters and to open the gate.
The winery’s Flight Club members can book the courts in the afternoons when Dune Bird is open. Racquets and balls are available for newcomers to the sport. With three rental homes owned by the winery, including a restored farmhouse replete with Scottish Highland cows, the Leelanau Paddle Club is a true destination resort.
Moving Forward
Leelanau Paddle Club hosted an exhibition match on July 2, featuring Hall-of-Famer Flip Goodspeed and friends. “It was great fun and the turnout was huge. Fifty people came for coffee and paddle, to watch and play. It was wonderful to see all the enthusiasm for the sport,” said Kelley. “We will continue the free lessons (taught by Isabel Cabanne, former APTA IT specialist, who summers in the area) and open play on Saturday mornings and we will be adding coed, women’s, and men’s events.”
The Leelanau Paddle Club is the creation of a tenacious group of paddle enthusiasts who refused to wither on the vine. Kelley emphasized, “We just kept putting one foot in front of the other and we were a group who was somehow phenomenal at getting things done. For other groups trying to start a club, if you keep going forward, you will find a way.”
For more information on the APTA Grants and Loans program, visit APTA Grants & Loans.
