For Immediate Release
Contact: Daniel Wackershauser, Marketing and PR Specialist
Phone: 608.822.2303
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: October 28, 2024
Ranguette turns golf passion into dynamic business (with video)
Fennimore -Ryan Ranguette used his Southwest Wisconsin Technical College education to help launch a golf entertainment franchise headed for expansion. Ranguette, a Waunakee, Wisconsin native is a PGA professional and managing partner of Pinseekers. The golf entertainment facility offers 63 all-weather luxury golf suites, 36 holes of mini-golf, Duckpin bowling, multi-sport simulators, a rooftop lounge, and more. Locations include DeForest, Wisconsin, and Tiffin, Iowa, with a third location planned for the Q Casino in Dubuque, Iowa. “Pinseekers, as a brand, is growing fast,” he said. “We want it to be a Midwest golf entertainment brand.”
Ranguette graduated from high school in 2002. After a couple years of playing mini-PGA tour events in Florida, he realized he wanted to be more of an ambassador for the game. He enrolled in Southwest Tech’s Golf Course Management program and took those skills with him into the industry. “I thought it was a unique program,” he said. “I really enjoyed my experience there. I had a really good understanding of golf operations, but I was more interested in the outside ground crew aspect. I got a wide variety of knowledge of irrigation, types of soils, types of seeds, and got to build a green. I got a really good concept of what the golf industry entailed.”
Ranguette describes himself as more of a visual learner, and the program at Southwest Tech fit his style perfectly. “The instructor, Scott (Kennedy) was a visionary at the time, understanding where golf was going,” he said. “It’s much more fast-paced now than it was 20-30 years ago. Him keeping up with those times was important to me.”
Following his experience at Southwest Tech, Ranguette worked at a variety of courses in Wisconsin, including Brown Deer and University Ridge. He also started and ran Northern Bay Resort, where he was the director of golf.
In 2008, Ranguette left the golf industry. He got married and his wife told him that because he had such a passion for golf, he should get back into it. Ranguette decided to complete his PGA certification and become a professional. He worked for his mentor and the family business, Vitense Golfland in Madison, learning the operation. “My goal was to create my own entertainment facility,” he said.
The timing of starting a Pinseekers lined up and he brought a partner on board, who was doing the same concept in Tiffin. Both locations have been opened for a little more than a year. The Dubuque location is expected to open in spring 2026. “We are super excited to continue that (Dubuque) project,” said Ranguette, noting they are still in need of a couple approvals, but the project is moving along.
www.swtc.edu/golfcoursemanagement
| Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, is one of 16 institutions that comprise the Wisconsin Technical College System. The college was recently named a top 10 finalist for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. Southwest Tech offers more than 60 programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Courses are offered on campus, online, HyFlex and in a blended format. The college provides apprenticeship, certificate, technical diploma, and associate degree programs that respond to district workforce needs and prepare student for family-sustaining jobs and career advancement. |