Golfing Hiawatha Golf Course

Hiawatha Golf Course is part of the Minneapolis Park Board's group of municipal city courses.  An old course from 1932 it was built on an old swamp that bordered Lake Hiawatha.  This course is the closest course to my house, being less than 2 miles from my house.

While it is close I do not play it often.  The course is not kept in great condition generally.  The design is also relatively uninteresting.  Showing it's age, the greens are all very small and relatively flat.  All in all there are lots of better options out there, including other Minneapolis city course.

That being said, since it is so close to me I do frequent the course for its large practice facility.  They have 3 putting greens, a sand area, and a chipping hole.  They also have a very large driving range.  While the conditions of the practice facility is not top notch it is very convenient.

I stopped by the course to practice but it was such a nice day and there were not a lot of people so I decided to play a round instead.

Lets take a look at the course.  Be prepared for some tiny, flat greens.

Hole 1 is a par 5 at 473 yards from the back tees.  Trees crowd either side of the fairway and offer the only serious trouble on this hole.  Luckily it is short enough that if you do get into the trees you can usually play out and still reach the green in regulation.

Here is the first of the tiny flat greens.

Hole 2 is another par 5.  Strange to see 2 to start off a round.  This one plays 518 yards.  Off the tee you must cut the dogleg right corner if you hit driver.  Otherwise play out to about 230 yards and tehn hit as much as you want on your second.  Right is lake Hiawatha so don't cut the corner too much.

The fairway had some issues.  Since this course was built on a swamp they have always had drainage issues- and the course shows it.

A look at the the hole after the dogleg

Again another flat green. This one is actually one of the bigger ones on the course.

Lake Hiawatha is the backdrop for the tees of hole 3, a par 3 129 yard uphill number.

This green probably has as much undulation as any on the course.

Hole 4 is a par 4 that is straight away at 317 yards.  OB is right, the edge of the property.

Another flat green awaits.

The turf around the greens is spotty at best.

Hole 5 is another straight ahead par 4 at 416 yards.  There is more room off the tee to miss here.  It is hard to hit far enough right to be OB.  Ahead left there is water.

Look, another flat green.

Hole 6 is probably the best visual hole on the course.  A dogleg right that is protected on the right by water.  The green is slightly elevated on this 368 yard par 4.

The green and looking back down the hole.  I had a moment on this hole where I almost jarred my second shot.  I completely collapsed the side of the cup but my ball didn't stay down.

Hole 7 can seem daunting.  Your tee shot must split the water hazards on either side.  The hazards really are not in play if using a driver and you can clear them unless you are really off line.  More of a problem is likely the bunker on the left past the water.  This is a 540 yard par 5.

The spotty fairway.

The green on this hole is ridicualously small for a par 5.  Seriously.

Here is the green from a distance.  This thing is tiny.

The par 3 200 yard hole 8 always seems to be one I miss the green on.  Water is far right.  Left is all kinds of nasty lies and sand.

Hole 9 is a straight ahead par 4 at 418 yards.  There is water on the right by the stake you can see from the tee.

The approach to the uphill flat green.  I absolutely murderlated my drive here and had about 85 yards in.

At the turn you are faced with a nearly identical hole as hole 1.  Hole 10 is a straight away par 5 at 501 yards.  Again trees are your main concern on the hole.

 The second shot.

 And the flat green.

Hole 11 is a dogleg left.  There is water past the dogleg and right so if you hit it long you want to  hit over the right most tree at the dogleg.

 A view around the dogleg to the green.  Laying back too much can give you a long shot in to one of the other larger greens on the course.

 The green, however, is in terrible plinko shape.

 Here is a view of the green from a distance.  And this is one of the bigger greens.

Hole 12 is a par 3 that is probably the most scenic hole on the course.  To the left you can see the  downtown Minneapolis skyline.  Your tee shot must cross a creek to a green that is slightly uphill and surrounded by trees. The distance here is 168 yards.

Hole 13, 485 yards, is another par 5.  OB is left on this hole.  The hole turns slightly left and then right on what I guess you can call a double dogleg.

 Short of the green is a creek that prevents trying to run it up on your second shot.

 The green here is actually decent size too. Guess what?  it is flat.

I don't have a picture from  holes 14 or 15. 

Hole 14 is a straight ahead par 4 at 350 yards.  Some trees around the green offer the most danger.  There is water right along with a fairway bunker.

Hole 15 is probably the toughest par 3 at 164 yards but protected on either side by sand and a drop off deep.

Hole 16 is a dogleg right par 4 at 412 yards. YOu want to get as far off the tee as you can here and cut the corner.

 The second shot requires carrying a creek short of the green some 50 yards.

 A look at the green on 16 from the 17th tee.

As the sun started setting, I reached the 17th.  A par 4 395 yard dogleg right again.  Trees are the primary hazard here.

 The green on this hole is particularly flat.  Mmmmm flat.

Hole 18 is one more straight ahead par 4 at 374 yards.  If you can avoid the trees off the tee you will find an easy approach to the green.

 The green actually has a ridge in it!  You must play what is known as "a break" sometimes on this hole.

I ended up shooting an 81- 42 out and 39 in.  In general I feel like the course should be easy to shoot low on, but then again with the tiny greens and less than ideal putting conditions it is not that easy to score.  I hit the ball OK but I missed a lot of greens.  Chipping around the greens is no easy task as the grass around the greens is often pretty dicey.