Golfing the Wilds Golf Club

Early October golf can be great in Minnesota, the fall colors, the cooler weather, no mosquitoes, and generally less people.  However the weather is not always the greatest.  Many courses offer reduced fall rates and a few, including where we played today offer a "play the temp". We played at The Wilds,  an upscale course in Prior Lake, MN.  The southern suburbs offer a few good courses in this area, The Wilds, The Legends, The Meadows, etc.

The Wilds is normally around $90 to play, and a general consensus I hear is that for full price it is not worth it but for the pay the temp price it can be a good deal.  My dad and I went out there early on Saturday and got a good deal- a really good deal.  $35 green fees.  Yeah OK so golfing when it is barely above freezing isn't the most enjoyable and your swing never feels really warmed up, nor does the ball fly that well but hey, we got a great deal and with the cold weather, only a handful of other hearty souls were out there with us.

 

The course has a nice practice facility immediately in front of the clubhouse.  When we checked in the course said we could head to the driving range with free unlimited balls but with the bitter cold we decided to skip that and just go out and play.

The practice green and driving range behind

The course is a stout test when playing from the mid tees.  From the back tees, it is a monster with a slope/rating of 74.4/154.  That is one of the highest I have ever seen.  The course has 4 tees, from back to front: black, purple, green, and red.

The course was designed by Tom Weiskopf  and Jay Morrish and opened in 1995.  The course originally opened as an intended center to a planned housing community.  When I first played the course many years ago there were hardly any houses.  Not I think nearly every lot has been developed and a lot of the courses charm has been lost with the feeling you are playing through a neighborhood.  On one particular hole a house sits so dangerously located off the tee that I cant believe an insurance company would underwrite them.  I will point that out as I go through the course.

We headed out in new electric carts that seemed sluggish in the cold weather and drove to the first tee, passing some still brilliant fall foliage.

Hole 1- Par 4 (406/362/337/317)

The round opens with a par 4 that turns slightly right as it approaches the green.  Down the right side a pond will catch any shots hit down that side, down the left is more open and is the preferred landing spot.

A shot from the fairway showing the water down the right side.

The green is nicely tucked into a grove of pines and is guarded down the right side by a massive bunker nearly the same size as the green.

The greens had recently been punched but had been dressed and rolled smoothly despite the recent aeration.  Here is a shot back down the first hole from the green.

Another shot showing the gentle contours of the first green.

Hole 2- Par 5 (517/484/451/401)

A dogleg left par 5 faces you on the second hole. At the turn, a bunker sits to catch those trying to cut off distance.  The left side is even riskier with marsh lining the entire left side of the hole to the green.

At the dogleg, the hole falls downhill.  A drive that clears this can pick up an easy 30 yards of additional carry.

As you approach the green, a large bunker complex sits centered in front of the green.

A view back down the hole, taken from the green.

Hole 3- Par 3 (170/152/148/103)

A mid to long par 3 that is guarded down the left by the marsh land and down the right by 4 bunkers,  There is actually room to miss long.

A view of the green taken from the right side of the hole.

Hole 4- Par 4 (340/292/286/237)

A par 4 with a forced carry of a pond off the tee.  We played directly into a fierce wind on this hole and my driver barely cleared the water.  Despite the short length, once you clear the water, there are 3 fairway bunkers flanking the hole as well as 3 green side bunkers surrounding the putting surface.

The green is a three pointed shape and pins placed in any of the three corners can make the hole quite difficult.

Hole 5- Par 4 (478/429/400/370)

The first thing you notice on this hole is the trouble down the left side with the trees and the absolute stupidity of building a house in the spot it sits down the right.  I have played on a fair number of "residential" golf courses and I have to say this is probably the worst location for a house I have seen.

Down the right side, the second bunker nearly runs right up to the house.  I imagine it might have been placed there to try to slow errant tee shots down.  This area sits about 290-250 yards off the tee.

