By Josh Miller
It’s hard to believe that we’re already eight weeks into the Driving Minnesota Golf Tour, but I guess time flies when you’re having fun.
I played six excellent courses this week all over the Twin Cities metro. On Sunday, I began my week with a visit to Majestic Oaks in Ham Lake before hopping down to Bunker Hills in Coon Rapids to play the course and check out the Minnesota Golf Hall of Fame. On Wednesday, I visited Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury, followed by a Thursday round at Golden Valley Country Club. On Friday I played Victory Links in Blaine and closed the week Saturday at The Legends Club in Prior Lake.
My first rounds of the week were at Majestic Oaks Golf Club in Ham Lake and Bunker Hills in Coon Rapids. I didn’t necessarily think about the Blaine/Coon Rapids area as a hotbed for Minnesota golf but there are a number of courses in the area including Majestic Oaks, Bunker Hills, TPC Blaine and Victory Links. Majestic Oaks is a huge 45-hole facility with two championship 18-hole courses and one executive nine-hole course. I played the Crossroads course, a neat track which weaved through residential neighborhoods, and the other 18-hole course, called the Signature, was a bit more wooded. This facility was very busy and provides an affordable golfing option to the public in that part of the metro.
Afterwards, I visited Bunker Hills Golf Club, one of the largest public golf facilities in the Twin Cities with 27 holes of championship golf and a large practice facility. The course hosts the Minnesota State High School League’s AAA State Championship each year, and is also home to the Minnesota Golf Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is a neat tribute to the history of the game in Minnesota, teaching about the first courses in Minneapolis and celebrating some of the best golfers to ever come out of the state. The course itself is beautiful and reminded me of courses in Northern Minnesota. Visit when you have a chance!
After a day or two off due to rain, I had a beautiful morning of golf out at Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury. The course was in pristine condition and the clubhouse overlooking 18 made for an intimidating finishing hole. There were a number of impressive flower beds throughout the course, and water hazards provided both challenge and beauty. This is a gem of a golf course in an area of the state with many excellent courses, and I’ll be back the first chance I get.
On Thursday, I got to play the pristine Golden Valley Country Club yesterday designed by legendary A.W. Tillinghast, who also designed Bethpage Black, Winged Foot, and Baltusrol. Tillinghast is one of the most interesting men in the history of the game, and according to a New York Times article, he “was probably bipolar. There were despondencies, pistol-waving rages and at least one suicide attempt. But when he wasn’t disappearing on benders, he was a bundle of brilliance and entrepreneurial energy.” Golden Valley CC is one of two courses in MN designed by Tillinghast, along with Rochester Golf and Country Club. Golf course architects are legendary figures because their mark on the game will never go away — sure, courses may go through renovations and upgrades, but the original designs will always be treasured.
On Friday, I got out to play Victory Links in Blaine. This course is the only one in Minnesota designed by the PGA design studio, so each year it hosts the 3M Open’s Monday qualifier. Owned by the famous National Sports Center, the world’s largest amateur sports facility boasting 50 soccer fields and eight ice rinks, the course is in phenomenal shape and each hole offers a different challenge.
I closed out week eight of the tour by visiting the unbelievable Legends Club in Prior Lake. This is, hands down, one of my favorite courses in the state. The course is in prime condition and the layout is phenomenal, with a nice mix of gettable and challenging holes that offer extraordinary scenery. The course features some of the best use of water holes in Minnesota, particularly the par three holes 13 and 17, and also offers a combination of links-style and parkland holes. It’s just a beautiful course with a clubhouse and pro shop that make it a legendary golf experience. This is a track every Minnesota golfer must visit at some point.
That’s it for week eight. But trust me, there is an incredible lineup of courses to be played over the next week. A few to be featured include The Classic at Maddens, Cragun's Legacy Courses, Interlachen CC, and more. The tour is really heating up now, so be sure to continue to follow along for updates.
Favorite Hole: No. 13 at The Legends. It’s a unique hole with an elevated fairway, a feature I haven’t seen before.
Interesting Person: Derek Schmidt. I got to play Victory Links with Derek, a content creator who formerly worked for the Minnesota Gophers and now works for an NFL Agency in Minneapolis. Derek is one of many content creators who play a significant role in ensuring the future vitality of the game by producing awesome golf content and making beautiful courses look even more spectacular. He got a few awesome shots of my round at Victory Links — check them out above.
Best Shot: I started playing really, really well this week. I began to turn a corner in my golf game because I figured out how to hit my driver straight consistently. My best shot came at number five at the Legends, an unbelievable par three that manages to intimidate the best golfers although it is only about 95 yards long. There is a huge drop between the tee box and green, so if you miss the green… good luck. I put a wedge to about three feet and put it in for birdie here.
All scores:
Majestic Oaks GC: 40 (+4)
Bunker Hills GC: 82 (+10)
Prestwick GC: 81 (+9)
Golden Valley CC GC: 84 (+12)
Victory Links GC: 82 (+10)
Legends GC: 80 (+8)
