Playing Glen Lake

Last weekend my Dad and I got out to Glen Lake, a fine executive course in Minnetonka.  Located on Hwy 62, just west of 494 Glen Lake is one of the nicest executive courses in the twin cities.  The course is usually kept in really good shape.  Glen Lake also offers a lot of junior golf programs and some times the course can play a little slow because of the youngsters on it.  The course has 4 par 4s and 5 par 3s.  I have played a lot of rounds on this course and really enjoy it.  This course and Begin Oaks, I consider to be the nicest executive courses in Minneapolis.

Just before our tee time it was raining pretty good but by the time we got a couple of holes in, the sun actually started to appear.  This was the first time golfing under sun in Minnesota this year!  This was my dad's first time out.  Since we were the only ones on the course we decided to play two balls on each hole.

Hole 1 is an uphill par 3.  The green surface can not be seen from the tee. At 117 yards it plays slightly longer but you want to be careful not to go too far as trees come in to play quickly behind the green.

The second hole is a downhill par 3 at 147 yards.

The third hole is the first par 4, at 308 yards.  A dogleg right, trees prevent a straight shot at the green.




The fourth hole is another par 3, 153 yards with water in play to the right of the green.  A long green has some undulations to make putting difficult.

Hole 5 is my favorite hole on this course.  I am a big fan of the northern Minnesota courses and this hole reminds me of playing those.  With trimmed evergreens on either side of the fairway, I think this is one of the nicest looking holes around.

Hole 6 is a hard par 4 dogleg left.  The second shot is to a green tucked into the trees.  You need to hit the second straight as both left and right sides fall off downhills to the woods.

Hole 7 is another the longest par 3 at 173 yards.  Downhill, water is to the right but should not come into play.  More likely in play is the evergreen to the left of the green.

Hole 8 is a downhill par 3 at 166 yards.  My dad hit a really nice shot into this one, as seen here:

As you can see in the above picture one thing about the course is the greens appeared to have suffered some kind of snow mold damage.  Some of the greens had extensive marks on them.  Hopefully this damage will grow out but for now the greens were fairly bumpy.

The final hole is a 301 yard par 4. Dead straight but with a hazard running up the left side.  The right side offers a hill that can put balls back into play, or leave an awkward lie.  Trees in front and left of the green can be a problem if you play up the left side.