Unexpected Finds

[PCCraig]

Keller Golf Course, St. Paul, MN

When I moved to the Twin Cities last year, a couple people had told me about a Municipal golf course that I should see in St. Paul that used to host a PGA Tour event. So on a cold, wet April day I drove over to see the course and found it empty due to the weather and went out and played as a single. What I found was a really neat classic golf course that was interesting, quirky, and a fun throwback. While most people will talk about the ~165 yard par-3 4th which features a huge (40ft) tree in between the tee and green...the 12th through 16th holes are really great with some bold natural features. Best part about the round? ~$35 peak weekend fee to walk.

After the round I went into the clubhouse to find numerous black and white photos documenting the course's past. Turns out Keller has hosted two PGA Championships (1932, 1954), a Western Open (1949 - Sam Snead), the St. Paul Open (1930-1968), and the Patty Berg Classic (1973-1980). There are great pictures showing everyone from Hogan, Snead, Nelson, Nicklaus, to Palmer playing the course which had far more history than I ever knew of.

Over the years, the course began to look tired due to poor tree management practices, old bunkers, and shifting playing lines. Thankfully, Richard Mandell has been hired to renovate / restore the course which construction slated to begin later this year.

Richard's master plan:
http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/NR/rdonlyres/979F48DE-5404-4AED-B4BA-984AFA19AB7D/28192/Apr12DDStageRenovationMasterPlan1.pdf

[Peter Ferlicca]

When I was working at Tumble Creek for the summer I lived in Ellensburg for a little while.  I noticed a 9 holer off one of the country roads driving home one afternoon.   Ellensburg Muni soon became the place to go every night.  My friends and I would head out every night around 7pm, it would cost between free-$5.00.  We were allowed to bring out our dogs (off leash), and could bring our own beer.  Living the good life playing a late 9, having my dog walking along with me, with a beer in hand.  The course is suprisingly very fun.  A couple of sloping fairways, alternate tees, small well placed penal fairway bunkers, a big river in play on a couple holes, and very Fast and Firm.  

[Kalen Braley]

I will have to go with Mt. Odgen golf course in Ogden Utah.  Its a intimate course tucked in at the base of the wasatch mountains and has some fantastic quirky holes.  It does have a few power lines running thru the course that detracts a bit.  But the views and funky playing corridors make it a wicked fun track.

I still have pictures of it and I need to get a review going of the place.

Kalen

[Andy Stamm]

Newburgh On Ythan Golf Club

I was invited for a game there and when I heard it was a links, I immediately accepted. While I'm not particularly enamoured of the front (non-links and new) 9, the back is fantastic. It's very old, but there were some very interesting features that I think would probably be dumbed down on a more 'popular' course. When I went back, I just played the back 3 times, which was great fun.

[Matthew Sander]

Darn it all, Pat beat me to it. I had a similar experience with Keller when I was a young pup newly out on his own.

I was actually at one of the Minneapolis munis, Francis A. Gross Golf Course (I believe it's currently referred to as Gross National) for my first round after moving to the Twin Cities. While waiting to tee off, a beautiful spring day turned nasty in the form of a good ol' midwestern gully washer. I held out hope that I would eventually get out (I did not) and headed into the club house to grab a drink and a quick bite.

I was sitting by myself, but overheard the drenched threesome at the table next to me talking about Big Ten sports, notably Indiana basketball. As a Hoosier, I injected myself into their conversation and introduced myself. The conversation predictably turned to local course recommendations as I was brand new to the area. The two younger members of the threesome were offering up the country club for a day options in the area (Rush Creek, Edinburgh USA, the newly opened TPC Twin Cities). The older gentleman with them, who was a paired single, said through a mouthful of hot dog, "play Keller". The two younger guys resided just west of Mnpls and hadn't even heard of Keller, which is in a neighborhood just north of St. Paul. Afterwards I thanked them for all of their recommendations and filed them away for later use.

The following weekend the weather was lousy, but playable. I took the older gentleman up on his Keller suggestion and absolutely fell in love with the old place for all of the reasons Pat mentioned above. Amid all of the typical trappings of municipal golf were the existence of a great historical relevance and some dynamite golf holes. I also got the impression that those that called this their home course were extremely proud and protective of it.

What made the biggest impression on me though was that this was my first round in a new, distant place far removed from my parents and family. I was on my own now. I was still very young, but I felt an ownership of the moment that brought with it a sense of being a "grown-up" that I hadn't experienced before.

I know it's kind of a mushy story, but most golf stories are, and Keller made a real impression on me. I'm glad it did.

[Mark Pritchett]

My first visit to Aiken Golf Club around 12 years ago was a pretty unexpected surprise. 

Also have to say Arrowhead Pointe in East Georgia was a good find. 

[Tim Gavrich]

Copake! Copake! Copake!

Mid-Carolina GC in Prosperity, SC

Sugarloaf CC in Sugarloaf, PA

[Mike Policano]

North Jersey finds for most

Morris County Raynor
Forsgate Banks
Hackensack Banks
Essex County Banks, primarily

[Jeff Shelman]

I posted this on my blog about Northland in a post about my highlights of 2011. It's an awesome place.

