In 2018, Mike and Laura Burch purchased the former Lakewood Recreational Center and Turkey Run, also once known as the Pioneer Community Club. On Saturday, June 25, the revamped venue will be open to the public the first time under their ownership.

Located at 202 CR 255 Rising Star, L&M Lake and Golf Retreat will welcome guests from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. for unlimited 9-hole golf and fishing. The cost is $100 for adults 18 and up, $50 for kids 6-17 and free admission for kids under 5.

“We’ve had a couple of corporate stays, but this the first time we’ve opened it up,” Laura Burch said. “We had so many calls from so many people about the fishing and the golf. We were not going to open it up to the public, we were only going to do private reservations, but we got so many calls and so many people stopping in that we decided to do a fishing tournament in September. That sold out within a week, so once that was sold out we came back and thought about opening it up one Saturday a month to the public to see how it goes. We don’t what to expect so we’ve kept it pretty simple.”

Regarding the fishing, no motorized boats are allowed on the lake, trolling motors only. All crappie and catfish can be kept, as well as bass between 14 and 17 inches.

“They can have kayaks and small boats on the lake, but with the drought it’s almost impossible to get motorized boats on the lake,” Burch said. “The lake is stocked really well with Florida-hybird bass and crappie. The fishing is crazy good.”

As for the golf course, Mike and Laura Burch discovered shortly after their purchase, “it had a nine -hole golf course with all the original tee markers in place. We bailed 50 round bales off the golf course and discovered that all the fairways and original greens had been very well protected. All of the original granite tee markers were still there. We repaired a couple of them and then set them back out.”

The dock, park, pavilion and picnic areas will be open as well.

“There’s a park with old fashioned swings and slides and merry go-rounds, and there’s a pavilion for barbecues,” Burch said. “There’s three RV sites and covered picnic sites on the property. There’s also two boat ramps, a boat dock and on the other side there’s a great place for ATVs and motorcycles. There’s an old pecan orchard on the other side with a lot of sand. It’s a great place for hiking, ATVs, that’s kind of stuff.”

Hunting opportunities exist at L&M Lake and Golf Retreat as well.

“We have great duck hunting, and we’ve killed about 80 hogs so far off the property,” Burch said. “We’ve gotten three or four really nice bucks off the property as well.”

Burch added that hamburgers, hot dogs and non-alcoholic drinks will be available as well on June 25, and that currently plan is for similar events to take place the last Saturday of the month through October.

For private gatherings, L&M Lake & Golf Retreat features a 4,500-square-foot converted country club that comfortably sleeps up to 30 people, now called the Main House

“The Main House was an old clubhouse that was probably built in the 60s,” Burch said. “We remodeled the house and created a really beautiful gabled-roof and really opened it up. I;s also got a modern kitchen and bathrooms. There’s golf course grass in the back so that we could host weddings or music festivals.”

Opportunities to rent the venue for weddings, parties and charity events are available, as well as other private reservations. For more information, visit the retreat’s website at the following link: L&M Lake & Golf Retreat

Future plans included refurbishing an 18-hole putt-putt golf on site as well, with that expected to take place in the fall.