Golfing Wild Marsh

On Sunday I went out to Wild Marsh to play.  Originally I was supposed to go with my Dad but when he joined me on Friday at Mississippi Dunes he hurt his side and was not able to join me so I went it alone.

Wild Marsh is quite a hike for me.  It is located in Buffalo, MN which is about 1 hour from my house.  It is essentially straight out on highway 12 west of the cities.

Sunday was the tenth anniversary of the attacks on September 11th.  It was a bittersweet day for me to remember back to those awful days but also great to be able to get out and enjoy a game I love under the freedom offered to me in the greatest country on earth.

I got to the course only about 8 minutes before my tee time, having underestimated the time it would take me to get out here.  After telling the pro shop it was just me they had me see the started.  The starter decided to add me with a twosome that was on the first tee, so he drove me down there to meet them.  They had just teed off and I had yet to swing a club.  We introduced ourselves.  They were Erik and Rod, a father and son out enjoying the day.  I proceeded to hit a terrible tee shot, having not warmed up and we were off.  I teed off from the whites, since that is where they were and I regret doing so.

I decided to walk, which is probably not the smartest thing since this course is sprawling and many holes are nowhere near each other.  Several holes are connected by bridges across wetlands and I was quite tired by the end of the round.

Hole 1 is a 337 yard par 4 that plays uphill off the tee and then downhill to a green pretty much straight away.  Hitting over the hill should not be a problem, unless you have not warmed up- which I did not.  There is a bunker at the crest of the hill on the right but long hitters should be able to carry that.  With my tee shot, I was left with a blind shot over the hill to the green.  I hit my second shot fat, and on my next shot was bale to get on the green.  The greens were in really bad shape on 1.  Later, I would find this to be a sign of things to come.

Hole 2 is the start of a string of too many doglegs.  Each hole takes some options away of the tee due to the length required (or not) off the tee.  The second is a 334 yard par 4 that turns right.

Unless you want to try carry the trees right you only need to hit to the 150 marker.  This is a common theme on the doglegs from the white tees.  Out 200 yards then 150 yards in.  That gets a bit boring after a while...

Hole 3 is a 296 yard dogleg  right.  Again the key is to hit to the 150 marker.  Make sure you hit long enough though as trees on the right can block shots to the green if too short.

Hole 4 is a 133 yard par 3.  Out of bounds is along the left of this hole. Bunkering to the left, short, and deep means missing right is the best option. 

The green here was especially bad.  I managed to hit my second put from about 6 feet by some stroke of luck.  After seeing this green we decided as a group to consider anything on the green and in a reasonable distance a two putt, simply because trying to judge pace much less keep a line on the shot was impossible.  Not only had the greens apparently been aerated but it appeared most of the grass was dead and green sand had been spread over those dead areas.

Hole 5 is a 372 yard dogleg left par 4.  Again, the 150 stick is an aiming point.  I tried to play 3 wood here but hit through the fairway and found a nasty lie.  My playing partner Erik, hit driver over the trees left and found a nice spot in the fairway.  Playing this course a couple of times can definitely give you some advantage on where you can cut corners.

Hole 6 is a 310 yard par 4 that has a slight dogleg right and plays uphill nearly the whole way.  The main thing with this hole is the carry required over the water off the tee.  It can look a bit daunting but it is really not that far over and more trouble is likely to be found in the numerous bunkers.

This is also the first hole where you need to take the bridges across the wetlands.

Hole 7 is the signature hole of the course, a par 5 dogleg left around a lake. At 523 yards a two shot hole is not likely as the approach to the green needs to carry almost the entire way over water.

From the tee a sign warns of players on the 1st tee.  They are off to the right amongst the pine trees.  They are definitely within reach and both Erik and I hit very near to the group teeing off.  That is a very dangerous design issue on this hole, since most people want to avoid the left and the lake.

On the second shot you just need to play to a good yardage for the third shot.  In my case I had to hit from near a pine tree and only got my ball out to about 180 yards from the hole.

