The first thing is that I have filed a video story on MiPrepZone. Due to a server error, you will have to look there.
First, Doc Johnson has plenty of great things happening for his Oakland Christian prep golf team. He had five golfers shoot around par at Bald Mountain the other day in their victory over Plymouth Christian and Royal Oak Shrine. Doc Johnson has high hopes for his prep team and feature stories on Division 4 Champion Zack Preuss and the rest of his team will appear online and in this blog.
Here are the scores.
Oakland Christian- 148
Nick Vanbiesbrouck- 37
Zachary Preuss-36
Tyler Coyne- 37
Jon VanNoord- 38
Plymouth Christian- 165
Luke Holmes - 37
Adam Poulus - 41
Alex Huber - 40
David Bixler - 47
Royal Oak Shrine- 181
Evan Yee- 43
Spencer Ray - 44
Jake Luddy - 44
Conner Ciarlone - 50
Paula Creamer appeared at Carl's Golfland on Monday and charmed the crowd with her affable personality.
I took video of much of her one hour clinic and will post snippets in the next several postings. She is the defending Champion of the 2010 US Open and her positive outlook on golf is refreshing and the 'Pink Panther' hope to prowl with more victories including majors in 2011. Paula Pasche filed a story and it appears in the May 10th edition of the Oakland Press.
Here is a map to the course.
I started out golfing the West course. (3487 yards from the tips). I had time to chip and putt before the round but not enough time to hit driver. The first hole on the west course is long (558 yards) and you will need the biggest clubs in you bag. It is also the number 1 handicap hole on this nine. This hole is a great turn hole if you play the South or North courses before this one. If the first hole you play after you get out of your car is this one, you better bomb your ball and drive it right side. Two bunkers guard the left in the landing areas of a well hit drive and out of bounds stakes line the left side as an errant drive will make you friendly with the neighbors. The green is pretty straight forward as it plays slow and true. (Most of the greens) are fairly easy to read as compared to other courses.
Number two is a 201 yard par three with trouble everywhere. Hit it left and you will be in a picturesque marsh and hit it right and you will be in a sizable pond. Oh yeah, do not go over the green as sand awaits you. I like the hole but take a hybrid or long iron here. Shorter hitters might need a five wood as it depends on how you hit your clubs.
The third hole is my favorite so far. It is only 358 yards and there is trouble for an errant drive. The left side features a sizable bunker and along the right side is a marshy type area. The green is large so you have a good opportunity for birdie or par if you stay out of the trouble I just described.
The fourth hole ranges from 325 yards from the silver tees to 449 from the gold tees and it plays much different depending on which tees you decide to play on this par four. A drive from the gold will still give you a look at the pin but a shank will possibly make you unable to see the green and you may get on in three. Trees guard the left side and I hit it there. I could not find my golf ball and this leads to a suggestion. I saw my ball come down from the tree in the rough. I never saw it again. and this happened 3-4 times during the round. I suggest taking the cut in the fairway down a notch as I either just missed the fairway or hit it in the fairway and the slope took me just off and I had to go back and forth in my cart to find the ball. Add the morning glare and I spent 20 minutes on this hole when it should have taken 10. Just a suggestion on an otherwise splendid course.
Number five is a dandy! This 189 yard par three has bunkers guarding it left right and center. The unusual sand trap in front made me get my camera and I enjoyed this hole tremendously. I did hit it in the rough right side and missed my chip and achieved a four here. Hit the green and with these true rolling greens, a birdie or par awaits you.
Brad Stedry of Tanglewood said this about the 6th hole pictured above. "Ours signature hole is West 6 which has the green in the shape of the lower peninsula and a replica of the mackinac bridge connects to the next tee which is in the shape of the upper peninsula."
Number seven on the West side is a 434 yard par four from the gold and 345 for the ladies. You can really bomb the ball here. There is plenty of sand on the left side in the landing area of your drives. So what do you do? Go left side. There is not much there and you can see the green and can shape your shot.
Number eight is a 548 yard par five and can you say man up? This hole is really something. A pond guards this hole all the way down the right side from your landing area of your driver to the front side of the green. Big hitters will go for it but the smart play is to lay up. There are two bunkers right side and the pond. A short chip of 50-70 yards (take the pond out of play) and you will see the green as the pond is on the down side of a sloping hill. "The toughest par 5 is West 8. OB down the entire left hand side and water all the way down the right as well as a creek in front of the green. Very difficult to get home in 2 for most players," said Stedry.
I played the North course next.
Tanglewood is a heavily played course and Mother's Day is no exception. Plenty of families play outings on this day. As it is Mother's Day I am not sure if this was a special occasion but play is very slow and I jumped around to get this round in.
Number two on the North course is a really fun par 4. The tees range from 429 to 350 and to get your money's worth, play the gold. A well-hit driver (Yes, I did that) gives you a good look at the green. Do not hit it short though. It is well-guarded green and anything short and left will leave you in the beach. The green rolls true so once you are on the green, do not be afraid to hit the ball.
Chipping before No. 1 West
No. 6 Green. Taken by Isabella
A really fun hole is the 192 yard par 3 sixth. This hole has water down the left side, in front of the tee boxes with sand to the left. Their is heather to the right of the hole and I hit it there. It is a tough up and down and I spent some time looking for my ball. I did find it. When you hit it here, it is on you. The first cut of rough just outside of the fairway is another matter. I hit a good chip but 25 feet from the pin and two-putted from there. The pond is awesome and bring you golf ball retriever because missed shots will more than likely end up there.
Brad Stedry had this to say about Tanglewood. "The toughest par 3 is probably North 6. It is a hole that you must carry the ball all the way to the hole and the green is probably one of the toughest on the course. You mus be below the hole."
The par five 9th is a 532 yard hole that slopes downhill. I hit less than my best drive and it went left side hitting the fairway and rolled off. I never saw my ball after that even though the ball was not hit hot and there was plenty of room to look for a ball. I took a drop in the rough and got caught up in some trees and chipped on the green. I had an eight on the hole including the lost ball. This hole is a good finishing hole. Sand guards the landing areas left and a pond does the same on the right. A series of sand traps awaits those going for the green in two. Can you imagine finishing on this hole and then going to hole one on the West course? That is two back to back tests of golf.
Tanglewood is really a treat to play. The staff is professional and friendly and they have an outside gazebo for those looking to have a wedding or an elegant party. The greens largely roll true and this course makes you think as many of the obstacles are left and right of the fairway in the landing areas. Average players will not have to think of them as much unless you dub your second shots into them.
Stedry also wanted you to know this about Tanglewood.
-We do have a Junior Program and we also host Northville V & JV as well as CC JV.
-The toughest par 4 is probably South 1. A very tough long starting hole with a fairway bunker that is in play and a green that is pretty narrow so if you miss right you have no real chance to get up and down. We are different because we have 27 quality well manicured holes with 5 sets of tees that can give a golfer all the challenge that they can handle.
Call ahead to book a tee time at 248-486-3355
http://www.twoodonline.com/
Map
http://www.twoodonline.com/map
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