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‘Downstairs’ Dan Hansen
Living at the intersection of golf and rock ‘n’ roll
 “Downstairs” Dan Hansen has enjoyed a long career in the fickle world of Milwaukee radio and a relatively short, but intense, love affair with golf. In fact, it was Hansen’s job – or lack thereof – which led him to the game when he was in his 40s, and his career and his golf game have remained intertwined.
“I picked it up after getting fired at WQFM,” said Hansen, who has worked at several Milwaukee rock stations since starting in radio in 1976. “I had a little extra time that summer, so I took some lessons and I fell in love with it. I played a little bit, probably two or three times a year, before that. “I got into it, and it kind of snowballed. I just love being (on the golf course). I can’t think of a better game board.” These days, Hansen, 60, holds down the 3-8 p.m. time slot on WKLH (96.5 FM), the top classic rock station in Milwaukee. He lives in Bay View and plays golf two or three times a week at various Milwaukee-area courses, including Washington County GC in Hartford, where he tees it up most weekends and maintains a solid 6.4 handicap. Like football coaches, rock ‘n’ roll disc jockeys had better keep their resumes handy, and Hansen has been all over the Milwaukee radio landscape. Before landing at WKLH, he worked at WZMF, WLPX, WLUM, and he had three separate stints at WQFM. “It’s one of the side-effects of the business,” Hansen said. “But I’ve been at KLH for 15 years, and it’s been a great spot for me.” Life in general has slowed down for Hansen. Like rock star Alice Cooper – whose recent book, “Alice Cooper, Golf Monster,” chronicles his trading alcohol for the addiction that is golf – Hansen picked up the sticks and put down a few other things. He said he drinks “very, very little” these days. Hansen has meet Cooper on a few occasions, including a couple of years ago when Cooper was in town for a concert and the two played golf at The Bog in Saukville with a radio station contest winner. Hansen said he even clipped Cooper for $5 that day. “It’s amazing how many people in the music business do play,” Hansen said. “I remember talking to Alice Cooper’s manager one time and he said, ‘Don’t mention that Alice plays golf,’ because golf was seen as sort of a dorky thing to do and they didn’t want Alice’s reputation affected by it. That was 15 years ago maybe, but now he’s written a book about golf. It’s hip to be a golfer now.” Hansen also recalled the day he played golf at Alpine Valley Resort in Elkhorn and a tour bus pulled up. Out walked the long-bearded members of ZZ Top. But they weren’t carrying guitar cases; they were carrying golf bags. As for his own game, Hansen said he realized a personal goal earlier this season when he shot 72 at Washington County GC for his first even-par round. “It was my all-time low,” he said. “I had tons of 73s, but I always managed to blow it.” – By Rick Pledl
Steve Marcus
Family game has become part of the family business
 When Ben Marcus opened a movie theater in Ripon in 1935, he had no idea business would take off like it did. But by the 1950s, the company that started with one movie house had quickly become one of the nation’s leading entertainment and lodging companies. The Marcus Corporation, now headed by Ben Marcus’ son Steve Marcus, also operates hotels, resorts, restaurants an golf courses. One of the courses is at Brynwood CC in Milwaukee, so it’s only fitting that CEO and Chairman Steve Marcus is a longtime member there. And when the Marcus Corp. took over management of the 78-year-old country club in 2006, it was for a good reason. Because the Marcus Corp. also operates the two golf courses at Grand Geneva Resort, it was used to catering to golfers. But when guests at Marcus’ Milwaukee hotels – the Pfister, Hilton and InterContinental – had a hard time securing tee times at Milwaukee city golf courses, Marcus knew something needed to be done. “(It made sense) to have an in-city golf course available as a place for our hotel guests to play golf,” he said. “Lots of country clubs have excess tee times available, and this gave Brynwood the opportunity to take advantage of the fact that we had the professional management, we had the experience with golf clubs and we also had the possible customer flow that we could direct toward the club.” The publicly-traded company has two divisions – Marcus Theatres and Marcus Hotels and Resorts. Marcus Theatres boasts nearly 650 screens in major markets across the Midwest, and the hotels division is in charge of 15 full-service hotels across the Midwest, Texas, Nevada and California. In addition to running Grand Geneva Resort and Spa, Marcus Hotels and Resorts has added the Resort Suites in Scottsdale, Ariz. to its portfolio. Marcus, 72, started playing golf while on vacation with his parents in Minnesota when he was 12 years old. His dad, who Marcus said was a “terrible” golfer, took the young Marcus out with him during that trip, and he’s been hooked ever since. “I kind of liked it. It was fun,” Marcus said. “After we got back, he said, ‘Now you can’t play unless you go get lessons.’” So Marcus took lessons at Lakeshore Municipal GC in Oshkosh, where the family lived at the time. It was on the shores of Lake Butte des Morts that Marcus learned the game he still loves today. “For a number of years I didn’t play golf – I quit – because I was playing tennis, as were many of my friends those days,” Marcus said. “I’d have to say that was 25 years ago, and it dawned on me ... that I found golf more socially engaging.” Like most golfers, Marcus doesn’t play as often or as well as he’d like, but that’s not stopping him. He has standing games at Brynwood and in Scotsdale, where he spends part of his winter. Marcus lives in River Hills, a Milwaukee suburb, with his wife Janice. They have three sons, one of whom works for the Marcus Corp, and seven grandchildren. - By Becky LaPlante
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