Getting To Know: Tomahawk Lake Country Club By Brian Weis

Getting To Know: Tomahawk Lake Country Club

An Insightful Interview With Mark Speirs

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with mark speirs who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property Tomahawk was built between the years 1934 and 1936. This is our 80th year in existence. So we are celebrating our 80th anniversary. We are the only golf course in SD that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This is a beautiful course with a magnificent routing. Truly Tomahawk is a mountain course. There are two par threes, two par fives and five par fours with a great driving range that allows you to hit your driver. Don't forget to bring your camera just in case you see and elk, deer, eagle or maybe even a mountain lion.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course? You should come and play Tomahawk to experience the Black Hills and the beauty of a fabulous golf course. This course was recognized early in its existence for excellence by hosting many state championships. It is a well kept gem that you will want to come and play over and over again.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
The best advise to give a newcomer to Tomahawk is to not be above the cup. And the second best tip is to not forget the first one.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
Obviously, we are most proud of our acceptance on the National Register. But our pride comes from those who visit us time and time again. Our history here in Deadwood carries on to our golf course. Come to Deadwood to see a truly infamous old west town but don't forget to bring your golf clubs. The fall season is the greatest time to save and play.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
All the hole here at Tomahawk should receive high praise and photographed with your phone or camera. the most talked about hole would be number 7, Calamity Jan. this is a long par five with a meandering creek (dated at 50 million years) running right down the middle of the fairway. You had better be able to think and place your shots on this most challenging of holes.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
My most favorite hole is the par three number 3, Poker Alice. What a beautiful this is any time of the day. My most favorite time is in the evening when the sun is at your back. To play the hole well you had better put it on the green or you will be looking at bogey if not more. Good luck to you all because this hole will also take your breath away and your mind off your game. Enjoy!

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
The only drink for me is a Windsor/Coke. Nothing else and no diet coke, either.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
I cannot recall who owns the course record but I believe it is 29.

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 3400
Slope: 119
Rating: 71

More Information
Tomahawk Lake Country Club
11 miles S on HWY 385
Deadwood, SD 57732
605-578-2080
www.golftomahawk.com

Revised: 09/10/2014 - Article Viewed 35,212 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.