The third shot over the water to the green.  I managed to hit my shot onto the green from 180 yards out but it rolled off into the fringe left.

The fairway in front of the green had apparently been flood damaged.

Hole 8 is a pretty little par 3 at 134 yards.  Too bad the green was destroyed.

Hole 9 is a 319 yard par 4 with an uphill blind tee shot.  Right on this hole falls off to the 7th hole and left is OB.  A large bunker short and right of the green makes trying to go for the green not smart.  The best play is to just crest the hill and leave a wedge in .

Both Erik and I played the hole smart but both hit our approaches short into the large bunker in front.

I managed a great sand shot out to the pin tucked almost off the back of the green.  One putt later for a par.

Hole 10 is a hole that  has a bit of a double dogleg to the fairway but actually plays straight.  hit driver over the left bunker to the center of the fairway is not a problem and will leave a wedge in.

Hole 11 is a 249 yard par 4 with a dogleg left and a brick backstop off the tee.

 Hit enough club off the tee to carry the marsh and play as far left as you can without missing the fairway to give the best look to a rather narrow green.



Hole 12 is a 316 yard  dogleg left.  Your tee shot must land on the fairway which runs perpendicular to the tee.  The tee shot must carry the marsh.  Daunting but again only 200 yards from the white tee to a short wedge in.

Hole 13 is a long 183 yard par 3 that must carry the marsh front.  Missing left is not possible as the marsh runs down the entire length of the hole.  There is room right though.

Hole 14 is a 323 yard par 4 that is actually not much of a dogleg (slight left turn).  Trees run down the entire left side and the fairway tends to run that way once you leave the center.  The green here again was really bad.

Hole 15 is a 329 yard par 4 that doglegs hard left to make up for the too straight 14th.  I got tired of hitting to distance on this hole and hit driver, cutting the corner but running my ball up the hill behind the fairway.  Oh well at least I hit driver.

Hole 16 is a shorter par 3 at 159 yards.  Long is dead and short left is down a hill and right is sandy.  I hit just over the bunker but there was no fringe on the hole.  It just went from rough to green (sand) so my ball missed the green by 2 inches.  I did make par but where I placed my shot looked to be perfect if the greens were good since it should have funneled left to the hole.

Hole 17 is the first of back to back par 5s to end.  A straight away tee shot finally lets you hit driver to a fairway that slopes right to left.  Right is trouble here as trees and marsh will eat anything there.  Left is a bunker and tree trouble but not death.  I hit a good drive here and was about 190 out to the green that is downhill the last 150 yards.

I hit a sweet 4 iron that cut into the hole perfectly and landed about 7 feet short of the pin.

The closest look I have ever had for an eagle- 7 feet.  Too bad it was on these greens.  I missed short but made bird.

Hole 18 is the most open hole on the course.  A 443 yard par 5 that doglegs right and plays uphill after the tee shot.  You can hit pretty much anywhere on this hole.  I missed badly right but was still fine between the 18th and 10th holes.  From the rough I hit my second shot short of the green 20 yards and was able to get on in regulation and down in 2 for par.

This was the first time I have played here in years and I remember this course being in really nice shape.  This was my first round on the course using my Common Man card but I am not sure I will be going back this year.  The greens were some of the worse I have seen all year (including Columbia early in the season).  With the long drive out and the poor playing conditions I just don't think I will make the trek again until the course has recovered.

It is too bad as my friends and I were going to have a  tournament out here at the end of September.  After playing I notified them of the poor conditions and we have since moved the event.

My thoughts on the course design is that playing from the whites is not fun.  There are too many doglegs that require the same 2 shots (200 yards, and then a mid or short iron).  I should not have played from them anyways but decided to play along with the twosome I was paired with.  I played the course well and aside from the greens being so bad I had a good round. 

I think I was really too disappointed to let my good play make me feel good about the round. I had been looking forward to playing here since I got the common man card and to see the shape the course was in is just a shame.

Still, on the anniversary of September 11th, I was out golfing.  Life is good.