LANCASTER TWP — Looking for information on Strawberry Ridge golf course? Tim McNulty is your man.

McNulty, 52, and his wife, Ann, not only own the facility. McNulty built the course, designed the course and helps to maintain the course.

McNulty was born into a farming family in the Erie area. He’s worked on fruit farms and dairy farms.

“It’s been my life,” he said. “I’ve never taken a paycheck.”

When McNulty bought 140 acres of property here in 1983, it was for farming purposes. He raised strawberries, bell peppers, corn and tomatoes.

He and Ann got married in 1992. They opened a nine-hole golf course on the property in 2000 and put the back-nine in three years later.

“Farming had its ups and downs,” McNulty said. “The most money we had been making was off the entertainment end, offering hay rides and things like that.

“In terms of paying for the property, getting the most out of the property, a golf course was the way to go. This was before Cranberry Highlands was put in. This part of the county was in the market for a golf course.”

When McNulty played a round of golf himself, he studied the design of each course.

“This wasn’t exactly a decision made overnight,” he said. “We looked at it for a while and figured it was the best use for this ground.

“Everything I’ve done in life, I did it on my own, from building barns to running bulldozers. I figured I could build a golf course.”

With the help of thenTreesdale superintendentLarry Napora — now head of Firestone Country Club — McNulty designed each hole.

Today, Strawberry Ridge had approximately 20 full or part-time employees, including seven maintaining the course itself and seven employed by the facility’s accompanying Ridge Pub and Restaurant.

Maureen Kniess has been a do-it-all employee at Strawberry Ridge for seven years.

“The McNultys treat everyone, customers and employees, like family,” Kniess said. “There is such a friendly atmosphere around here.

“Tim is very hands-on with the golf course. In the heat, he’s up until 1 a.m. watering, then comes back at 5 a.m. to begin the next day.”

Kniess said she recalled some days during her first year on the job when “we might get three customers all day. I went out and picked up garbage in the parking lot to justify my time.

“Now we have a steady stream of customers. You can see how the business has grown.”

And McNulty appreciates his loyal patrons.

“With all of my heart and soul,” he insisted. “We’ve had people who have kept coming back for a long time now. We are very appreciative and grateful to those folks.

“Back in the 1990s, golf courses in Western Pennsylvania averaged 24,000 to 26,000 rounds of golf per year. That’s probably down 30 percent now,.

“Between the economy and this rainy spring, all golf courses are taking a hit. Public golf courses like ours, the ones catering to the middle class, have been hit the worst,” he said.

Strawberry Ridge hosts approximately 20 outings per year and hosts 10 leagues.

“No two holes play alike here,”McNulty said. “Each hole is distinctly different. It’s a fun course to play because you can play every club in your bag at some point.”

Black pro tees have been added to the course this year, along with some sand traps and bunkers.

“We’re probably at 75 percent of where we want to be as an overall entertainment facility,” McNulty said. “Our lakes need sealed to hold water, we want to improve our cart paths and get a banquet facility done.”

In terms of soil texture and drainage, Strawberry Ridge is second to none.

“My background in agriculture gave me a big advantage there,” McNulty said.

Seniors, ladies and junior golfers can play the course at a discounted rate Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.