[Laz Versalles]

GVCC is among my favorites. Not short on drama and plenty of shots that'll get your heart rate up a bit. Also home to what might be the biggest clubhouse I've seen. 

[Sean_A]

Sean, see Pat's excellent Town & Country tour here: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,59617.0.html

Cheers.

Ciao

[PCCraig]

Generally speaking I agree with Jeff Shelman's opinion of the golf course at Golden Valley. It's a very good golf course with a really severe set of classic back-to-front sloping push up greens. The rolling land really lends itself to golf and I really enjoy the different environmental features like the railroad, road crossings, telephone lines, etc. as it feels like the course is routed through the town. I agree with Jeff that there are a few obviously weaker holes (#10 is really not good), and maybe my one knock in addition is that 4 of the 5 par-3's seem to play essentially the same distance (~175 yards) so I seemingly have hit the same mid iron shot to 4 par-3s every time I've played the course...some variety there would be a welcome change.


Overall though, it's a really good golf course that gets forgotten about by raters who are more interested in playing the nearby Interlachen and then getting back to the airport. It's a good example of "if this course was in (Chicago, New York, Boston) it would be considered Top whatever."


The current situation at the club is a complicated one. Selfishly, I hope that Kieth Foster gets to complete his plan for the course as I think it has tremendous bones and could be really something special.

[Derek Holland]

Thanks to all who have contributed to this post! It shows me I have much still to explore in my new home state. I feel lucky to be living in such a golf rich area. Now if only the winters we a bit more mild...

[Jim Franklin]

I think Keith would do a great job at Golden Valley. He did a fantastic job with two Tillie's (Philly Cricket and Five Farms) here on the east coast.

I loved GV, but think the par should be 71. Two of the par 5's are in the 470 range I believe. We have a par 4 longer than that.

[Jason Topp]

Its funny - Jeff lists 6 as one of the worst holes on the course when I have always thought highly of it.  Hitting through power lines and over a train track is a fun novelty off the tee.  If you hit the fairway, you have a reasonable chance of carrying the creek on the 2nd (or a miserable layup if you don't) and the green is quite good.  The stream that crosses the fairway threatens but is not so close that one feels like a gamble is a poor play.


The 10th is very awkward off the tee but from that point forward it is a terrific hole.  A creek crosses the fairway about 190 yards from the green and then runs up the left side.  The more aggressive you are off the tee, the more straightforward the 2nd is.


The negatives for me are as follows:


I find the par 3's to be a bit repetitive.  I have played the course several times where they all played at a similar yardage. 


The extreme tilt of the greens makes it important that the club not let green speeds get out of hand.  I have played several events there where certain greens such as the 9th and the 15th become almost unplayable. 

[size=78%] [/size]

[Jeff Shelman]

Regarding the par 3s at Golden Valley: The setup is done on a daily basis to have as much variety as possible in terms of length.


5 has the least flexibility as the box is small and it really only ranges from about 155-168 or so


8 can be as little as 145, but sometimes they'll put it on the back box on same side of the creek as 7 green and that's a 200-yard shot


11 can range from 145 or so all the way to 185+


14 ranges from 150 to 180 or so


17 has the biggest range as sometimes they'll play it as short as 140, but it can go all the way back to 190 or so. While weather and pin are both factors here, I have hit as little as 9-iron and as much as hybrid on this hole.


The similar distances is legit, but the super and his team to their best to inject some variety through setup.

[Rick Shefchik]

It might be one hallmark of a good golf course that it features holes that some players hold in very high regard while other find the holes among the worst on the course. Golden Valley has two: the par-5 #6, and the par-3 #14. Six was laid out in 1919 by Tom Bendelow, and through all the years, renovations and tinkering that has gone an at GV -- including the Tillinghast redesign in 1925 -- the sixth hole has remained the same. I find it a tremendous challenge - there's OB left off the tee (with a hill that slopes toward the fence), yet to set up a second shot that safely carries the creek (or even brings the green within reach), you have to favor the left side off the tee. A tee shot pushed right bring trees into play on the gentle dogleg right hole, and even makes a layup difficult, as there is almost nowhere to play short of the creek. Precision and planning are the keys to succeeding on this hole -- elements Tillie must have appreciated, since he didn't touch it after he found it.

