GRAND RAPIDS — A visiting LPGA Tour official recently surveyed the bustling facilities, the manicured golf course and dozens of smiling faces at Blythefield Country Club and offered an observation to Patti Butcher, the director of golf and club operations.

“The LPGA Tour is alive and well, and so is the private golf experience,” the official said.

It struck a chord with Butcher, who likens the struggles of private golf clubs through tough economic times of recent years to that of the LPGA and other sports entities.

“I think the private club industry, as well as sponsorship across all sports, were looked at closely and the value proposition was carefully examined,” she said. “I also think the LPGA and Blythefield have done great jobs responding.

“The LPGA is more fan-centric than they have ever been before and they are growing with more events like the Meijer LPGA Classic presented by Kraft. As for Blythefield, it helped us define who we were and what we were going to do, which was build a club around all kinds of activities to attract young families.”

Blythefield and the LPGA Tour will share an international spotlight next week when the club hosts the Meijer LPGA Classic presented by Kraft, an LPGA Tour event with a $1.5 million purse

Golf stars Michelle Wie, Stacy Lewis, Lexi Thompson, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel and all but a few of the top 100 women golfers in the world coming to West Michigan.

Butcher, a world-class golf instructor (2010 LPGA Golf Professional of the Year), was hired in 2007 as just the fifth golf professional since Blythefield’s 1929 inception. A successful year later she was asked to take on club