Northland CC - Photos

[Morgan Clawson]

This fall I had the pleasure of playing at Northland CC in Duluth, MN.  This was my 3rd trip in the last 4 years.  My appreciation for this Ross gem increases each time I play it.

I have played all of the wonderful Ross courses in Minnesota (Interlachen, Minikahda, Woodhill, White Bear, Northland).  I believe that Northland has the most challenging portfolio of greens.  This can be attributed to many steep back to front slopes, subtle internal movements and finally the "break to the Lake".

Here is a sample of the holes.

#3 - 380 back, 357 middle - par 4 - handicap 5
This holes marches 95 yards up hill.  The front edge of the green begins at the top of the hill. 
#3 Tee shot; one thing I love about Northland is that the rough is not overly thick, unlike many MN courses:

# 3 Fairway; fast and firm:

#3 Green looking back; don't be short and don't miss the view of Lake Superior:


#8 - 230 back, 206 middle - par 3 - handicap 13
A long, tough par 3 with a significantly canted green that will hold a 3 wood or driver:


#10 - 414 back, 391 middle - par 4 - handicap 2
This is a demanding dogleg right with plenty of elevation and a tricky green.
#10 Tee:

#10 Fairway; Note how tightly mown the grass is on the hill just before the green.  This tight lie is where many players will be hitting their 3rd shots from:





#10 Green; #10 confirms that these greens command respect!  Note the false front:

One of the players had a downhill putt and was a little too agressive.  The putt slipped past the hole...

And kept going and going, eventually ending up 20 yards down the hill, off the green.


#13 - 430 back, 415 middle - 10 hadicap
#13 is a fairly flat hole that starts with the most uninspiring tee shot on the course.  But, the approach to the green that melts into Lake Superior is pretty special!


When I played in '08 there was brush behind the green.  I told my foursome that this hole would look amazing if the brush was removed.  I was delighted to see this in '09. WOW!


#14 - 445 back, 410 middle - 8 handicap
The most beautiful green on the course is followed by the green with the most movement.
#14 tee - A gorgeous tee shot over a creek and a gentle ridge.

#14 fairway - Your 2nd shot is slightly downhill to a green that falls off on both sides and the back.

#14 green - Lots of great movement everywhere!





#15 - 411 back, 385 middle, all downhill - 14 handicap
#15 tee - The largest of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes.


Northland CC - One of Ross's finest!

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

I am assuming you meant by fall early August. I was there then and it felt like Winter. I loved this course and the whole team from the Greens Committee to the Super get it. Northland plays and is maintained to be firm and fast. There are 4 or 5 holes where the green complexes are so cool that you can spend the whole 5 day season chippng around and playing with short game ideas. Ok The season is a lot longer but not long enough for this great course to be enjoyed. What a great course.

[Morgan Clawson]

Tiger,

We played on Sep 18 and caught a great day.  I agree that some of the green complexes are tremendous!

[Tyler Kearns]

Morgan,

Thanks for those pictures, very nice. I slept in Duluth on my way back home from the GCA event at the Kingsley Club this summer, and if I didn't have family back home waiting for me....
I really hope to get there soon, the recent tree clearing has opened up some magnificent views.

TK

[Sean_A]

Morgan

Thanks for the pix.  I never gave the Ross courses in Minnesota much thought until I saw some pix of White Bear.  This course looks very good as well!  Anymore pix?

Ciao 

[Bradley Anderson]

Every picture I see of this course is indicating that Chris is keeping that place nice and dry and in tip top shape!

"Some courses look loved, and this one has that look about it".

[Joe Hancock]

Brad,

I agree completely with you. It looks great.

I think there has been some documentation here on GCA through the past couple years about the dryer maintenance practices here, and it looks totally in control and ideal to me.....from pictures, at least.

Thanks for posting, Morgan.

Joe

[Morgan Clawson]

Sean,

This was my first attempt at taking a lot of photos on a golf course.  I can see the benefits of having a thin camera that easily slips in a pocket. These are the only ones I have; wish there were more.

A trip to MN to play all 5 Ross courses would be pretty special!  White Bear is tons of fun with a great variety of interesting holes draped across rolling terain.  Northland isn't as roly poly. Nearly every hole is gorgeous and the views of Lake Superior are stunning.

