What brings a course back to life?
When you walk onto Tanglewood, it would be hard to fathom that just a few years ago this was nothing but weeds. Tanglewood was closed during the pandemic and spent several years vacant and growing wild. 6 feet tall grass, trees growing in the middle of what used to be fairways. Nature had taken over the property and was in full control at that point. Then came the new ownership and a new vision.
Keep it simple, make it better!
When Mark bought Tanglewood he knew that underneath it was the bones to an 18 hole course. The plan was not to redo the entire course, but to un-earth it and make it better than ever. After spending time clearing out the weeds and trees they went to work. Greens were scalped and contoured and seeded, fairways mowed and fertilized. Quickly the course was visible again, and shortly after it came back to life. The course itself did not change much, the holes remain virtually unchanged from the previous iteration of Tanglewood. But the greens were contoured and changed to challenge the golfer more and to make it more interesting. Keeping it simple at the start, letting the course settle, then making it better.
Why I enjoy the restoration of Tanglewood
Tanglewood sits on a property that gives you so many opportunities for unique holes and challenges. With the sloping hills, ponds, and swaths of forest there are many ways to force golfers to think things through. Many golf courses today are moving the way of Links and Heathland courses. Wide open with not many trees and maybe some gorse or heather to punish you. Tanglewood moves to the other side of the spectrum. With its parkland setup and hills it forces players to be more speculative in their shots and more thoughtful on their approach. With tight, tree lined, fairways it forces us to pull the smaller club and be more conscientious of course management. There are few holes that allow you to grip it and rip it with no punishment here, and that’s a good thing! Part of the restoration was drainage, and that plays a huge part in making this course better. Because of the location the course has a few holes that in the past just held onto water for dear life. The drainage improvements have made these holes so much better. Rather than having a hole shut down for days, it takes less time and dries out faster now.
The Greens
The greens at Tanglewood are what really makes most golfers pause. The team here at Tanglewood has put a lot of time and effort into making them not only look good, but play very true. There are a few holes where you are hitting onto a green you cannot see the contour of, and when you get up there your ball is not even on the green anymore! The undulations and swales that some of the greens have are amazing. Take hole 1 for example, hitting it to the center is the safest possible outcome, because if you hunt the pin you could be in danger. The right side pin placement can roll off easily, the back left has a slope that can severely punish you! There are a few flat spots that could save you, if you can control your speed! Hole 16 has a three tiered green, and if you over shoot and have to putt back, you are going to need to control! Tanglewood makes you step back and look at putts, sometimes as small as a foot away, that make you wonder how it’s going to break. The greens complex is by far my favorite part of the restoration!
The Growth
While the greens get most of my attention, the growth the course is experiencing is another exciting part! Now that the course has “settled” from its rebirth, the changes are happening, fast and furious. Already in this year the team has added some tee boxes to extend the length, with more coming! Next season we will see extensions on a few holes that will help battle the players who want that distance. Some of the holes will have trees taken back to allow golfers newer paths and new course management options. This will also help the growth of the fairways and make them even better! The tee boxes have been scalped and resodded to even them out on some holes, with more leveling to come. Cart paths are being redrawn and scraped down to give better access and experiences as well.
Conditioning
As I said when talking about the greens, the team at Tanglewood takes pride and puts in hard work to keep the course in good condition. I cannot think of a single time I have been at the course where at least one of the crew was out making changes, improvements, or repairs. Alex and his team have this course the best conditioned public course in the Chippewa Valley (and beyond). And this is not just myself saying this, I hear this constantly from players, coaches and even staff from other courses who come and play. Our greens run true and fast, our fairways are trim and playable, our rough is thick and punishing! All these things show what a great course we have to play here in Menomonie!
Written By: Jeromy Prosser
Email: Jeromy@Prossergolf.com
Website: www.Prossergolf.com
