Rick,
It was great to see you up there, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the great write up.
Since reading the link requires registering (and I am imagining the subscription department wondering why there is an upsurge in web registrations from all over the country) I took the liberty of posting it here......If I am violating your copyrights, let me know and I will erase it.....
BTW, there is already talk from several sources concerning blowing up that danged valley green on hole 5.....
One radio/new guy from MSP who is a fair golfer told me that was the worst thing he had seen, it was unfair, etc. I told him, unless he was playing the Tour for a gazillion, he took his game FAR too seriously to worry about having to putt through a biaritz swale.......
BTW, there was already a double eagle (albatross) on the 15th hole in the opening scramble, and the day before, I played the course and watched the guy in front of me hole his second on the 562 Yard first hole for an albatross!
Oddly, despite a 20% reverse slope on the TePaul Turbo Boost (sorry Tom, they made me name the hole after an animal, like the rest of them.....I tried to tell them that I had heard you were a real animal, but they weren't buying.....) my shot up there actually held up on the slope......I thought I could go about 4 clubs short and still run it in, but apparently you need to almost use full club, but it was raining.
IN THE SWING
Like many of the resort courses in Northern Minnesota, the new Wilderness at Fortune Bay overwhelms golfers with its breathtaking beauty.
But unlike many of its woodsy competitors, the Wilderness allows players to spend most of their time admiring the water and trees rather than battling them.
From its elevated tees, split fairways and rock ledges to its brief but picturesque swing along the shore of Lake Vermilion, the Wilderness is rugged northwoods golf at its very best.
Architect Jeffrey Brauer has created the most playable — and frankly, the most fun — resort course in the state. Brauer's own Quarry course at Giants Ridge might be a more demanding and perhaps even more strategic golf course, but chances are good that the Wilderness is going to inspire more affection.
Golfers will encounter a seemingly endless succession of eye-popping, jaw-dropping views as they round the corner from the previous multitiered green to the next elevated tee.
If you're confused by what you see, the GPS system in the golf carts will automatically calculate your distance to the green and to the bunkers and hazards before you. The downside of this system, unfortunately, is that carts are mandatory at the Wilderness. It's not an unwalkable course, despite some steep elevation changes. Perhaps they will rethink their walking policy at some point.
For a course that has been open little more than a month, the condition of the fairways and greens is nearly immaculate.
Aside from the scenery (and possibly the wildlife; fox, deer, moose, eagles and bears have been spotted around the property, which is owned by the Bois Forte band of Chippewa), golfers will take home vivid memories of some of the most unusual holes in the state. A few that are sure to be favorites:
No. 1, an uphill 562-yard par 5 with the first of the course's numerous split fairways that incorporate the rock outcroppings into ledges that demand a decision off the tee.
No. 3, a 166-yard drop-shot par 3 over a rock-line pond to a split-tiered green; the sharp rise in the middle of the green makes an effective backstop from which to spin the ball back to the hole.
No. 4, an uphill 330-yard par 4 with a split fairway; the wider one on the left ends abruptly with a stretch of rough, while the narrower fairway on the upper right allows you to carry a drive much closer to the green.
No. 5, a potentially drivable short par 4 with a classic Biarritz-style green, featuring a 5-foot-deep swale in the middle.
No. 8, a reachable 452-yard par-5 Cape hole with a wide driving area but a narrow strip of fairway that hugs the water hazard to the green.
No. 12, a short par 3 to a banked green flanked by water on three sides.
No. 13, a fantastic dogleg left Cape hole on the shores of Lake Vermilion that might tempt the longest hitters to try to clear everything and reach the green.
No. 16, a 456-yard par 5 with an elevated green that resists straight-on second shots but will accept a well-placed approach to the upper fairway, which can kick a ball down a hidden chute of fairway all the way to the green.
This is a course that will reward repeated play as you discover the backboards, sideboards, mounds and chipping areas that architect Brauer has included to make the ground game a real option on most holes.
With the slowdown in the golf business both nationally and locally, the Wilderness at Fortune Bay might turn out to be one of the last high-profile courses to open in Minnesota for some time. If so, it's fitting that the decade-long course-building boom has perhaps culminated in the best of them all.
What: The Wilderness Golf Course at Fortune Bay Resort & Casino
Where: 1450 Bois Forte Road, Tower, Minn.
Rates: $75 for 18 holes; $50 after Sept. 15.
Call: (800) 992-4680 or (218) 753-8917
Online:
www.thewildernessgolf.comRick Shefchik can be reached at rshefchik@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5577.