I digress, back to the golf.  Aside from the trouble left and the couple of bunkers on the right the hole is actually pretty open.

As you approach the green, you will see a large bunker short of the green 20 yards that covers an approach from the right side.  In addition, there are 3 bunkers lining the left side of the green and two more deep right.  The green is fairly substantial, being about a 40 yard circular putting surface.

Hole 6- Par 4 (460/384/363/324)

A tee shot to a double fairway, split by a series of 4 bunkers.  The left fairway ends at 290 yards from the tips.  The right fairway continues to the hole. Short of the fairway is a pond that bisects the hole just past the tees.

After your tee shot you must descend a hill off to the left side of the hole and navigate past a pond and back up a hill before winding through the center of the bunkers complex separating the hole.  This is definitely not a good walking hole

Similar to the approach on 5, a large bunker sits short of the green.  This one is about 60 yards short but block a line of sight to the green if you are behind it.

The green is protected by a long bunker down the right side.  This green is fairly narrow but 35 yards deep.  It is possible to play the ball of the hill framing the right side of the hole though when we played the grass was being kept fairly long and a ball hit there may have hung up.

My second shot found the right green side bunker but I chipped it close to get up and down for par.

Hole 7- Par 3 (174/167/159/148)

Another mid to long par 3 that plays longer with an elevated green from the tee.  The tee shot is somewhat daunting having to carry a wetland and the hill short of the green.  A large bunker sits on the right of the hole.  TO the left, the hole falls off towards another bunker.

My dad hitting from the left bunker.  You can see the elevation of the green here.

Hole 8- Par 5 (540/529/518/372)

A beautiful and nerve racking tee shot across a pond and up a hill to the fairway. From the back tees to the front is a difference of 170 yards! 

At around 300 yards a fairway bunker sits to catch long drives down the right side. 

Past this bunker, the hole turns right and falls towards the green, set back on a bit of a peninsula on the lake.

You can see here that the hole travels down hill and then falls just before the green.

This mansion sits high above the right side of the 8th hole and was one of the original houses on the course.  Now nearly every lot is built up.

A view of the green taken from the left side of the hole.  The green falls of on the left side towards the lake.  A large bunker protects the front right border of the green.

Another shot of the green, taken from the right side.

Hole 9- Par 4 (378/353/329/277)

Visually, a similar tee shot to the last hole, minus the forced carry.  You must hit to an elevated fairway.  This hole is actually relatively open as long as you don't miss too wide into the trees.

As you reach the summit of the hill, a bunker complex blocks your approach and eliminates the sight line to the green.  These bunkers sit about 50-70 yards from the green.

A view back towards to tee from the crest of the hill in the fairway.

Over the set of fairway bunkers, the long and narrow green is guarded down the left side by three bunkers.  The right side is relatively unguarded, thou it does feature a low grassy swale that will collect any balls hit to that side.

As we made the turn to the back nine, our electric cart gave up the ghost.  The batteries didn't have enough juice to climb up the hill towards the tenth tee.  I ran back to the clubhouse and a new cart was quickly dispatched and we were on our way.

Hole 10- Par 4 (433/410/381/285)

The 10th is a straight ahead hole that offers a wide open tee shot.  The right side has more danger than the left but the fairway here is generous.

Anything hit long and to the right will find an uphill shot to the green from the rough.

The green is elevated from the hole and is protected on the left by a pair of bunkers.

A shot of the green taken from the left of the hole.  The green is narrow but over 30 yards deep.

Hole 11- Par 3 (224/180/160/134)

A long par 3 that plays downhill into a green flanked by two massive bunkers.  The green is 40 yards front to back.  To the extreme right of this hole is a wetland area to make this tough hole even tougher.

Hole 12- Par 5 (528/500/456/391)

A slightly uphill tee shot into this long par 5.  The hole doglegs right at about 300 yards out.

