Golf Canada member club purchased by group of long-time pals
Tangle Creek Golf Club is changing hands and its name. A group of long-time friends including veteran Canadian PGA member, Rob Mininni; Richard Edmonds and Andrew North have purchased the 18-hole championship layout.
“We have been talking about owning a golf course together since high school,” says Mininni, who spent 11 years, the last six as Head Professional, at the family run Westview Golf Club in Aurora, Ont. Mininni, 33, will take on the role of Director of Golf at Tangle Creek. He graduated from the Humber College Professional Golf Management Program in 2006.
“It really is a lifetime dream of ours, something that we have talked about over the last 15 years and now we’re ready for the challenge,” Edmonds says, noting the two were best men at each other’s weddings. He spent the last six years at Westview Golf Club as Tournament Coordinator and will be the Director of Sales and Marketing for Tangle Creek. Previous to that Edmonds, 33, worked at Kleinburg Golf and Country Club.
“Together we have 40-plus years experience in the golf and food and beverage industry. We just decided the time was right to go into business for ourselves. Tangle Creek has everything we were looking for,” says Andrew North, who is the brother-in-law to Edmonds. North, 35, worked at Kleinburg G&CC and Glen Eagle Golf Club, prior to becoming Tangle Creek’s new Food and Beverage Manager.
The trio started to look for a golf club to purchase last summer and entered into initial discussions with Tangle Creek’s owners in August. In a tragic turn of events, Tangle Creek General Manager and co-owner Mark Elliott, 39, passed away unexpectedly as a result of complications from diabetes last October. “We never wanted to sell the golf course, but this is the best news for the legacy and Mark’s vision for Tangle Creek,” says co-founder Tom Fischer, who will stay on at the club as a consultant for 2011.
Howie Campbell, a local businessman and owner of the Barrie Colts, has also sold his stake in the club. “Tangle Creek is a great golf course and we’re looking forward to watching these guys build upon its strong foundation to take the club to the next level,” Campbell says.
Tangle Creek was built on what was Elliott’s parents’ 200-acre beef farm. “I have always envisioned rolling fairways and golf holes on this property, but to see them come to life . . . has been an incredible experience,” Elliott said on opening day in 2002. “I couldn’t have imagined anything more spectacular then what we have today. It really is a dream come true.”
The impressive 18-hole layout designed by noted Ontario architect Rene Muylaert has matured nicely. Tangle Creek has positioned itself in Barrie, Ont. as a family-run business with strong ties to the community. Since the opening of the spectacular clubhouse in 2006, Tangle Creek has evolved into one of the area’s premier banquet and wedding facilities and the new owners are looking to take the dining experience to a new level.
“We are going to keep Mark’s dream alive. The Barrie community has supported Tangle Creek in the past and we are going to deliver a first-class facility with a focus on customer service, atmosphere and building strong relationships,” says Mininni, who has a young family along with Edmonds. They have plans to host a memorial tournament for Elliott’s family.
The club’s name is being changed to Tangle Creek Golf and Country Club. Mininni says they changed the name to better reflect their vision for creating a year-round destination for golf, banquets and other amenities. Mininni adds that service will exceed expectations at every turn.
Since opening in 2002, Tangle Creek had gained recognition as Barrie’s No. 1 public golf facility and one of the premier golf courses in the Greater Toronto Area. The all bent grass layout features four sets of tees measuring from 5,500 yards for beginners to 7,200 yards for the more serious player. Tangle Creek combines the best characteristics of classic and links style courses. The course features windswept fairways defined by strategic bunkering, mounding, grassy hollows and fescue. The course then transitions into a more traditional North American style with heavily forested holes, ponds, environmentally protected areas with immaculate course conditions. The Tangle Creek Golf Academy is a great place to learn and improve upon your game, while the clubhouse that opened in 2006 is ideal for banquets and weddings.
A Bolton connection to a golf oasis south of Barrie
Tangle Creek Golf and Country Club
Bolton friends take on Tangle Creek
Most people dream of retiring by 50. Well, Rob Mininni, Richard Edmonds and Andrew North certainly aren’t retired, but they took a chance and are living the dream of most retired folk just south of Barrie. The threesome has taken ownership of Tangle Creek Golf and Country Club. And they’re collective age, 101, would make a pretty respectable score. But how, in their early 30’s, and in the midst of a recession, did the two Bolton men, and their Kleinburg friend decide to leave their careers and invest in a golf course, a notoriously difficult business to run?
“For the three of us, well, we’ve all been in the business since we were teenagers,” Edmonds explained. He and Minnini met while going to school at Humberview High School in Bolton, and North they met when Edmonds worked in Kleinburg. Now, the three friends – North and Edmonds are even now brothers in law – are in it up to, well, a high cut of rough.
“Rob and I had spoken for years about saving some cash and potentially investing in a course,” said Edmonds. “You have to have a passion, that’s for sure. This isn’t a business you’re going to make a million at. It’s a lifestyle that you have to take on.”
