Ryder Cup Invasion! Minneapolis plans, tee times, etc...

[st8kdinr]

Hey WRXer's!

 

I'm our group leader in golf trips every year and we decided to try some Minnesota golf this year. A little about our group - the majority of us come from Omaha, NE with a couple that will fly into Minneapolis. It's around 12 people and we play 36 a day, usually at the same course as we scramble in teams the second 18. We typically do 36 Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 18 only on Sunday and then head home. Wide variety of handicaps from 3-18 and we just look to have some fun. I've never golfed in MN before and want to pick some solid courses. Even a course on the way up there (SW Minn) would work 1st or on the way home. I've been pretty good about getting the entire trip w/ lodging for around $400. Golf in the past has cost about $250-300. Any input is appreciated!

[YoungJedi]

What region of the state are you looking to play? Unreal courses all over, but depends on how far you want to drive.

[st8kdinr]

Anywhere between Omaha and the road up to Minneapolis. Our plan is to stay somewhere around the city

[YoungJedi]

For your price I would probably go with Chaska Town Course in chaska, Rush Creek in Maple Grove, and Edinburgh USA in Brooklyn Park. All are pretty nice courses and a decent value for what you're getting to play on.

 

Edinburgh used to host LPGA events back in the day and they've hosted some nice events including th US am qualifier out at Rush Creek.

[storm319]

7 rounds and 3 nights lodging will be difficult to keep under $400 unless your group is fine playing mediocre courses and staying in a crappy motel. With that said, here are my recommendations around the Twin Cities:

 

Nicer:

Chaska Town Course

Legends Club

Mississippi Dunes

Rush Creek

Stonebrooke

Stone Ridge

The Wilds

 

Midrange:

Baker National

Braemar

Bunker Hills

Deer Run

Edinburgh USA

Keller

Loggers Trail

Prestwick

Wild Marsh

 

Just over the boarder in Hudson, WI:

Troy Burne

Saint Croix National

White Eagle

[st8kdinr]

Thanks for the input. I'm in the corporate hospitality business so we save substantially on hotel rooms. I've been fortunate in talking with people at the course and getting many rates 25-40% off. Thanks again for the recommendations!

[whysguy]

If I had buddies coming into town:

 

Play WIllingers in Northfield on the way up.

 

Thursday, Chaska Towne Course and Deer Run. Deer Run, let Tom Abts know youre bringing in a group and he is awesome.

 

Friday, Best 36 hole day- Stoneridge or Prestwick in Woodbury and Troy Burne in Hudson, WI

 

Saturday, Rush Creek and Edinburgh.

 

Sunday, Ledgends in Prior Lake on the way out.

 

I would be quite certain that my friends had gotten a great cross section of golfing in the Twin Cities.

 

Stay around Mall Of America and can access most of these within 30-45 minutes. Map them out and you'll see about 15-25 min drive between daily.

 

....Or I would convince them to take the 2.5 hr drive up to the Brainerd Lakes area, ...or plan that as next years trip.

[Vintage1976]

If I had buddies coming into town:

 

Play WIllingers in Northfield on the way up.

 

 

This. The rest of these suggestions here are all very good too, but make sure to play Willingers. Really nice course especially for the money.

[whysguy]

And oh, by the way, If you need an extra....

[st8kdinr]

And oh, by the way, If you need an extra....

 

HA HA! I'll get you the info as it get's closer if we need an extra man! :wave:

[st8kdinr]

If I had buddies coming into town:

 

Play WIllingers in Northfield on the way up.

 

 

This. The rest of these suggestions here are all very good too, but make sure to play Willingers. Really nice course especially for the money.

 

Willingers looks great! Will definitely make the list.

[whysguy]

That's terrific!! I love that course. Beautiful layout, Always in great condition, decent rates. Wonderful intro to our golf course community.

 

Only thing I might change might be to swap Thur and Fri around.

Tom at Deer Run had a "fast play Friday" promo last year with a number of holes with "cart girls" giving away various products. Shots, beer, suntan lotion..., And Lunch at the turn. Hot Dogs, Hamburger, chips in a buffet line on the enclosed patio.

But not certain if its in the plan for this year yet.

 

Gordy.

[BirdieRoll]

Sounds like a great trip you've got in the works. I'll throw out three more ideas for you:

 

Ridges at Sand Creek, far southwest metro

Meadows at Mystic Lake Casino, southwest metro

Dacotah Ridge - located in Morton MN. If logistics work, might be worth your while to check out this Rees Jones design. Will be affordable. Morton, MN is a couple of hours SW of Minneapolis.

 

The Wilds, as noted above, is also located in the southwest metro. It's one of the hardest courses in the state, but it has a lot of OB and homes around it. I think Meadows is the better of the two (and has no homes); they are located just a couple of miles from each other.

 

Also, great restaurant scene in Minneapolis. Won't have to look hard to find a good meal.

[TapIn4Dbl]

I'll second Chaska Town Course and Meadows at Mystic Lake. These are the courses I frequent while visiting my in-laws.

