Jim Martin’s golf course at his home west of Portage, Wisconsin, will go on the auction block October 24, 2009. The par-34, 2,933-yard course was opened in 1997 and was played by only family, friends and guests at an adjacent hunting and fishing club. Earlier Martin put the course on the market for $750,000, but times are tough and the minimum acceptable bid is $250,000.

In the mid-1970s, Martin began buying land west of Portage and eventually turned much of it into a hunting club. Lodges were added in the 1980s and the facility hosted corporate retreats and hunting and fishing excursions on 220 acres. Starting in 1997, the guests also had access to the golf course. (photo by Barry Adams/Wisconsin State Journal)