Best Minnesota golf experience: Northland Country Club

I got an invitation to go up to Northland in September and pretty much spent the day thinking about and talking about why I think it might be the No. 1 treat in the state for a golfer who lives in the Twin Cities.

The golf course at Northland — a great Donald Ross gem that overlooks Lake Superior — is the star, but a trip to Northland is more than that. To me it is just as much about solitude and really escaping from reality for a little while.

Let’s say I get an invite to play your favorite club in the Twin Cities on a random weekday afternoon. It doesn’t matter if it is Minikahda or Hazeltine or Interlachen or Spring Hill or anywhere. If we’re teeing it up at 1 p.m. or something, my day is going to go something like this: I’m going to get up a little earlier than normal so I can get to the office a little earlier. I’m going to work like crazy for a bunch of hours to get as much done as possible, I’m going to sneak out of the office at close to the last possible moment and hope like heck that nobody catches me as I power walk from my desk to the elevator. From there, I’m going to get to my car and there’s a good chance I’m going to be making a work-related call on the way to the golf course and there might be a fast food drive-thru in my life. When I get to the club, I can almost guarantee that I’m going to be checking an email in my car in the parking lot and I might have to respond to something before I put my phone in my bag.

I’m sure the golf will be great and it will be a great afternoon, but there is also a bit of stress that goes along with sneaking away from the office for some afternoon golf. Because who is really going to burn a full day of PTO to play and afternoon round at, say, Somerset. Not me.

That’s part of why I love Northland. There is no way to sneak out of the office and play in the afternoon at Northland. Not if you live in the Twin Cities. A round at Northland requires blocking out your calendar. It requires taking the day off. It requires some commitment. It is a true break from life, but it is also a pretty easy one-day trip.

I went up by myself, leaving the house pretty early on a weekday morning. The further north I got on I-35, the more excited I got. As an aside, one of the things I loved about my time living in Cincinnati was the view of downtown as you made your way from the airport into the city. You go around a corner and it is there and it is a great view. I feel much the same way about a trip to Northland. When I go around the curve by Spirit Mountain and get my first glimpse of the lake, it takes my breath away. I love it and I know I’m in for a great day.

The day I played at Northland was one of the first really cool days of the fall. It rained a little. I wore several layers and I think I wore my rain pants all round. It didn’t matter. It was a blast. In some ways it might have made the day even better because we had the golf course almost to ourselves. I think we saw three other groups the entire day.

While I’m not going to argue with anybody who says that they like a certain Minnesota course more than Northland, but I think it is my favorite golf course in the state (despite only a handful of rounds there). I just think it is such a cool spot. And every time I’m there, I think about how cool it would be to be a non-resident member there.

[Dan Kelly]

Great to see some Keller fans here.

Keller couldn't be an unexpected find for me, because I grew up here and watched my first professional golf on the grounds there. It was one of the first golf courses I knew.

But it IS a completely unexpected find, as Matt notes, for many Twin Citian golfers -- especially those on the Minneapolis side of the Mississippi, many or most of whom think of St. Paul in the same way they think about, say, Tibet: exotic, but irrelevant, and much too far away to bother with.

And it has been an unexpected find even for me, I think, in the sense that I'd rather play Keller than almost any other public course in town. The green fee merely makes it that much more appealing.

All of us who are Keller fans are excited about Richard Mandell's upcoming work there.

I imagine that all of us who are Keller fans are ... at least a little anxious about the price tag (of the course and clubhouse renovation) and its possible effect on Keller's outstanding rates.

One little note: It's a county-owned course, not a Municipal. I wonder if that makes a difference, generally....

[Dan Herrmann]

Bedford Springs (PA)
I completely enjoyed this course - tons of fun and really cool architecture.

Monroe (Rochester, NY)
I played it before Gil's work.  I can't imagine how great it must be now.

[Mac Plumart]

My first visit to Aiken Golf Club around 12 years ago was a pretty unexpected surprise. 

Also have to say Arrowhead Pointe in East Georgia was a good find. 

Yep, to both.  Really good stuff!

[Jason Topp]

Lahinch

I was on a European backpacking trip with my now wife.  Our bus took us past a golf course that looked incredible.  I did not know anything about it.

I eventually figured out it was Lahinch and returned 12 years later.  While trying to do some research on the course I found this website.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Crystal Downs was the biggest unexpected surprise.  I played it 35 years ago.  I just called and was given access to the course. No one, well hardly anyone, knew about it back then.  I played it every year for a while just by calling the pro shop. What a treat it was.

Enniscrone.  My wife and I just stumbled on it 20 years ago.
Southerndown was a complete surprise when I got lost and just happened to end up at the course.

