Bringing Tanglewood Greens back to its former glory

Heather Graves

Staff

September 16, 2024

MENOMONIE – Fate; right time, right place; meant to be; written in the stars; destined – each of these phrases, Mark Wallskog, owner of Tanglewood Greens (2200 Crestwood Drive) in Menomonie, said are perfect descriptions of how he became a golf course owner.

“I found out about Tanglewood during a foosball game with the mayor of Menomonie, Randy Knaack,” he said.

Wallskog said as it’s often said, “the rest was history.”

“After more than a year of work, the golf course reopened in mid-July – we hit our opening target date,” he said. “I am proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish so far.”

Knaack said he just so happened to be in the right place at the right time.

“I got a chance to tell Wallskog about Tanglewood being shut down and what a diamond in the rough it was and the huge possibilities that the course possessed,” he said.

How it started

Though Wallskog said he’d describe himself as a casual golfer, he had no experience in owning or operating a golf course when he purchased Tanglewood Greens.

However, he said he isn’t a stranger to entrepreneurship – particularly in the hospitality industry.

Wallskog – who has dual occupancy, with residences in Menomonie and his native state of Minnesota – previously owned Heartwood Resort & Conference Center in nearby Washburn County.

“I’ve been making Wisconsin investments,” he said. “However, my main business is Safe Step – (a bath refinishing company).”

Wallskog said he first met Knaack during an economic development conference held at the Heartwood Resort in 2022.

“The keynote speaker was talking about small towns and how they can be impactful in the world,” he said.

As the speaker started – intrigued by the topic – Wallskog said he sat down at a table that had an empty chair.

That chair, he said, happened to be located right next to Knaack.

“He asked me who I was, and I said, ‘I’m Mark, I own Heartwood,’” he said. “After the speaker was finished, we actually played a game of foosball. He told me he could help me promote Heartwood in Menomonie – (which are about 100 miles apart).”

Wallskog said Knaack encouraged him to reach out to the several industrial businesses that call Menomonie – a city of nearly 17,000 – home, such as 3M, Cardinal FG Company, Anderson Corporation and the Wal-Mart Distribution Center.

“He said, ‘I’ll introduce you to these businesses and you can pitch Heartwood as a one- or two-night stay for them to have a business conference away from town,’” he said. “So, I was doing all of that, and I joined the chamber.”

During one of his trips to Menomonie, Wallskog said Knaack asked him if he ever thought about owning a golf course – more specifically Tanglewood Greens, a course that, at the time, had been closed for three years.

Wallskog said his unsure-at-that-time “maybe” reply, prompted Knaack to bring him to the property to check it out.

“He took me to the outskirts of the property, and before I knew it, I was learning who the broker was,” he said. “At the time, the property wasn’t on the market. I called that broker, told him who I was and asked if they would be interested in selling the property. Ultimately, there was (interest), and in about six months, I was the new owner of Tanglewood Greens.”

Restoring a community asset

Wallskog said Tanglewood Greens has had multiple owners and names (Spring Valley Greens, Rainbow Ridge and Chippewa Valley Golf Course) since opening in 1976.

The 18-hole course, he said, closed permanently in 2020.

“The golf course closed in 2019 at the end of the season, and after the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the owners decided not to reopen,” he said. “The course was then closed for four-and-a-half years before we reopened in July.”

Due to the lack of maintenance during that time, Wallskog said “it took a full year and a quarter to get the greens and property restored.”

“The property had been abandoned, and every piece of equipment was either removed or sold at auction,” he said.

When asked what inspired him to purchase the property – especially with no immediate experience owning and operating a golf course – Wallskog said “the reaction from those who grew up and played golf at the course” about the possibility of its reopening.

“Many people thanked me for restoring the course,” he said. “They said they were worried it would never be restored and would be converted into a housing development.”

Though a part-time transplant himself, Wallskog said the pride of the people who call the City of Menomonie and surrounding areas home “is unmatched.”

“The community pride in the quality of life in Menomonie, the school district, the relationship with the University of Wisconsin-Stout – so to have the Tanglewood Greens golf course reopen contributes to that community pride,” he said.

Though not a long-standing member of the community himself – “I’ve been here full-time now for more than a year and a quarter” – Wallskog said he’s become equally passionate about that community pride.

“I purchased the course with that intent,” he said. “Sure, it’s an investment, but it is also a community asset.”

The friendships and connections he has made in the Menomonie community, Wallskog said, have been life-changing – “I really mean that.”

The restoration

Projects at the course to get things ready for golfers, Wallskog said, were plentiful – everything from new irrigation systems to updated golf cart paths.