Fourteen is as claustrophobic as par 3s get -- as Jeff said, a chute of trees must be threaded to hit the narrow, heavily bunkered green. But the hole often plays in the 150-160 yard range, so it doesn't ask for a shot that most golfers can't hit. It's one of those shots you start thinking about a few holes in advance, and gives you a great sense of satisfaction if you pull it off. To me, that's a big part of the fun of golf.

[V_Halyard]

#7 (Tie)- Golden Valley Country Club, Golden Valley

Coming in at a tie for #7 is Golden Valley CC. The following introduction was prepared by Jeff Shelman who called the course home during the 2017 season:

Golden Valley Country club is located just west of downtown Minneapolis (only a little more than 5 miles west of where the Twins play at Target Field). It features a Tillinghast design on a piece of property that while a bit awkward because of a road and a train line through the property that is rolling and has Basset Creek running through it.

[/size]
[/size][size=78%]Great Write ups Jeff and Pat. Love the GVCC and Town and Country. Question, is there a bonus stroke awarded for birdies over a moving UP Freight train?[/size]

[PCCraig]

#7b - Windsong Farm Golf Club, Independance

The following write up was written by Andy Ryall, member of our 7th course on the list, Windsong Farm Golf Club:

Windsong Farm Golf Club, set on a former horse farm, is a private par 71, Lehman/Fought design located 30 miles west of Minneapolis.  Opened in 2003, the golf-only club has endured more than its share of challenges in achieving a stable operating model.  Following a last minute rescue from an outside investor in December 2011, the club has undergone an extensive bunker renovation, added twelve new tee boxes and redesigned the Par 5,12th hole.

The open layout is best described as a hybrid with elements of links and parkland golf.   Given susceptibility to wind, the course is fairly generous off the tee but approaches are protected by significant bunkering and large greens with subtle contouring. Many of the greens are directly open in front but offline approaches will be subjected to sand, steep-faced collection areas, or the occasional marsh, pond or wetland.

Windsong was most recently rated 6th best course in the state by Golf Digest and was listed in Golfweek’s 2010 Top 100 Modern Courses.

3rd Hole – Par 4 338 yards

5th Hole – Par 4 451 yards

8th Hole – Par 4 443 Yards

11th Hole – Par 4 435 yards

13th Hole – Par 4 383 yards

14th Hole – Par 4 482 Yards

18th Hole – Par 5 590 Yards

[BHoover]

Windsong is a special place for me as I was a member there for two years. The course is fun, challenging, at times frustrating (when the wind blows, which is often), and the membership consists of dedicated golfers who appreciate a good walk and friendly competition. The bunker project was a huge improvement and the playing conditions are usually excellent.


Favorite holes for me are the 4th, 8th, 11th, 14th, and 15th holes. Opportunities for birdies are plentiful, but so are big numbers. If you score well at Windsong, especially on a windy fall day when the course is really firm and fast, you’ve played well.

[Jason Topp]

I love Windsong's green complexes.  The 8th hole is a good example:


Prairie Dunes 003 by Jason Topp, on Flickr



The hole is 420 yards long and a bit uphill off the tee.  The approach can be from 210 yards to 110 yards depending on the player, the wind and the firmness of the course.  The front right pin is one of many difficult locations on the green.


Regardless of approach distance the slope on the front right side of the green presents a hazard similar to the valley of sin and greatly narrows the potential places to land a ball if one wants to go at the pin.  One either needs to fly it and stop it in about an 8 yard area or land it short of the slope and run it up.


The player has much more margin for error if he hits it to the left side of the green or misses the green to the right.


From the valley, I tend to bail out, hit it past the hole and try to make a long putt.  Even then, you fear putting it off the green and often will leave it short. 


There are similar examples throughout the course.  Each green is different and provides a variety of unique challenges depending on the day.   Often short grass surrounding the green imposes a more difficult hazard than bunkers or rough.