[jeffwarne]

Gweedore
expected nothing (first couple holes met expectations although second had cool green)
Third hole one of the coolest lay of the land greens and second shot I'd played
4th hole use the road for your bump and run (but don't get distracted by the oceanfront left side)
5th-coolest, largest,widest hole I've ever been on- angles galore to be used in the wind ,awesome ocean in play and in view,up and over to a semiblind green complete with a Donal O'Cellaigh bunker ) everything a par 5 can be
6th-see 5th, except par 4 looking out over entire landscape
2-3 holes changed my perspective on what unique can be (most would think I'm nuts)

alas, changes are planned

Prestwick St. Nicholas
Perranporth

[Ronald Montesano]

Haven't played it yet (hope to do so in 2012) but I imagine that Green Lakes State Park near Syracuse will be one of these:

http://www.nysparks.com/golf-courses/14/details.aspx

[Dan Smoot]

I will have to go with Mt. Odgen golf course in Ogden Utah.  Its a intimate course tucked in at the base of the wasatch mountains and has some fantastic quirky holes.  It does have a few power lines running thru the course that detracts a bit.  But the views and funky playing corridors make it a wicked fun track.

I still have pictures of it and I need to get a review going of the place.

Kalen

Mt. Ogden is a fun course that will take the driver out of your hands and eat a few balls if you stray even a little bit.  

Indian Canyon in your neck of the woods was a pleasant surprise.  Much better than I expected as it unfolded.

[Keith OHalloran]

Ron, I hate to burst the bubble, but I played Green Lakes, and it is not a hidden gem. Too many parallel holes to qualify, IMO.

[Sean Leary]

Ron,

I have played it as well and would agree with Keith. Its just OK.

[Michael Taylor]

Arrowtown Golf Club in Queenstown is one of the quirkiest course one will find. It's a great little place to play golf. There's only one bunker in the entire facility, and it's the practice bunker! 

[Ben Jarvis]

Arrowtown Golf Club in Queenstown is one of the quirkiest course one will find. It's a great little place to play golf. There's only one bunker in the entire facility, and it's the practice bunker! 

Did you make good use of that bunker before your round Michael? 

[Jim Franklin]

I posted this on my blog about Northland in a post about my highlights of 2011. It's an awesome place.

Best Minnesota golf experience: Northland Country Club

I got an invitation to go up to Northland in September and pretty much spent the day thinking about and talking about why I think it might be the No. 1 treat in the state for a golfer who lives in the Twin Cities.

The golf course at Northland — a great Donald Ross gem that overlooks Lake Superior — is the star, but a trip to Northland is more than that. To me it is just as much about solitude and really escaping from reality for a little while.

Let’s say I get an invite to play your favorite club in the Twin Cities on a random weekday afternoon. It doesn’t matter if it is Minikahda or Hazeltine or Interlachen or Spring Hill or anywhere. If we’re teeing it up at 1 p.m. or something, my day is going to go something like this: I’m going to get up a little earlier than normal so I can get to the office a little earlier. I’m going to work like crazy for a bunch of hours to get as much done as possible, I’m going to sneak out of the office at close to the last possible moment and hope like heck that nobody catches me as I power walk from my desk to the elevator. From there, I’m going to get to my car and there’s a good chance I’m going to be making a work-related call on the way to the golf course and there might be a fast food drive-thru in my life. When I get to the club, I can almost guarantee that I’m going to be checking an email in my car in the parking lot and I might have to respond to something before I put my phone in my bag.

I’m sure the golf will be great and it will be a great afternoon, but there is also a bit of stress that goes along with sneaking away from the office for some afternoon golf. Because who is really going to burn a full day of PTO to play and afternoon round at, say, Somerset. Not me.

That’s part of why I love Northland. There is no way to sneak out of the office and play in the afternoon at Northland. Not if you live in the Twin Cities. A round at Northland requires blocking out your calendar. It requires taking the day off. It requires some commitment. It is a true break from life, but it is also a pretty easy one-day trip.

I went up by myself, leaving the house pretty early on a weekday morning. The further north I got on I-35, the more excited I got. As an aside, one of the things I loved about my time living in Cincinnati was the view of downtown as you made your way from the airport into the city. You go around a corner and it is there and it is a great view. I feel much the same way about a trip to Northland. When I go around the curve by Spirit Mountain and get my first glimpse of the lake, it takes my breath away. I love it and I know I’m in for a great day.

The day I played at Northland was one of the first really cool days of the fall. It rained a little. I wore several layers and I think I wore my rain pants all round. It didn’t matter. It was a blast. In some ways it might have made the day even better because we had the golf course almost to ourselves. I think we saw three other groups the entire day.

While I’m not going to argue with anybody who says that they like a certain Minnesota course more than Northland, but I think it is my favorite golf course in the state (despite only a handful of rounds there). I just think it is such a cool spot. And every time I’m there, I think about how cool it would be to be a non-resident member there.

Nice.

[Adam Clayman]

Adam, are you assaulting alliteration at all?

Just butchering it, so, yes.

[Cory Lewis]

On Tuesday I played an amazing course in Louisville, Kentucky.  Hurstbourne Country Club, Keith Foster re-do that is just awesome, bunkers looks great, routing is tremendous, and the greens are full of character.  Seek this course out if you are anywhere near Louisville.  Big Spring CC in Louisville is also worth the effort.

[Brad Tufts]

Ron,

I have played it as well and would agree with Keith. Its just OK.

Ditto...played it during the weekend my cousin graduated from Syracuse in 2004...it was not bad, but just ok.