CANADIAN LAKES – Doug Mohler, the golf course superintendent at Tullymore Golf Resort, said he is comfortable in promising a great golf course in every way for the third Tullymore Classic featuring the standout players of the LPGA’s Epson Tour on Fourth of July Weekend.
“I think it’s a great tournament course because of its design, and we will get the condition right where the Epson Tour wants it because it’s very close to what we maintain all through the season for our golfers,” he said.
Colorado-based James Engh designed the award-winning Tullymore course, which debuted in 2002 to rave reviews and awards, including being named the Best New Public Upscale Course that year by Golfweek.
For the third consecutive year the 144 touring players on the “Road to the LPGA” will compete over 54 holes for a $100,000 purse. Tournament week is June 28 through July 2 with the Canadian Lakes Property Owners Corporation and SpartanNash, on behalf of its Our Family® and Spartan® exclusive private brands, teaming up with Tullymore Golf Resort to present two Tullymore Classic Pro-Ams on Wednesday, June 28, and Thursday, June 29, before the tour players take over for three days.
The tour players have given the tournament and the course Engh designed rave reviews the last two years as well.
“This is a great golf course, as nice or better than most we play on tour,” Laura Kueny of Whitehall, a regular on the Epson Tour said after last year’s tournament. “The players like it here, especially the course, the resort and all the people who come out.”
Mohler, 54, a Michigan native and working on a golf course somewhere since age 15, was the superintendent once before in 2014 at Tullymore. He returned this year from a superintendent’s job in North Carolina, and said he was back where his heart belongs.
“I love my job, love being here,” the father of two said while standing in a fairway. “This is my office. People ask why I came back. I grew up in Michigan. This area is beautiful, enjoyable to me and the golf course is great. I think it’s one of the best golf courses, the top one or two, that I’ve ever worked on and I’ve been doing this for 39 years all over the country, including golf course construction. I was a construction superintendent for several years living all over the country. This is a great place.”
Mohler feels Engh showed genius in designing the Tullymore course.
“Setting up the course you have so many options with tees alone, and then your green settings are phenomenal and on most holes there are a ton of choices for hole positions,” he said. “Engh really is a master at designing a course that is great for play and great for maintenance, and that allows you to really control the condition, too.
“This place can be really hard to play, but you can set it up for birdies. I can change it probably six to 10 shots different from day to day with tees and hole positions. For the tournament it is set up hard to the average golfer, but perfect for the pros. They can make some birdies, but there are still challenges. It keeps them happy and the folks who pay for tickets to come watch.”
Mohler said his favorite thing about the course is the natural look Engh maintained in his design.
“The rare thing you see in golf design is a course where not a lot of dirt was moved,” he said. “This one did not have a lot of dirt moved. Engh didn’t have to. As you can tell everything is tied into the nature scape next to it. He made his golf course, cut it in, but let everything else really make the picture. It’s a true Michigan course, but an Engh course, too.”
When the Epson Tour first came to Tullymore Engh said he designed the course so that a comfort zone could be found for all golfers regardless of ability.
“There are a lot of interesting features on the course and I hope these girls go out and appreciate the quality and the value of the setting and the uniqueness of the holes,” he said. “Tullymore can be made difficult without having to trick it up. You just adjust the tees and pins and change the angles.”
Mohler said the Epson Tour staff makes the call on most things, and he will give them what they want.
“They are great to work with, and they give you a lot of ideas you can use going forward,” he said. “Those people have seen the best golf courses in the world.”
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