Spent the month of August in MN for a couple Amateur tournaments and had the pleasure of playing some great old courses in the Twin Cities area... First, thanks to Conley for the advice on where to play, and thanks to everyone else who offered their comments... Second, if you have the chance to play any of the courses I'm about to list, I would HIGHLY recommend it!
1) North Oaks Golf Club - Stanley Thompsons last design in the United States. According to the history, Thompson wanted the course to be a championship venue that would host US Opens and National Amateurs, much like the mission statement of Hazeltine National Golf Club. However, there is no parking and the membership seems to happy with that... More recently, the PGA spoke to North Oaks about hosting the Senior Event that now takes place at the TPC-Blaine. Once again, the problem was parking... Either way, the course is fantastic. Tough opening (#1 -531 par 5, #2 -462 par 4, #3 -420 par 4) lots of water, great bunkering, medium sized greens with some killer breaks. Back nine was shorter and more on the sporty side, which lent itself to a GREAT golf course. The neat thing about the course was how big it was in design. You could easily imagine the galleries wandering about the course and could see the vision of Thompson in the routing and layout of the course. Played 36 in one day with my father and couldn't have asked for a better day. Small range, great clubhouse, fantastic pro shop, nice members.
2) Somerset Country Club - Talk about a golf club that is about the golf and nothing else. Old houses for the clubhouse and restaurant. Built in the twenties? and designed by Donald Ross? Not sure on both accounts, but I'm sure the Conley will set the record straight. 150 members, lots of hills, great bunkering, smack dab in the middle of West St.Paul. The kind of course that you could easily play everyday with a smile on your face. Funny story on how I came to play the course. Sitting in the bleachers on the 16th at Hazeltine during the PGA's. Older couple to the left that I started talking with about the tournament. Grand son of the older couple walks up with an autograph on a Somerset CC scorecard. I asked to see the card, next thing you know I have an invite to play the following day. Turns out the older couple have been members forever and a day... Fun, Fun, Fun!
3) Town & Country Club - Oldest course in MN. Happened to play with a member at Somerset who was also a member at T & C. Apparently, one belongs to Somerset for the golf and T & C for the amenities and facilities... Someday, maybe. Either way, classic parkland with small greens, huge trees and some holes that challenged the ego to technology. Once again, great course!
I also played Alexandria Golf Club (1928, classic parkland, TOUGH greens, not much for bunkering, tight fairways and ROUGH rough. Played in the Resorters tournament and plan on returning every summer from now until ? Might be partial as I grew up in Alexandria, so it will always be my personal Masters. Fun course, not too long, but plenty of trouble if your hitting your drives off-center!), Greystone Golf Club (a prairie links? Tom Lehman Signiture Design, though I have a feeling that Don Herefort and Kevin Norby were largely responsible for the genius behind the course. Great condition for a new course, hard, fast fairways, large greens with plenty of undulations and shaping. Great bunkering, lots of trouble in the form of wetlands and the occasional trees. Worth a play if your in the Alexandria area.), Minnewaska Golf Club (1929 design for original 9, Joel Goldstrand 9 recently completed. Changed the routing of the holes so the old is mixed in with the new. Classic parkland with a links feel on the new 9. Elevation galore, tough greens, not much for bunkering, but still a fun course.) and finally Geneva Golf Club, which is a typical "new prairie links" design that didn't do much for me...
I'm waiting on some photos of North Oaks, Somerset, T & C, Greystone and Alexandria GC. When I have them, I will post them for one and all.
As a sidenote, had the pleasure of playing Wildhorse in NE on my return home. Crashed at the Super 8? and arrived in the morning before the pro shop was open. Sup invited me to play, so I got in a morning 18 with no wind and the entire course to myself for the front 9. Played another 18 in the afternoon with a strong wind and a couple locals in tow. Everything that I've read on this site about the course is TRUE. Wildhorse is a true gem, starting with a FUN putting area and going from there. Took a bunch of photos and sunrise, etc. that I will post when I get them scanned.
Once again, to everyone on CGA, thanks for all of the input!