One of the biggest projects, he said, was the installation of a brand-new irrigation system on the entire golf course.

The reshaping and grading of all 19 greens – 18-holes and practice green – Wallskog said was another big undertaking.

“My superintendent said, ‘this is the worst we will ever look,’” he said. “What he is saying is, it’s very playable, it’s beautiful and people are really excited about it, but the greens will continue to get stronger over the years (with consistent maintenance).”

Other improvements and updates, Wallskog said, included the reseeding of the course’s tee boxes, the removal and/or trimming of several trees, the installation of golf cart paths – a combination of gravel and asphalt – and the purchase of 60 new golf carts.

Wallskog said for him, the hardest part of the whole process was the patience it required.

“I dive right in into anything that I do, but with the golf course, it took the full year and a quarter to reestablish the greens,” he said. “A lot of work went into upgrading every aspect of the golf course to reopen it and have it be able to handle approximately 200 golfers a day.”

Part of being able to accomplish that, Wallskog said, was bringing on the right personnel – which included a partnership with Lake Wissota Golf in Chippewa Falls.

“In February, I received a call from the owner of the Lake Wissota Golf,” he said. “Brian (Seubert) said to me, ‘I heard you purchased the golf course (in Menomonie) – I did the same thing six years ago. I’d like to meet with you and talk about collaboration.’”

Wallskog said that collaboration included the sharing of Lake Wissota Golf’s superintendent.

“He said, ‘why don’t we share my lead operations person?’” he said. “Brian said ‘he’s (done an excellent job at Lake Wissota), and he’s up for a new challenge.’ We agreed that between the two of us, we could keep him consistently busy year-round. It was a win-win.”

Wallskog said partnering with someone successful in the industry and someone who had experience revamping golf courses comforted him.

“I personally didn’t have any golf course knowledge or expertise regarding what it took to attract the right people for the grounds and the equipment – so it was very helpful having that partnership in place,” he said.

Knaack said Tanglewood is in a phase of new beginnings.

“It will once again be one of the premier courses in Wisconsin,” he said. “Tanglewood is definitely the place to go for not only golf but also food, drinks, weddings, music and a whole variety of fun, including the only elevated full-size driving range in the area.”

It’s personal for Knaack

Though the revitalization and reopening of the golf course is great for the economic vitality of Menomonie, for Knaack, the victory is personal.

“Back in 1970, my father Herbert Knaack bought two farms and put them together to create Tanglewood Greens,” he said. “I was sitting at the kitchen table when my mother Geraldine took possession of naming the course, and when she said to call it Tanglewood, I said ‘oh, I like that name,’ and Tanglewood was born. I was 10 at the time.”

Knaack said his father partnered with a couple of investors to help cover the cost of the irrigation system and the expense of building a clubhouse.

“It was a family affair converting two farms into a nine-hole golf course (which is what it started out as),” she said. “Ripping out barbed wire fences, tearing down old buildings, clearing trees, building greens and tee boxes and plowing up the fairways. My brother, Don, was the first one to tip over the corn fields with a three-bottom plow and an old International M tractor to create the fairways.”

Knaack said he was in charge of the driving range and collecting the balls – “that seemed to be a good summer job.”

“Better than haying on the farm, or milking cows – plus I could hit golf balls every day seven days a week,” he said.

When his father passed away in 1980, Knaack said with a farm, a business and golf course, his mother decided to sell Tanglewood.

“Tanglewood then became Rainbow Ridge and a second nine holes were added,” he said. (A handful of years later, the course was sold again and became Chippewa Valley Golf Course. After a few years, the owners decided to retire and the course was sold again and the name was changed back to Tanglewood Greens. 

However, as mentioned previously, when the pandemic was in full swing, the owners decided not to reopen the course and it shut down permanently.

“It sat idle for years and was going back to nature,” he said.

Extras

In addition to the 18-hole golf course, Tanglewood Greens, Wallskog said, has a restaurant and bar, as well as wedding and special events spaces.

The restaurant, he said, opens at 11 a.m. daily and closes at 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. depending on the day and has a lunch, dinner and Friday fish fry menu.

The bar, Wallskog said, is open until 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

“The events center can hold up to 300 people,” he said. “We have multiple weddings booked in September.”

Wallskog said Tanglewood’s three-season event center – which is open from May to October – overlooks the range and is located near the property’s outdoor wedding space.

Tanglewood, he said, also hosts golf events on the property, including the upcoming Oktoberfest Tournament (Sept. 28), Glowball Tournament (Oct. 17) and the Halloween Golf Tournament (Oct. 20).

For more event details and additional information on Tanglewood Greens, visit tanglewoodgreens.com.