[whysguy]

we have a really large selection of nice, missing that I might try to include would be Loggers Trail and Victory links. I played Victory quite a lot last year and always found it in good condition and pretty quick round.

I'm not a huge fan of Ridges at Sand Creek, but havent played it in a couple of years.

In my original list is Edinburgh, which many like and yet, I never score it well and I find the housing a touch close. I do like the remodel from last year tho.

Partly I included it as it fit the routing of 36 a day with Rush Creek.

[st8kdinr]

Love the suggestions! Makes me think this area will have to be visited more than just once. Looks like a great group of courses! Thanks.

[tommygun]

The Wilds should be called "The Neighborhoods". One of my least favorite courses in the Twin Cities. Almost as bad as Edinburgh.

[tommygun]

Willingers is such a cool layout but both times I played there the greens were painfully slow and the horseflies were unbearable.

 

Chaska Town, Rush Creek and Meadows should make the list. My suggestion is to stop at Golf Galaxy right when you get to town and pick up some of those coupons for deals. Last couple years they have had 2 for 1 for Rush Creek. That's a huge savings.

[whysguy]

A very good friend of mine organizes promos for many of these courses every year. As you get closer, PM me and I will put you in touch with Jeff. I think he's doing some of the prep work right now, but hasnt gotten everything finalized for the 2016 season.

Odd the horsefly thing at Willingers , Tommygun. I played prob 10 rounds last year and never had that.

And its the greens at The Wilds that keep me away. When they first opened, I played every year on my birthday as a single ( wierd kinda inner observation day for me). And then it just went bad. I think they had a change in greenskeeper, and I know they lost like 700 trees in a huge storm too. I really like the track and variety , but the greens, ugh...

And the Meadows have just too many holes that run too close to one another. On that side of the cities, Its Legends and Willingers for me.

Right now, all I know is that its -40 wind chill and this thread is got me cranked up to play . :russian_roulette:

[tommygun]

Good to know about Willingers. I'll go back this year. The horsefly thing was in 2013 or 2014. I didn't play there last season.

[Shawn Paul]

7 rounds and 3 nights lodging will be difficult to keep under $400 unless your group is fine playing mediocre courses and staying in a crappy motel. With that said, here are my recommendations around the Twin Cities:

 

Nicer:

Chaska Town Course

Legends Club

Mississippi Dunes

Rush Creek

Stonebrooke

Stone Ridge

The Wilds

 

Midrange:

Baker National

Braemar

Bunker Hills

Deer Run

Edinburgh USA

Keller

Loggers Trail

Prestwick

Wild Marsh

 

Just over the boarder in Hudson, WI:

Troy Burne

Saint Croix National

White Eagle

 

All good suggestions. You wouldn't be disappointed with Troy Burne & St Croix National (although they're in WI) but I'd stay away from Prestwick. Edina Country Club if you can get in.

[Vintage1976]

 

All good suggestions. You wouldn't be disappointed with Troy Burne & St Croix National (although they're in WI) but I'd stay away from Prestwick. Edina Country Club if you can get in.

 

Yeah St.Croix is very pretty too. Gigantic elevation changes for a Midwest course and also reasonable greens fees.

[Stuge]

Take this for what it's worth, and I agree with many of the courses that have already been listed, but I would talk anyone out of playing St. Croix National. It is perhaps the only course I will not play even if free. I would also add that Rush Creek is certainly nice, but significantly overpriced. Even with a decent deal, you can still go play Bunker Hills for half the price and won't feel like you missed much. I feel like you're getting a lot of higher end courses which will make it impossible to stay even close to the budget mentioned, even with the favorable lodging situation. I think Eagle Valley in Woodbury is underrated and second those who recommend Keller. If you weren't coming from Nebraska I'd say just go play two rounds apiece at the Giants Ridge courses and The Wilderness. I think that's the best buddies trip destination in the state, hands down.

[st8kdinr]

A very good friend of mine organizes promos for many of these courses every year. As you get closer, PM me and I will put you in touch with Jeff. I think he's doing some of the prep work right now, but hasnt gotten everything finalized for the 2016 season.

Odd the horsefly thing at Willingers , Tommygun. I played prob 10 rounds last year and never had that.

And its the greens at The Wilds that keep me away. When they first opened, I played every year on my birthday as a single ( wierd kinda inner observation day for me). And then it just went bad. I think they had a change in greenskeeper, and I know they lost like 700 trees in a huge storm too. I really like the track and variety , but the greens, ugh...

And the Meadows have just too many holes that run too close to one another. On that side of the cities, Its Legends and Willingers for me.

Right now, all I know is that its -40 wind chill and this thread is got me cranked up to play . :russian_roulette:

 

Thanks! I let you know when we finalize a weekend. The snow and cold weather has got even more antsy to get out!

[BSKND]

I'm pretty sure that every single decent course in the Twin Cities has now been mentioned at least once, but if you are intent on sticking to your ~$300 golf budget, some of the previous recommendations would put a big dent in it right away.