From your second shot, the right side is guarded by a series of 5 bunkers.

On your third shot you must miss the large bunker down the left of the green and one small one to the right.

The green has 2 tiers and the far left of the green is elevated substantially making a shot into there a tough approach.  There is plenty of room around the green to chip, especially long.

Hole 13- Par 3 (165/156/137/129)

Another uphill par 3.  This one is guarded short by two large bunkers.

This green is large, about 30 yards deep by 50 yards wide.

A shot of my dad just after he chipped in from behind the green.  Unfortunately, he originally came up short in the bunkers and that was for a 5 but it was still a great shot!

Hole 14- Par 4 (487/453/433/369)

A long par 4 that features an elevated tee shot to a dogleg left hole.  Straight ahead off the tee is a massive bunker that is only 280 yards out from the tips.

Here you can see the elevation changes on this hole and the surrounding neighborhoods of Prior Lake.

I hit a 3 wood off the tee to avoid the bunker but had around 220 yards in.  I striped a 3 iron hybrid from this spot.

Here is the result.  Nice and tight!

A shot of the unprotected green on 14.  While this is a long hole, it is forgiving in the approach.

Hole 15- Par 4 (378/355/324/299)

A dogleg left that offers trouble down the left and right with bunkers in the landing zone. A driver is probably not the choice here as the closer you get to the green the more the hole squeezes down.

A view of the aiming point off the tee.  The best location is center of the fairway and about 250 yards off the tee.

As you approach the green, water on either side makes for a narrow fairway.  The green is protected with water left and a huge bunker right.

Hole 16- Par 4 (330/295/255/202)

On a hole I found to not be very aesthetically pleasing, you must carry marshland off the tee.  You are hitting somewhat blind to a this fairway.  The front edge of the green is only 289 yards from the back tee but with little to guide you it is hard to know where to hit. 

Down the left of this hole is a huge bunker.  The right side does have one smaller bunker as well.

This green is enormous.  It is over 60 yards deep.

A shot of the massive bunker lining the left side of the hole, with the green behind.

Hole 17- Par 5 (560/527/461/415)

Another uphill tee shot.  Trees line the right side of the hole on this dogleg left.  As you crest the hill in the distance, the hole turns slightly to the left.

Here you can see, from a view back towards the tee, that the right side falls off towards the trees lining the right side.

Atop the hill and the start of the dogleg, a bunker guards the corner. From the tips, this bunkers is about 270 yards out.

A shot of my dad hitting his third shot into the green and a view back down the hole.

The approach into the green which is guarded with a bunker short left and a larger one long right.

Hole 18- Par 4 (444/421/380/345)

The finishing hole is a par 4 with water jutting in from the right and forcing a a carry into the green from anything hit down the right off the tee.  The water comes into play about 270 yards from the tips.  Down the left side, a single fairway bunker awaits tee shots hit down that side.

A flat approach in on the 18th fairway.

A gaggle of geese guarded this hole during our round.

A view of the green with which is protected both left and right by bunkering.

My dad putting out on the last hole.  Time to get some hot chocolate!

I ended up shooting an 81.  Besides a bogey on 11 and a double on 12, I rattled off 7 pars on the back for a 39.  With the 42 on the front I figured given the freezing conditions I played pretty good considering the level of difficulty of the course.  I played from the purple (Championship) tees with a slope and rating of 71.9/147 and a distance of 6449 yards.

Overall I found the course to be enjoyable however the housing on the course does detract from the experience.  With the premium pricing the course asks I would rather play other alternatives.  However, with the pay the temp rates it can offer a great rate that definitely makes it a worthwhile trip.  Accuracy and distance required makes this one a tough challenge.  That paired with the over 70 bunkers, most placed in likely landing spots, and I can see why the course rates as hard as it does.

http://www.golfthewilds.com/
3151 Wilds Ridge
Prior Lake, MN 55372
Tel: (952) 445-3500