But a unique combination of skills between the three friends may give them an, advantage?, when it comes to taking Tangle Creek over the top.
Building began in 1999, and the course was opened in 2002. The three friends took it over this past year, and are counting on their talents and youth to give them a productive approach to course operation. Edmonds is the Director of Operations. He is counting on the skills he has gained through his business background as he becomes the face of Tangle Creek within the community.
Families and youth important at Tangle Creek
“I’ve reached out to community organizations, joined the Rotary and other business groups,” he said. “Being a responsible business owner means becoming a productive part of your community as well. It’s about relationship building and making sure people know the people behind the business as well. We’re dedicated to doing that.” Mininni is the Director of Golf. His background and experience in the sport, combined with the enthusiasm and passion necessary to operate a course is lending new ideas for programming and theme nights that are outside of the box of what the normal course operator would be, Edmonds said. And North is the food and beverage guy.
The threesome plans on taking the banquet facilities at Tangle Creek, approximately 20,000 square feet of banquet space, to the top of the heap for the area. “The facility itself and the property are so attractive,” said Edmonds. “It’s got a 22,000 square foot banquet hall where we can offer weddings, golf tournaments, banquets any kind of function. In Barrie, there is competition, but our banquet hall can hold 300 people, and in Barrie, there isn’t the selection of facilities compared to a place like Vaughan. For us, half of our revenues are derived from the banquet portion of the facility. “We see it as two businesses in one and are looking forward to growing both.”
The men have plans to expand the dining facilities to include a fine dining restaurant and have recently hired an executive chef. They’re thinking about a fifth set of tees to compliment a course that is rated 14th in Canada in slope rating, and seventh in Canada in course rating. They’re constantly discussing ideas for theme nights, an addition of a ladies night, and ways to make the course more accessible to families and youth.
“We’re affordable, and we’re proud of that,” said Edmonds, acknowledging that golf is an expensive hobby. “We want to get families involved in the game. We want to build that younger clientele. We offer kids play free after five o’clock. We want to run a family golf month in August. And we have a price scale where you can play for as low as $25. Our price structure here hits every market.” As Edmonds said, it’s a classic game, with a history based on a classic way of running things.
As golf enrollment is dipping, these young entrepreneurs believe youth, and new ideas are what will carry them. They’re creating unique tournaments, including one that will happen on August 14.(Check their website for details, and bring your mouth guard).
“We’re going to focus on our customers,” Edmonds said. “We want to be the golf course where we know your name, and always thank the player for playing our facility. We’re going to strive to become exactly what our customers want out of their golf experience.” Doesn’t hurt they have a heck of a course to offer too.
http://tanglecreek.totalegolf.com/Home.aspx
THE COURSE REVIEW:
For me it was golf at its best. I’m six seasons in, so some days I feel like a pro, and on others, I’m reminded how bad I am. For a course that is rated as being difficult, Tangle Creek offered a nice combination of both strategic golf, and fun for the hacker. It’s what I like to refer to as target golf. Sure, hole one and hole two let you grip and rip. They’re generally downhill, and pretty open. It’s not punishment when you miss and recovery is possible, so the amateur in you gets a boost. But when Tangle Creek puts on its serious face its time to focus on club selection, conditions, and execution.
It’s time to play target golf. Perhaps the most noticeable thing for me was that this is not a course that has manipulated the land it is on for its layout. Designer, Rene Muylaert appears to have used the natural movement of the land to create a unique experience at each hole. All the holes are viewable in their tee box, you rarely struggle to see where you should shoot, whether you can pull it off is up to you.
The range of tees also provides an opportunity to play two different courses. For the beginner, approximately 5,500 yards, but choose to challenge the platinum tees and you’re looking at 7,200+ and some of the more imaginative drives this golfer has seen in the GTA.
The website says that the staff and chef are going to work to exceed your expectations. For a public course, so to will these 18 holes.
FROM MY PLAYING PARTNER, BRENT HALLS:
BM: General Impressions?
BH: Great course, but I have to say I was really struck by the classy clubhouse, the friendly staff and the overall look while readying yourself to play. The views were great and, the impatient golfer in me loved the setup of carts. I like getting to my destination and getting on the course, and the carts, first hole, everything was easily accessible, ready and clean. I hate when you have to wait, or travel a kilometre to the first hole. I also enjoyed the beginning. The first hole was long and downhill, and eases you into your game. It made me feel really good about my swing.
Then hole three arrived, and well, the golf gods begin slapping you in the face.
BM: Conditions?
BH: The conditions were incredible considering the lack of rain we’ve had this year. It featured really playable fairways, and nice greens. The fairways weren’t too hard for how dry everything has been lately. And as far as the layout, everything was nice to look at no matter where you turn. There were so many hills and trees.
BM: Favourtie Hole?
BH: 15, I think? I liked the elevated tee box, and the movement in the fairway. A great hole, and a great lead in to the signature 16.