 

My two cents to keep you at $300, assuming that you can negotiate some slightly discounted replay rates:

 

Thursday: Double round at Willingers on the way up to town. This makes sense for three reasons: it's on the way, it is a great course overall, and it is one that you will definitely play differently (hopefully better) during your second pass at it.

 

- Stay as close to downtown for your whole stay (as budget allows)

 

Friday: Bunker Hills for a double round. It's about 30 min north of downtown and is the former site of a Champions Tour event until our TPC was built. 3 nines, so you only have to replay one of them to get in your 36 holes. Plus a good restaurant & bar.

 

Saturday: Chaska Town Course for 36 if you can negotiate a very good replay rate. (it is a great course, but is ~$70 for non residents). Otherwise, I would do 36 at Baker National. Both are W/SW from downtown

 

Sunday: Head east into St. Paul and play either Logger's Trail or Keller. Loggers is out on a great piece of land, while Keller is a city course that hosted 2 PGAs and a Western Open *way* back in the day and just got renovated a couple of years ago.

 

This itinerary gives you a decent tour of the Twin Cities and should be doable for right around $300 with reasonable replay rates - which for 7 rounds is pretty good for up here. Some of the courses mentioned in other replies (esp. Rush Creek, StoneRidge, Troy Burne) are very nice, but $100+ each for one round.

 

Hope this helps and have fun!!

[Clark55810]

I know you where planning to do the twin cities, but I would second the idea of going further north and play Giants Ridge (two courses) and The Wilderness.

 

You could play each of these courses twice each.

 

Each of the courses have appeared in the GD top 100 public courses over the years and I believe the Quarry at GR is still on the list.

 

The Wilderness also has a casino and hotel, if you party like that. GR has villas, which are great for groups.

[meaks17]

The courses in the Twin Cities area I feel are trip worthy would be:

• Chaska Town Course
  
• Meadows at Mystic Lake
  
• The Legends
  
• Willingers
  
• StoneRidge
  
• Rush Creek
  
• Troy Burne
  
• White Eagle
  

The Wilds and Edinburgh are fine but I'm not sure I'd include them on a golf trip; I wasn't that impressed when I played Logger's Trail or Deer Run.

 

You may consider doing your trip in Brainerd where you'll have a ton of resorts and courses to choose from in a much tighter area. The Classic at Maddens there is a Golf Digest Top 100 Public Course and there are several other great courses. If you are really up for driving (another 3.5 hours north of the cities) consider Giant's Ridge and The Wilderness.

[mp.14]

If you didnt have so many people I would invite you guys out to Windsong Farm. If you're ever back in MN with less people or yourself, let me know

 

Id recommend Willingers, Dacotah Ridge, Troy Burne, Chaska Town Course, Rush Creek, Meadows.

 

Brainerd has great golf as well like the above poster mentioned.

[Billy__Baroo]

Alright, I know this is from a few months ago, but here's my .02. Instead of hitting Willingers on your way up, play The Jewel instead. Often overlooked, but an awesome course right by the Mississippi. Willingers is great, but the bugs can be brutal in July, and it's pretty tight, so the higher handicap guys are going to struggle. Definitely play 36 at Chaska Town Course, because as someone already stated, the replay is a great value, and it's one of the top 3 public courses in town. If you're going to splurge on any course, go to Rush Creek. Awesome course that's always in country club shape. Then I'd say you should use the golfnow app, and play at any/all of these three courses: The Refuge, Loggers Trail, or Mississippi Dunes. All of them are a bit of a drive, so look on the map and figure out how you want to rout it. Considering you're on a golf trip and not too worried about time frame for tee times, you can get ridiculously good deals using golfnow. On weekdays I've played The Refuge for $25 with a cart, and it's a 4 1/2 star course. There are a bunch of other great clubs in town, like: The Wilds, The Legends, Meadows at Mystic Lake, Edinburgh, Stoneridge, or Troy Burne if you're willing to drive to Wisconsin, but all of those can be spendy, and if you're going to pay $100/person, then Rush Creek is where it's at. As I said, just my .02, because no matter where you go, you'll have a great time. We here in the cities are very fortunate to have so many great public courses!

[Texsport]

While not in the Twin Cities area, the best courses, cheapest green fees, and accommodations are to be found at resorts in Brainard and Biwabik.

 

At resorts you have the possibilities of renting condos which house up to 15 people, greatly reducing housing costs.

 

The highest rated public course in Minnesota, and only U S Top 100 public course in MN, according to Golf Digest is The Quarry@Giants Ridge at #30 in the U S.Greatest 100 Public/Resort Courses.

 

Also according to GD and The Golf Channel, the Top 100 Greatest Public in the U S with the lowest green fees is also The Quarry@Giants Ridge at around $62 -$89, depending on the season and tournament rates negotiated with pro shop, with a 2nd 18 "replay" at even cheater prices.

 

Giants Ridge is about 200 miles north of the Twin Cities, but has a second course, the Legend, also on the MN State Top 10 public list + 20 miles from the Wilderness@Fortune Bay with another Top 10 MN State public course.

 

Fortune Bay is, of course, a casino hotel.

 

Texsport