Minneapolis golf league - Columbia Week 2

Week 2 of our golf league was the last week of open play to establish league handicaps.  The turn out this week was much better than last week since there was no snow on the ground to start the day.  Last week I know of only one other two-some that was on the course besides us.

This week we played the back 9 on Columbia.  Having played the front nine the previous week I now have played both sides.  I would have to say the back nine is the more challenging of the sides.

Typical of a Minneapolis muni course, the course conditions are poor.  The course did not come through the winter well and a lot of winter kill has happened on the fairways.  The greens are also really bad.  There are a lot of bare spots on the greens that make putting through them a joke.  Hopefully the conditions improve dramatically as the weather warms but I am not holding my breathe.

The back nine offers a couple of holes worth noting:

Hole 11 is a par 5 that offers a test on your second shot to avoid water on either side of the fairway.  Unfortunately their was also a lot of standing water in the fairway too (and winter kill).

Hole 15 is another par 5 that is a beast of a hole.  Your score is all dependent on your first shot being straight and far enough to play your second shot around a dogleg left.  If you are not straight you are in the trees.  If you are too long you are in the trees.  If you are too short you can't advance your ball far due to the trees on the dogleg.  Even though the hole is not long it can play tough.  This is one of those holes that is typically either a par or a blow-up hole with little in between. This week I played the "blow-up hole" variety, scoring the first snowman of the year.  Yeah me.

Hole 16 is the best view on the course with an elevated tee and water to the right and trees to the left. A long par 4, your second shot is uphill to the green.

 16 to the left with 2 to the right.  A lot of winter kill can be seen.

Columbia is a fairly old city course.  Some interesting history on it can be found here. It was originally built in 1919 when the city responded to the popularity of the Theodore Wirth golf course by opening 6 holes at Columbia.  Originally the course had sand greens.  After a year it was decided 6 holes was not enough and they expanded to 9 holes, still with sand greens. In 1922 the course expanded to 18 holes.  It was apparently so popular that people had to be turned away.  Things went great until the great depression when all Minneapolis city courses except Gross saw business drop-off.  Gross was the only course with irrigation so its conditions helped to maintain its popularity. In 1935 as part of the federal work relief programs the course was upgraded to grass greens.  In the 1960s the course was lengthened to its current state.

Learning the history of old courses like this is always fun and makes me appreciate a course, even if its current conditions are so bad.