[Bruce Leland]

There are many great golden era courses in the US that I haven't played but when I tell people that Northland CC is in my top 10 I get some strange looks.  Morgan, I've been playing Northland for over 20 years, most often in the Leo Spooner Memorial the weekend after Labor Day and I can tell you that I love it more every time I play it.  I've said it before but it has the most confounding greens I've played and nowhere will you have more 3 - 4 foot putts outside the hole.

It does my heart good to hear others sing her praises......carry on!

[PThomas]

nice pics Morgan

i played there a few years ago and i guess there's been tree removal since i've been there...which gives me an excuse to get back there if i can

i liked Northland then and bet i'd like it more now

[Rick Shefchik]

To fully appreciate the job Chris has done to get maximize Northland's potential, you have to understand that the Twin Cities area is 150 miles south and probably two growing zones warmer than Duluth. Our golf season in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area frequently begins in late March and extends to Thanksgiving; Duluth generally loses three weeks on either side of the season, and it's very cool in April, May and early June. The lake has a big cooling effect in the warmer months, which probably has its benefits in July and August, but certainly inhibits the growing season.

That said, Northland is a remarkably durable course that is playing even better now that it's drier and has fewer trees. It's more perilous, too; in all my years playing there, I'd never seen a carefully-struck putt from the upper tier of the third green roll off the front of the lower tier, but I saw that this year. It was almost like #16 at Pasatiempo.

I wouldn't call the greens tricky -- they're simply demanding. There's very little interior contour on these greens, except for the amazing #14, and the tier on #3. You're generally faced with tilted putting surfaces that require some geometry skills, a suspension of disbelief that a freshwater lake could exert that much influence, and a lot of nerve.

 

[Rory Connaughton]

Morgan:

 Thanks for posting. Northland looks like a terrific spot.

[Morgan Clawson]

Bruce,

It is kind of fun to play a great course 1x a year, year after year.  It makes you appreciate the course and look forward to playing it even more. 

Rick,

Well articulated.  I agree that the greens aren't tricky. You really have to take some time reading them. The Northland greens command your attention to fuigure out the right line and stroke.

[Jeff Shelman]

I like Northland so much. I just think that it is a fantastic golf course.

It is both demanding and fun. Too often, demanding courses aren't all that fun.

It ranks among my favorite courses in Minnesota to play. Didn't get there this year and that's not a good thing.

Plus Chris has done a great job there.

[Bradley Anderson]

If I am not mistaken it looks like Chris has stopped mowing some areas on the course? I wonder if Chris could comment on this?

What was the process in determining what areas to stop mowing?

How have the members received it?

Has it effected pace of play?

Has it effected handicaps?

Has it allowed manhours to be allocated for other areas of course maintenance?

[Chris Tritabaugh]

If I am not mistaken it looks like Chris has stopped mowing some areas on the course? I wonder if Chris could comment on this?
Northland has always had a good deal of unmowed areas. In fact it was a source of some great controversy many years ago. We have sort of allowed the membership to get used to more of these areas over the past couple of years, adding a little more each year.
What was the process in determining what areas to stop mowing?
The main determining factors have been a couple of things. 1. Does it add something to the course? We don't want to do this just to do it. Its got to make the course look better or in some cases protect an area, which formerly had many trees. 2. What type of turf is existing? Our roughs have lots of fine fescue and we are working to take advantage of as much of it as possible. In some areas, where we want to go without mowing but the turf is not desirable we have began working to convert it to fescue.
How have the members received it?
Some complaints about difficultly but most often members talk about how they love the way it looks. To my knowledge no one has gotten hot under the collar about these areas.
Has it effected pace of play?
Has not seemed to cause an issue.
Has it effected handicaps?
I would say the firm and fast conditioning has had more of an affect than anything else. Our players to have a better traveling handicap these days. At least that is what I hear.
Has it allowed manhours to be allocated for other areas of course maintenance?
Absolutely, but I would never call these areas no-maintenance.

I was fun to see these pictures. Sometimes I see pictures others have taken of the course and don't like what I see. I thought these pictures did Northland a tremendous justice.

[Jim Franklin]

I played there in '07 and loved it. It looks like some clearing has been done so I need to get back. Northland was my surprise course in my golfing career. I knew nothing about it, but loved it from the first tee on. Firm and fast all of the way. Well done Chris!