[I have no idea why this picture is labeled Prairie Dunes]

[BHoover]

When playing Topp and he rolls in a 30 footer for par to tie you on the 8th, after thinking there’s no way he gets it up and down from the front swale, that will make your day!

[John Crowley]

On seeing the photo of the 18th at Golden Valley Country Club, I couldn’t resist telling this possibly OT story.


A few years ago the Minneapolis Golf Club Senior City League team had a very good day in the team matches.
The six players played in different groups according to their position on the team.


Four of us eagled the par five 18th, one birdied and the other parred. We were 9 under gross on that one hole.
It played about 540 yards that day.
Our captain shot 68. We won the matches that week.

[PCCraig]

As most of us that attended the 2015 Midwest Mashie know, Windsong Farm is a pretty great place.


The vibe of the club is awesome, with a modest but very night pro shop/bar/clubhouse/locker room set up.


It takes a little bit of effort to get out to Independence, especially for a St. Paul guy like me. But that is one of the enjoyable aspects of a round at Windsong. It always feels like a little more of an "event" and an escape.


I think it's a really good golf course, that benefited a lot from their bunker/course tweak project a few years ago. You know you are going to miss a lot of greens as the course is long, the greens are generally elevated, and the site is windy. However, as Jason notes the green surrounds are so interesting that up-and-down attempts are a lot of fun.

[Rick Shefchik]

As someone who lives about as far away from Windsong as it's possible to live and still be considered within the same metro area (55 miles), I'm surprised I've played the course at least a half-dozen times. As someone who has never played well at Windsong, I'm further surprised I've played there that often. Yet the holes are memorable, the challenge is fun and the vibe is as good as advertised.

I'll go back whenever I can, if only to keep trying to hit the par-four sixth green in regulation. You have approximately a mile from one side of the fairway to the other, but the trick is to hit it long enough and left enough to leave yourself a chance to clear the water and the bunkers between you and the putting surface. Haven't made it yet, but hope remains.

[Andy Ryall]

I could have spent as much time talking about the vibe or the “hang” aspect at Windsong as much as the course.   It’s remote, simple and only serious as it relates to the passion for golf among the membership.   


If you want to see some better photography of the Farm, check out Peter Wong’s site below:


http://www.peterwongphotography.com/windsong-farm-golf-club/#itemId=58879a6f46c3c42597f62b52

[John_Conley]

This is a wee bit hard to follow.  I'm interested in seeing the list that has been compiled.

At one point I knew golf in Minnesota as well as anyone, but 25 years away leave me a step or two behind.  I've recently seen Interlachen (naked with almost no trees), Minikahda (just awesome), and some others.  Favorably mentioned above, Golden Valley has always been one of my favorites to play.

Probably not on anyone's list, some of my recommendations off the beaten path have always been Owatonna (love, love, love), Winona (now called The Bridges?), and the original 9 holes at Cloquet.

[John_Conley]

I've never heard of Oak Ridge, and nothing from those pictures would have made me want to check it out ... so its placement in this list is intriguing.  Otherwise it wouldn't have been on my radar at all.

Tom, Oak Ridge is very good.  It hosted the "Junior Solheim Cup" in 2002 when the main event was at Interlachen.  Paula Creamer, Brittany Lang, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel, Azahara Munoz among others.  Quite a choice considering the courses also in proximity.  (Some obscure Minnesota courses have hosted Major championships.  Minneapolis Golf Club held a PGA Championship won by Bob Rosburg and Keller hosted it twice.) 

Minnesota Golf Association annually holds the Four Ball event, often at Oak Ridge because that club donated the trophy.  They will be there again this year in August of 2018.   

Another poster mentions that nobody takes it really low at Oak Ridge, a function of few par 5s and a steady diet of solid two-shotters.  As you pointed out back in the day in your book, the Twin Cities had a ton of odd par 73s layouts.  Interlachen, Minikahda, and Golden Valley were three examples.  (As I recall, GVCC was SIX par 5s and five 3s.)

