Other projects are planned, Markham said.

He also hired Nancy Riley, former assistant manager of the country club, to run the reborn facility.

"He's done a wonderful thing for the community of La Porte City, because (the club) was struggling, and they didn't have enough to keep it up," Riley said. "Any small country club is struggling because it takes a lot to run a country club, with fertilizer and equipment and all."

Markham leased a fleet of Deere vehicles to maintain the grounds. New landscaping is planned for the grounds, too, he said.

"It's just a nice place," Markham said. "The city of La Porte should be happy with what they've got. The only reason I bought it was for them. They have a lot of people that like to play golf."

Riley said Markham has talked about building a whole new country club someday.

Markham said he's not ready for that step.

"Some day, maybe," he said. "I'm not ready to spend a million dollars yet. Right now, the thing I'm doing with the heat pumps and everything else is keep it open year round for people to rent the place, because they don't have a real big facility."