Hole 13 - "Top of the World" - Par 3: 204 - 189 - 178 - 151 - 144 - 133
"Vertical Elevation's Effect on Distance"
Demanding on walkers, yes, but the view is too good to pass up. Rarely does such elevation change (more than eighty feet downhill) present itself on a site that isn’t found in the mountains. Yet as such a dramatic view of the Twin Cities as this hole affords, the green still presents a challenge in the form of a series of high points scattered randomly from back to front and side to side. Three sand bunkers frame both sides of the green. A short tee shot must be followed up with a recovery shot played over a mound/ridge complex onto the putting surface.
“The original Braemar layout had a par-three in this same spot that played downhill to a similar green location. It was a favorite memory of the locals and if I was ever to use this land myself, the only solution was to be a tee on the hillside playing down to a green. Given all the restrictions, there was no other option to utilize the hill and I certainly wasn’t going to just cut the hill down.
Of course, when opportunity presents itself to utilize such a special landform, with such elevation change, it is almost my duty to take full advantage of it, right? That means a tough walk further up the hill in making this par three even more memorable. I was a bit torn with the plight of the walking golfer, but again, rarely does one get the chance work with 83 feet of elevation change on a par-three unless one is in the mountains. Besides, on busy days management will limit the use of the top tee for pace of play.
The views of surrounding holes four, five, six tees, fourteen, and fifteen are worth the trip as is the distant Minnesota landscape. From a design standpoint, the three-club difference from back tee to green tempers the long climb. The putting surface is broken into five separate pin placements set almost in a pinwheel fashion around the center point, some of which are separated by ridges and others by swales.”
Hole 14 - "Dune" - Par 4: 448 - 421 - 394 - 340 - 327 - 295
"Natural Ridge"
The uphill fairway for number fourteen is bisected by a natural ridge along the left side. This dogleg-left par four begs the golfer to cut the corner of that ridge, challenging a trio of bunkers cut into the ridge face. The farther one cuts the corner, the more penal each bunker in the ridge becomes. But the reward not only is a shorter approach, but a visible shot as well, with a clearer path to the putting surface the more you bite off. Another reason to take the shorter route is that the putting green is much more receptive to an approach from that side. The only drawbacks playing to that side are a large hollow waiting to swallow up any short approaches and a swift fall-off back-right.
The farther right (and conservative) one plays, the more blind the green becomes. To further challenge the safe play, a bunker encroaches upon the right side of the green more and more the farther right one plays off the tee. The higher right side of the putting surface will deflect any approach from the right side of the fairway.
The bunkering at Royal North Devon cut into a natural ridge provides inspiration for the 14th at Braemar“To me, if ever there was a landform screaming for a trio of sand bunkers cut into it, the natural ridge that cuts across the fourteenth fairway is it. The ability to create a dogleg left, uphill, with the riskiest route also being the most rewarding, fell into place perfectly as part of the new Braemar routing. A grouping of mature oaks to the left of the bunkers creates a great photographic composition as well.
A heady tee shot of almost 295 yards off the back tee or 257 yards from the regular tees cuts the corner the most. This tee shot will find a natural flat area to approach the green from without any interference from the sand bunker guarding the front right side of the green. What makes this hole really special to me is this natural flat above the ridge which doubles as an alternative landing area. So there are actually two natural landforms acting in concert with each other to create a great strategic golf hole. That’s hard to beat.
If one can’t challenge the upper fairway, a completely different strategy must be undertaken to ensure visibility of the putting surface from the lower landing area. Whereas the left side is the choice for the gambler, the conservative must make sure one plays far enough to the right to see the green. Any tee shot short of the fairway bunkers left will lead to a blind approach, but with a way to run their shot onto the green. Full visibility is provided along the right side of the fairway but the trade-off is a longer approach and the need to work around that greenside bunker.”