[John Crowley]

As someone who lives about as far away from Windsong as it's possible to live and still be considered within the same metro area (55 miles), I'm surprised I've played the course at least a half-dozen times. As someone who has never played well at Windsong, I'm further surprised I've played there that often. Yet the holes are memorable, the challenge is fun and the vibe is as good as advertised.

I'll go back whenever I can, if only to keep trying to hit the par-four sixth green in regulation. You have approximately a mile from one side of the fairway to the other, but the trick is to hit it long enough and left enough to leave yourself a chance to clear the water and the bunkers between you and the putting surface. Haven't made it yet, but hope remains.

Rick,
You are right, the sixth and fifth fairways are partially connected making the end of the sixth fairway effectively 150+ yards wide. But, it may be the most difficult driving hole on the course. You have about a 20 yard wide slot between the left fairway bunker and the mound in the fairway that will run the ball way right towards the fifth fairway. If you don’t get far enough but are in that slot, the possibility of a downhill lie with a long iron to the forced carry over water and bunker awaits.
J

[John Crowley]

Wind is often a factor on the open landscape at Windsong Farm. There is little wind break from trees or the surrounding farm land.[/font]

One of the founding principles of Windsong - it is a “walkers club”. The routing accommodates walking well. Only between holes 9 and 10 is there more than a short walk.[/font]

The fairways are wide, giving room to chose your angle of approach and trees are never an impediment.[/font]

The green complexes are just that. They average about 10,000 square feet. The fourth green is about 17,000 SF. The putting surfaces are usually firm and can be very quick. Some are raised several feet above the fairway levels. The internal contours are generally subtle. With some exceptions, the contours are reasonable at stimps of 12-13ft. [/font]

All green sites are well bunkered and the surrounds are mowed at fairway height of cut. The raised nature of most greens and the tight lies require a wide variety of chipping and pitching strategies. The player usually has four options near the green; flop shot, bump and run with various irons, putter, hybrid chip.[/font]

There are six particularly good and unique green complexes at holes no’s. 2, 8, 13, 14, 15, 17.[/font]
Most of these are several feet above the fairway approaches.[/font]

If there is a fault to be noted, it is a somewhat gratuitous use of artificial water features. [/font]

While there may be no great holes at Windsong, there are 17 very good ones.[/font]

Playing it almost daily, I never tire of it. [/font]

[Terry Lavin]

Very fetching to my eye.

[PCCraig]

#5 - Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska

When most people think of golf courses in Minnesota, Hazeltine National is often the first course they think of. That is largely due to over 50 years of hosting major professional and amateur golf tournaments. The club was founded in 1962 by Tot Heffelfinger, who was a member of Minikahda in Minneapolis, and the course was designed by Robert Trent Jones. From the outset the club's mission included hosting major events and the 1970 US Open was hosted at the young club. As many now know, the course was not well received and the famous quote of "all this place is missing is 80 acres of corn and a few cows" by Dave Hill. After that a number of revisions were made to the course and eventually it returned to the national stage, notably the 1991 US Open won by Payne Stewart, the 2002 & 2009 PGA Championships, and most recently the 2016 Ryder Cup.

The following pictures were taken by our own Jon Cavalier this past summer:

The par-5 7th:

Coming down the hill on the par-4 10th:

The par-4 14th:

The par-4 16th:

Formerly a par-4, but now the par-3 17th:

[Jeff Shelman]

I'm just going to throw out what I expect will be an unpopular opinion here: I think Hazeltine is too low at No. 5.


It's at worst No. 4 for me and I think it's probably No. 3.


Yes, it is hard and it requires a golfer to hit some good shots - especially approach shots - but I think there is more variety and interest than many people give it credit for.

[Terry Lavin]

Minnesota and golf?  Fuhgeddaboutit!  It’s all about Stefon Diggs bolting down the sideline, stumbling, righting himself and then sprinting into the endzone as time expires!!!


And then he goes all Rod Tidwell (see: Jerry Maguire), hurling his helmet and righteously glowering at the crowd.


One of the greatest moments in American sports that I’ve ever witnessed. That’s Minnesota.

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