The following is a list of my top 20 golf courses in the fair state of MN. Courses are selected on three criteria (beauty, difficulty, and tradition):
1. Interlachen (No Brainer)
2. Hazeltine (No Brainer)
3. Minneapolis (No Nonsense, has it all...except a Driving Range)
4. Spring Hill (Has everything except Tradition...Bobby Jones never played there)
5. White Bear Yacht (Nothing missing except I hate side hill lies)
6. Northland (Can you tell I like Donald Ross?)
7. Minikahda (Home Course bias...would rank higher if not for the recent remodel)
8. Wilderness (Never played it, a very good source ranks it #1 overall)
9. Woodhill (steeped in tradition and beauty, played there several times, never get over how cool this place is)
10. The Classic (#11 is the hardest green in the state to hit)
11. Windsong Farm (everything but tradition, very fair, very cool)
12. Deacon's Lodge (bulldoze #10 and this thing moves into the top 10)
13. Somerby (Never played it, a good source says top 10)
14. Somerset (Has all 3, lacks difficulty)
15. Rochester CC (Can you say hallways?)
16. Dacotah Ridge (Never played it, good source says top 20)
17. Olympic Hills (top 3 difficulty, only 3 vacation holes)
18. The Legends (Beautiful, tough, great golf experience)
19. Oak Ridge (Its been a long time...I'd run through hell in a gasoline jacket to play there...that's a Pete Rose line)
20. Wayzata (#9 and #18 are the two toughest finishing holes I've ever seen)
Others receiving votes:
TPC, Edinborough USA, Willingers, Golden Valley, & Giant's Ridge
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A collection of opinions on sports topics that I may have (pro, college, kids, coaching..all items involving competition). This is a blog, there may be opinions involved that you may disagree with, there may even be a fact or two not verified...the beauty of a blog.
12 comments:
Nice choices...would rank Olympic Hills higher (very hard golf course)
Great list. The Wilderness is worth taking the trip. You forgot to include The Wilds.
Pretty decent list, Tony. When did you become a member at Minikahda? What happened to The Valley?
I have some thoughts that I will share a bit later.
Valentine, I am sure The Wilds was left off for a reason - merit. Nice housing development...
Looking forward to future posts regarding "real sports"
Please qualify your 'BLOG' with the fact that you have never seen the black, blue or even the white tees on any of these courses. You can't go out from 5400 yards and start ranking the top links in the state. And how about including some public tracks into your rankings - you give major love to 15 hoyty-toyties, but only include a handful of the playable ones (and you haven't even seen two of the ones you listed).
Therefore I will add the 'REAL RANKINGS' of the golf courses in our state/region. And yes they are all PUBLIC....
(1) Troy Burne. Would be higher, except you stop twice for gas on the way over there. And the Panini 'sandwich' in the shop, Muey Bueno...
(2) The Wilderness at Fortune Bay. I played it, all 664 yards of the 1st hole.
(3) Dacotah Ridge. Has River-Bluff type feel, you can see every hole from the clubhouse. Unless you have 9 Absolut-Tonics.
(4) The Preserve. Best greens in Brainerd for the past 2 years.
(5) Dutch Course at The Legacy. Except for 114 Clams to get in, and the 3 sleeves you WILL deposit during the day - it is Great.
(6) The Quarry. Much Better than Giant's Ridge, and you only need 1 Costco size bottle of bug-spray if playing after noon.
(7) Deacon's Lodge. #10 is one of the best PAR-4s in the state when you tee it up from the 'Man-Blocks'
(8) Keller. Tradition (2 PGA championships, many PGA and LPGA events). Difficulty (Pick the right weapon on #4 or meet the Swamp-Thing). Beauty (cart-girls).
(9) The Legends. Great day on the course as long as you don't let the 7000 sf homes remind you of how crappy 'your' life is.
(10) Manitou Ridge. Any couse that stays open for 10 months in this state deserves a little pub.
-All playable, and you don't need to be related to Thurston Howell the Third to get past the starter...
Happy Golfing
patO
Nice Post PatO.
My stomach still hurts from laughing.
Coming from the only guy who's got an open tee time at every Private Course in the "region", I'm surprised that you've actually played public golf. Glad to know you're still slumming..a little.
I hemmed and hawed on Keller (based on my Criteria and the fact that I gave so little love to the East side of town)...the tree in front of the green on that par three bumped it off the list.
Thumbs down to both Biwabik courses (I'd run out of storage space trying to justify that one).
4 of your 10 make my 20.
Until next time.
A hard working business owner with 3 kids shouldn't have time to play this much golf.
You missed Stoneridge.
