Golfing the Meadows at Mystic Lake on Fathers Day

Fathers day I was able to take my dad out to the Meadows at Mystic Lake.  We played with my brother in law Dave and his dad.

The Meadows is a high-end golf course that was built upon an existing older course called Lone Pine Golf Course.  That course first opened in 1978 as a 9 hole course and expanded to 18 in 1985.  In 2002 Mystic Lake was finally able to acquire the course and built the meadows, which opened in 2005 as it is currently designed.

When we played the course it was very wet which made putting on the greens rather challenging.  Most of the greens are quite large and it was often hard to get the ball to the hole due to the speed of the greens.  Also, with the wet conditions, the carts we took had to stay on the path which is such a pain.  Speaking of the carts, they are the most comfortable carts I have ever ridden in.  The seats were so well padded I felt like I was riding around in a barco-lounger.

We played from the white tees.

While the course is fairly flat, it offers a lot of water and sand to find.  Well placed fairway bunkers come into play on nearly every drive potentially.  The holes are named after various native plants or animals.  The animal holes all have statues of the animals they are named after.  it is worth it to play here just to enjoy these artworks scattered around the course.

Hole 1, Sage,  is an easy starting hole that has fairway bunkers left and right Around 220 yards out.  Another bunker guards the front of the green.  A par 4 at 372 yards it is a good hole to make par or birdie on.

Hole 2, Maple, is a 173 yard par 3.  Avoiding the front bunker and positioning your ball on the right side of this large green is key.

Hole 3, Prairie, was redesigned this year to make it more difficult.  The green was moved from its original position straight down the fairway, left and over water.  This 506 yard par 5 has water left  A large fiarway bunker on the left requires a carry of 260 yards or placement right of it.  Another bunker to the right does not make the tee shot any easier.  The second shot should be played as far left as you can to make your third shot to the green as easy as possible.

Hole 4, Willow is an uphill short par 4, at 284 yards, well protected by bunkers.  Water is also in play short and right.  To reach the right fiarway landing zone you must carry about 230 yards to clear the bunkers.

Hole 5, Creek, is a par 4 at 382 yards that gets its name from the creek running in front of the green.  Right fairway bunkers come into play at 230-270 yards

Hole 6, Bear, is one of the signature hole here.  A par 5 at 510 yards.  The first shot offers a large landing area.  Your second shot offers little hope of carrying the impressive waterfall short of the green.  The better play is to hit left of the water to the landing area and play a conservative third shot in.

Hole 7, Eagle, is a 165 yard par 3.  Water short and left requires a carry to the green or a miss right.  Again a large green, hitting to the correct side is key.

Hole 8, Oak, is a 334 yard par 4.  Water is left of the tee and two bunkers left and right collect balls 250 yards off the tee.  The smart play is to lay up short of the bunkers, giving a 120-110 yards in.

Hole 9, Buffalo, is a 397 yard par 4.  Again, fairway bunkers both right and left are in play.  The left bunker requires 250 yards to clear. Play down the middle between the bunkers and you will have under 100 yards in.

 

Turning the corner, the course offers even more water.  7 of 9 holes on the back have water on them somewhere though often it is not really in play.

The 10th, Meadow, is a 476 yard par 5.  Left and right bunkering is in play off the tee starting at around 230 yards on each side.  The fairway landing area is large.  The second shot really does not offer a lot of danger, just a bunker protecting the green in front.  This hole is reachable in 2 and it is tempting to try, with the lack of danger.

The 364 yard 11th, Ash, has water down the left side.  Again bunkers can come into play both left and right off the tee.  The green here is really large so make sure your second shot is on target.  Do not miss right as long gress can get your ball good.

Hole 12, Deer, is 328 yards.  No wate ron this hole, just more strategically placed bunkers.

Hole 13, Plum, requires a good carry off the tee.  Again, there is no water on this hole only bunkers protecting the green.

 Back to the water on 14, Aspen.  A 174 yard par 3.  Water short and right must be carried, as well as a large bunker past the water.  There is room to bail out left.

Hole 15, Sumac, is a 429 yard par 4 that does have water right but it is not really in play.  What is in play are more fairway bunkers off the tee.  A rather long but shallow green can make hitting close to the flag difficult.

 

Hole 16, Cattail is a placement hole.  The fairway ends about 230 yards out and the green is protected by water and a large beach bunker.  The best play is to hit 200 yards off the tee to the middle of the landing area, left of the visible bunkers.  Dont hit too far left as marsh is on that far side and then carry the ball 130 yards to the green.

