The course is right off highway 55. A pretty straight route for me from south Minneapolis. Emerald Greens is a 36 hole layout, played as two courses the gold and silver. We played on the Silver course which is the longer of the two. From the back tees the silver course measures at 7163 yards and the gold course is 6585 yards. The silver course is also a par 73 with one extra par 5 on the back side.
The course layout is fairly flat, having been built from converted farm fields that still surrounding most of the course. The layout is fairly open with most hazards being trees and bunkers. Several man made lakes do offer some water hazards on the course but in general you are most likely to be impeded by a tree.
We had a 9:30 tee time and the conditions were a little chilly. There was fog that remained for the first 6 or 7 holes and the air was damp and cold. I broke out my cold weather gloves to play the first nine holes.
As I said this course is flat. There was not a lot of variety to the course as you will see from the following.
Hole 1 is a straight ahead par 4 at 358 yards with water left but not really in play.
Hole 2 is on the highest point of the course and the one real elevated tee shot of the day. A dogleg 437 yard par 4. You can hit over the corner a little but it is a poke and trying to cut much will find the trees or bunkers left.
Hole 3 is a dogleg right 404 yard par 4.
Hole 4 is a 185 yard par 3. No pics of that one but it was flat :)
Hole 5 is a 530 yard par 5. Fairway bunkers line either side, and a large bunker is behind the green
Hole 6 is a "pretty" par 3 at 120 yards. The hole is decorated by some nice gardens behind the hole that draws your eye away from the cornfield. The green is essentially an island with only a small walkway on one side. Otherwise, it is surrounded by water.
Hole 7 returns back to a flat straight ahead 368 yard par 4. Fairway bunkers left and right can get your tee shot if not in the fairway. The green was a suprise on this hole- square!
Hole 8 is a 435 yard par 4 straight ahead. Again som fairway bunkers present danger and water past the hole is the only real danger.
Hole 9 is a 532 yard par 5 that also plays straight away. Similar to holes 5, 7, and 8 except for the length.
The front was a little sketchy. I bogeyed 3, 4 and 9 and had doubles on 5, and 8 for a 43.
The back starts of with the 380 yard par 4 10th. A slight dogleg right off the tee the hole does have fiarway bunkers on both sides of the landing area off the tee. Luckily I hit a bad enough shot to miss those. I managed to one putt for par.
Hole 11 is a 157 yard par 3. On in regulation and two putts for par.
Hole 12 is a 493 yard par 5. A dogleg right, you can cut the corner right if you can clear the fairway bunker located at the turn. Bunkers on either side of the green protect the hole. I cut the corner and then got to the front edge of the green in 2. From there I got up and down for a bird. One under.
Hole 13 is a hole that offers no assitance off the tee for those who have never played the hole. You want to hit over the trees right. Aim right in the middle of the trees. If you aim straight ahead with a driver you will hit through the fairway. The fairway slopes left to right down towards a rather large green. I hit my tee shot where I thought I should only to find the fairway turned too severly and I had hit through. After hitting over the green on my second I needed a chip and two putts to get down. Back to par on the back.
Hole 14 is a 347 yard par 4 that angles right off the tee. Only a single bunker short of the green offers and danger. I made a regulation par here. Still par on the side.
Hole 15 is a 168 yard par 3. I pulled my tee shot right off the tee but missed the woods. I was able to chip my second to 5 feet but missed my par putt when the ball broke more than I thought and I missed on the amatuer side. One over on the side.
Hole 16 is the longest hole, a 576 yard par 5. From the back tees it is 632 yards. A good drive puts you in position to cut the corner right over all the small trees. I did not know this and instead played up the fairway. Not cutting the corner just adds 150 yards to the hole, something that having played the hole over again I would know. I hit my third shot just short of the green. From there I chipped on and made my putt for par.
The 17th is a 404 yard par 4 that tees off over a pond. Aside from getting in your head, it is not in play. The hole has no bunkers to worry about and I made another regulation par here. Still one over.
Hole 18 is a nice looking finishing hole at 404 yards. The tee is slightly elevated with a fiarway that doglegs right around a pond. I hit a low screamer off the tee with my driver that only went about 200 yards up the left side of the hole. On my second shot I had 200 yards straight ahead to a pin on the front of the green. I was behind a small tree but had room to go for it. I hit a 4 hybrid square and stuck my shot 7 feet below the hole. I made my birdie putt and went to even for the side!
While the course was OK it did not offer a lot of variety. Aside from length, the holes are all pretty unprotected. On a windy day this course could be tough but today it did offer much of a challenge. They also had recently aerated and while the greens rolled smooth they were loaded with sand. More than I have ever seen. The sand collected on the ball as it was rolling. It collected on your clubs, ony your gloves, on your shoes, on everything.
With normal rates of $36/51 weekends or $31/46 weekdays for walking/riding the course is alittle too pricey to offer a compelling reason why I would choose this course over others that are closer and have a better layout.
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