Minnesota Country Club Question

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Windsong is a great choice. They held the Gopher Invitational for us in the fall, and some elite players didn't break par (including myself, though I'm not considered "elite" in college). When the wind blows it can be really tough. It can be a tough walk on some holes, but it was an awesome design. The food we had was awesome, and ProV1x range balls don't hurt either!
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I heard that they had the Gopher Invitational there, would have loved to have been able to watch it in person! Did you guys play from the tips? The course dynamic certainly is drastically different from the tips and when the wind blows the course plays probably almost 8000 yards. I love the design of the course, and really the club overall, in how it blends classic feel with modern stlye, it has a good range of challenges and makes you play almost every shot in the bag. The food is excellent out there and i love the pro v1's on the range.

I see you're from Nebraska, the GM at Windsong used to be the GM at Sand Hills I believe, I have always wanted to play that course, I have heard nothing but amazing things.
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They pretty much did tip it across the board for the three rounds, except for number 9 the last round. They wanted to make it reachable for a few guys. I was in position to get there and promptly snapped a 3-wood out of bounds! It played suuuuuper long the last day. It blew about 25-35 all day. Really firmed it out as well. It was one of the toughest, most fair tests of golf I've played in tournament golf. Water on the par 3s makes for some nervous tee shots! Number 17 was probably my personal favorite; skinny green with a 190 carry all over water. I think there was only a handful of under par rounds the last day. That's a testament to the course with teams like Cal, Baylor, Minnesota (defending B1G Champions) and other elite teams there. I wasn't too upset and I finished T-30.

Also, you were right about the GM there. Nobody on our team has gotten to Sand Hills yet! Since he was a Nebraska guy he gave us a little booklet with some tricks to the course. Hospitality there was awesome. I just wish I had another year of eligibility so I could go back!
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Thats awesome, it doesnt suprise me that they put it at the tips as I know they want to host more tournaments and they probably wanted to showcase how difficult it can be!

Number 9 is so hard to reach in 2 even if you hit it 350 down the middle, also you can certainly pay the price if you go for it in 2! I agree, the course is very tough but certainly fair if you play your shots right. That is awesome that the course proved to be tough for such a quality field of players, that was a big factor in joining there, I love a course that is a constant challenge. Jim the GM is a first class guy along with Matt the head pro and everyone else there.

Are you still in minnesota? Or back in Nebraska?
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Back in Nebraska, one semester of eligibility left for the Huskers, then hopefully graduation! We have a few family friends in Minneapolis, but don't get up there as much as we'd like. The gopher hospitality always treats us well. Great area with some seriously-underrated golf!
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Ahhhh i see, i thought you went to the U of M, my bad! If you ever are in minnesota for any reason and want to play, feel free to hit me up!

[cfreeman8]

Sounds good. Sure will. Cheers bud!

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Yeah, N. Oaks is just because you can see part of it from 96 and it piques curiosity as a golfer getting a little glimpse.
Yacht Club I really want to see what a Donald Ross course looks like. Seth Reynor with Midland. Just to sample some of those golden era courses/architects, even though they have seen changes over time.

I'm at Tanners Brook a lot, Links at Northfork, Keller, Manitou. Kind of an east side guy.
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If you can ever find your way on to white bear, do it. its such a unique and stunning course. not sure if they do this anymore, but they used to open the course up to the public for one day a year, so get on that if that is the case! I used to live right by Tanners and played there quite a bit, its a very nice course, open but certainly challenging, the mosquitoes have been out of control the last couple years though! Keller is also another gem and I have heard the renovations have made it even better than before, im hoping to get out there this year sometime.
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I played with a guy who owned a fire suppression company in a tournament that said he was a member at WBYC. I carried our team that day and he invited me to contact him to get out there, which I did, but he never got back to me. I do have an "in" at N Oaks at least in my insurance guy. He's been the club champ many times. Getting a new Jeep in the next week or so here, so I'll hit him up when I talk to him hopefully.

Tanners...yeah. Little swampy. I got the W. Nile this year and avoided it for a while (and was too sick to play for a couple months practically.) Still have rininging in my ears from it. I know I'll never drink from an outdoor water cooler again!

Got out once to Keller this year. Very familiar of course, but it feels different. Wear a hard hat. I love that they took out all the trees, but what was already a very tight dangerous course is an insanely dangerous course now. I didn't play very well at all that day, but I could tell it plays easier now after the re-design. Time will tell. They did a good job. Hopefully they shut it down soon enough to let it heal after all the play it supposedly got.
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Haha, yea some guys out at white bear are kind of that way. North oaks is worth playing if you can, but I can't say its memorable. You got W. Nile? Damn, thats scary! Hope you're alright now.

Interesting to hear about Keller, can't say I will go out there if it is that tight and dangerous. I can't stand courses that do that, nothing worse than worrying about a ball flying your way when trying to enjoy a round.

[mr_divots]

Keller was always tight and dangerous. The same danger areas are there, its just that there are fewer trees to catch balls. I'll still play it, but there are some holes now that you'll [i]really[/i] want to be on your toes. I love the look without all the trees. It was never meant to be over-planted like it was.
I think the par 5 3rd is especially dangerous up by the green, and the 4th green and 5th tee box are still no-man's land. Rest of it isn't bad, but that's a dangerous stretch of the course.

[AzPGAPro]

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Not saying you didn't make a good choice, but I think you missed out on Olympic Hills. They have built a brand new golf course slated to open in July. They have Pro VI's on their practice facility also...going to be a great track! Olympic is going to win a ton of awards after it opens. Just a thought.
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Interesting, I had always heard good things about Olympic, but did not know they built a new course, do they now have 2 courses or replaced the existing one? I will have to find a way onto that course regardless.

The new owner of Windsong has bought almost all the land surrounding the course and he is planning to do something, possibly another course or a state of the art practice facility. He also had jon fought, one of the original architects, out there this summer to make plans to improve upon the course even more. Either way i do not think I could have gone wrong.

Are you a member at Olympic?
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Olympic blew up the existing course and re-seeded everything. They have moved tee boxes and greens (re-contoured every one of them) and added about 50 bunkers to the course. The lower half is unlike anything in the Midwest. There were some photos taken by Peter Wong this past fall that look amazing to see the green mixed in with the changing colors. Most members cannot tell what holes are what anymore. There is that much change here.

[jshel]

Guys, I think I've made this clear, but I am a member at Midland Hills.

We have an attractive spring membership offer. If anybody is looking at joining a club, I would be happy to provide the details.

Midland is in a great, centrally located spot. It has to be about the easiest club to get to from downtown Minneapolis, making after work rounds very doable and the drive from downtown St. Paul is not bad at all.

We have a really good classic golf course, a nice clubhouse and a good group of members.