17, Fox, is a short par 3 at 137 yards.  Water is in play along the left side of the hole.  Bunkering short right, left, and long protect the green.

Hole 18, Moose, is another of the signature holes that is a 562 yard par 5.  Your tee shot must carry marsh 200 yards.  From there cross bunkers require you to fly 240 on the right or 280 down the middle.  The fairway is split into two landing areas here.  Your second shot is a positioning shot for your third shot which must carry water to a peninsula green.

I did not play that well when we went.  My driver was hooking and the slow large greens resulted in far too many 3 putts.  I ended up shooting a 90.

The Meadows offers a players card, which gives you a progressively lower priced round each time you play.  The first round is $85, the second, $75, then $65, $55 and the fifth is free.  That means if you play here the average price is $56 for the five rounds.  If you play only once the $85 is pretty steep, but in line with the other premium course around like the Wilds, Stone Ridge, etc.

Columbia Golf League Week 9

This week for golf I missed our tee time.  The league schedule had been orderly with us teeing off one time later each week of the season.  For some reason we jumbed back to the second tee time.  Oops.  i left work at 5 with a 5:07 tee time. Luckily I was able to get ahold of Mike's cell and let him know he was going to have to cover the first couple holes by himself.

I managed to get to the course and ran through the first hole.  I saw Mike out on the second fairway.  The people on the tee let me tee off and I was away, though just barely.  I almost missed the ball on my tee shot and managed a nice solid 60 yard drive.  The next 4 shots were just as bad and I managed to get a fairly good warm up on the par 5 10th by shooting a 7.  Things calmed down after that and I managed to drain a 70 foot putt for birdie on 11.

We eneded up winning the front half and pushing on the second half.  We won the total holes 4 to 2, so we earned 4 points on the week.

After we all finished I went and played the hole I missed to get the full 9 in.  I shot a 41 with the bad opening hole.

Golfing Mississippi Dunes

This week I was able to take an afternoon off work and go play my first round of my Common Man golf card at Mississippi Dunes Golf Links in Cottage Grove.

I really like this course but it is a definite challenge to ones game.  I think every green on the course is atop a dome so there is no pitch and run here.  Combine that with very fast greens and the course can be a bear just getting on in regulation.

I drove down without a tee time and was able to get out right away as a single.  The parking lot was surprisingly full for a Tuesday afternoon so I don't know how safe it is to go without a reservation.

The course gets its name from the proximity to the Mississippi river.  The first 2 holes and the ninth hole all play right along the river and it does come into play.  The winds off the river can also affect you on these holes.  The course describes itself as a links style course and while several holes have that feel the topography and amount of trees make it feel a bit more like a hybrid than a true links style.

Hole 1 is a testing first hole. A par 4 at 345 yards from the white tees. The river is to the right and anything hit too far that direction is lost.  Left are trees so that is a no go too.  If you play to the left side of the fairway you will have a blind shot to an elevated tee.  The left side also runs out about 230 yards out and rough and several pot bunkers are placed beyond the fairway here. If you play to the right side the green is a little more accessible.

A couple of hawks sitting in a tree by the first green.

The second hole is fairly easy as long as you hit the green, and hit it to the same side as the pin.  The green is fairly large with a spine down the middle.  The green is on top of a massive dome.  If you miss right your ball will again find the Mississippi.  Short, left, or deep and you will have a massive uphill second shot.  This par 3 is short, only 130 yards from the whites and downhill but wind off the river can affect club selection here.

Hole 3 is the first of 3 par 5s on the front.  The tee shot here is a blind uphill shot.  The best position is to split the trees at the top of the hill.  Right of the big tree is OK but the fairway does run out over there and you can find trouble.  Long hitters can find the end of the fairway even if down the middle but no trouble awaits there.  A short 438 yard hole if you can get your drive out there you can try for it in two but the green, like all the rest, is extremely difficult to hold from a distance.

Hole 4 is a long par 3 that can be made even longer by prevailing winds that always seem to be noticed on this hole for the first time.  The hole plays at 196 yards from the whites. T he green is massive and so is the waste bunker in front of the green.  Your tee shot is between pine trees on either side but they are not too close to affect the shot.