Here is my list, I avoided ranking the courses I have not yet played.
1. (2) Hazeltine - "Big H" is the toughest test in the Land of Lakes - obviously. Are "toughest" and "best" synonymous?
2. (11) Windsong Farm - Disclaimer: Home course bias in effect. Personal affinity for prairie grass and tightly mown runoff areas. Could stand to tighten driving areas.
3. (7) Minikahda - Love the redo and the shaggy bunkers. Although the holes are good, I dislike crossing over road. Weak finish.
4. (1) Interlachen - The history and ambiance make up a disproportionate share of the experience. Looking forward to seeing the new bunkers. Let's speed the greens up.
5. (10) The Classic - The premier Lakes area set-up and true test. #2 and #15 are a little vanilla. I love #4, #9 and #18.
6. (12) Deacon's Lodge - I think #10 is "iffy" as well. Entire course needs to play firmer. I love the Par 4's on the Back 9.
7. (4) Spring Hill - Great ambiance and conditioning. I don't hit it far enough to not hit driver more. Could have done more with that property.
8. (5) White Bear Yacht - Classic. Love the rustic feel. The side hill lies are its biggest defense. Slightly crazy greens probably keep them from playing it firmer.
9. (19) Oak Ridge - Underrated by most. Great greens. Not terribly memorable. Need to play it a couple more times to be more specific.
10. (NR) The Quarry at Giant's Ridge - Pretty cool. Missing some ambiance. Questionable hole locations. Less than marginal service. With the hype, I expected more.
11. (NR) StoneRidge - Tony must have overlooked this one. Please see Windsong for affinity bias. Weak start. Can we move I-94?
12. (18) The Legends - Great layout, great guys. A little too much play seems to impact conditioning.
13. (9) Woodhill - Classic with great tradition. Blue blood smells a little different. Cutting the course some slack because it's Woodhill. Take a pass on the mint drinks.
14. (NR) Golden Valley - Traditional. Pretty solid. Could do without the huge clubhouse.
15. (NR) The Legend at Giant's Ridge - Solid track. Overall it's overrated.
16. (20) Wayzata - Need to play more than once. Better know where to hit it on a couple of the greens. How 'bout those member benefits?
17. (17) Olympic Hills - A little schizo with the holes down below. Only played it once.
18. (NR) Northfield - Great greens and fun short par 4's. #1 is terrible and #18 is a weak finish.
19. (NR) Minnesota Valley - Pretty solid. True home of Z.
20. (NR) Southview - Great condition. Pretty short. Earns extra credit for the flaky Scott Studwell finish.
Others Considered:
(NR) Hastings CC - Not sure my list needs to have 21 names until I have played Minneapolis GC and Somerset
(NR) Town & Country - Makes the list solely on my respect for elders. 1888, are you kidding?
Never Played:
(3) Minneapolis - Never heard a bad word about it except for the lack ambiance and a driving range
(6) Northland - I would love to go there in September
(8) Wilderness - Sounds great
(13) Somerby - See Windsong for affinity bias. Heard the conditioning is unbelievable.
(14) Somerset - Plan to play in June. Fully expect that it will crack my Top 5.
(15) Rochester CC - Have heard very little.
(16) Dacotah Ridge - Reviews are great. Lot's a wind. Don't visit during manure spreading season - whenever that is…
(NR) North Oaks - No opinion.
(NR) TPC - Heard it was "fun." Kind of like, "she has a great personality."
The big I #1? I didn't take you for a frequent blunt smoker! Not in the top 5. Barely in the top ten. Great layout for the ladies. Are you volunteering for the 08 US Open at your #1 course?
i had this great response to your golf course blog, but then couldn't
send it on my work computer. pat O'conner had me doubled over and some of
the other responses were great as well. I'm getting out for the first time
this year and playing Oakridge(1st time ever for the little Jewish kid). My
response was this: It always amazes me when people claim that golf is not a
sport(usually soccer fans...excuse me Fuutball), especially a guy that is
from Minnesota(and never skated,doesn't like hockey) and he's Jewish and
never played golf(go Carolina and the Yanks, Lakers! etc...) I've only
played a handful of courses on your list(adding Oakridge this Saturday). I
think you're forgetting one course...."The TPC at Hiawatha", the true home
of Tony Zosel. Is there another course that starting times don't matter...
now on the tee the Monty foursome, wait we're gonna squeeeze my buddies
in. Love sending people off every four minutes.
People should read this.
Zosel: the spaz that yells and screams at umpires when little girls grade k-12 are playing softball. Keep up the great work coach!! You're setting a hell of an example for your children. Maybe a few free sandwiches will make all right with the world again for you bozo!!!
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