Hole 5 is a tough dogleg left par 4.  The best place to aim the tee shot is just to the left of the hill in the fairway.  Don't try to cut the dogleg as plenty of trees and the 4th holes tee box are over there.  A long iron is the best club here as anything longer will likely run through the fairway and into trouble.  Your second shot requires some distance but don't go long as trouble awaits there.  I don't know if I have ever parred this hole and I bogeyed it this time.

Hole 6 is another difficult hole to par.  A 165 yard par 3 that requires you to hit through a chute of trees, the green dramatically falls away in front and left.  Long leaves an awkward downhill shot.  The safest place to miss is right.

My tee shot was long and I faced the tough pitch from behind the green on a down hill lie.  I hit a real beauty though and saved par.  You can see the mounding of the greens fairly well in this shot and how the green drops off the earth in front.

Hole 7 is a par 5 at 505 yards that looks narrower than it is from the tee.  A dogleg left, I would recommend playing this as a three shot hole as the green is one of the hardest on the course to hold.  Aim your tee shot just left the small tree off the tee.  You second shot should be a layup to 100 or less.  Favor the left side of the fairway for the better shot to the green.

 Again in this shot you can see the massive mounding of the greens.  It can be especially hard to hold these greens of you are hitting from any distance or if you do not possess a nice high shot.

I like to call hole 8 blinds man bluff since both the tee shot and shot to the green are likely blind.  The hole runs right off the tee.  This is the second consecutive par 5 and this one is a shorter 471 yard affair.  Aim your tee shot to the right.  The best shot would be right over the cart path.  Don't try to cut it too much though or you will find trouble.  Your second shot should be a layup to a 100 yards where you will have a downhill shot to the green.  Going for it in two is not advised unless you have played here a lot and actually know where the green is.

The ninth is a very short par 3 (105 yards) with the river back in play, this time to the left.  Do not go left or deep here as your ball will be given to the big muddy.  Bunkers are right and just over the green.  A good chance for birdie on such a short hole.

The tenth hole requires an accurate tee shot to avoid a myriad of fairway bunkers.  The left side of the fairway runs out at about 230 yards.  The right side keeps going but several bunkers are placed there.  The best play is just to the right of the large bunkers visible from the tee but left of the fairway pot bunkers.  Laying up leaves a long second shot into a green surrounded by trees on this 413 yard par 4.

The 11th hole is a 467 yards par 5 that offers a fair amount of room off the tee.  Going too far left will place your ball on the road leading to the course.  Going right will loose your ball in long grass or trees.  If you manage to find the fairway your next shot will need to decide if you want to carry the water or layup short.  Reaching the green in two is not easy with the large hill in front of the green.

The 12th is a 168yard par 3.  Long grass from the tee to before the green requires a good shot off the tee.  The green is fairly large but again atop a mound so anything that just misses will require a delicate chip shot to save par.

The 13th is a fearsome looking hole from the tee.  A 476 yard par 5, I think of this hole as the signature hole that best represents this course.  You must carry a hazard off the tree and past a stand of trees.  The entire left side of the hole is OB but right offers more room than what it looks like from the tee.  Several deep bunkers lined with railroad ties offer the most challenge on your second shot.  Watch for the large bunker short and left of the hole.

 The view from the tee

One of the large fairway bunkers.

14 is another back to back par 5 at 510 yards.  The best shot here is between the large bunkers off the tee.  Then you must clear a second set of bunkers on your second shot to leave a short lob shot to the green.

15 is a really tough hole if the wind is in your face.  This par 4 is only 338 yards long.  Unless the wind is at your back trying to go for the green will likely find your ball in a large waste bunker that runs across the left side of the hole.  The right side offers a more open approach if you can hit it.  I think the intended play here is to force two mid length shots, one in front of the waste bunker and then to the green.

Hole 16 is an uphill par 4 at 262 yards.  Your aiming point should be the tree in the fairway that leaves a comfortable wedge up to the green.

Hole 17 is another daunting looking hole from the tee.  A par 3 at 175 yards the hole opens up around the green but because of the elevated green anything that misses the putting surface will run away.

Walking to the green on 17, aside from finding a stray golf ball or two you can take in some wild flowers.

The 18th is similar to 8 in that you have a couple of blind shots to finish the round.  Off the tee your ball should be aimed down the middle.  Your second will then be downhill to the green.  At 368 yards a good tee shot is needed to not have a blind second shot to the green.  While the green is downhill you can not run the ball up onto the green off the hill since the green is again elevated.