Black Brook Golf Course at Izatys - Onamia, MN

I recently took a weekend trip up to a cabin owned by the Izatys resort on the shores of Lake Mille Lacs.  Right across from the cabin was the Black Brook Golf course.

Izatys resort has been having financial problems and I think the course is probably suffering because of it.  The course was closed for the season already when I was there, but it was a beautiful fall day so I took a walk around a bit of the course.

There are actually 36 holes still around but one of the courses (the Sanctuary course) has been reduced to 9 holes.

Of the remaining 18 holes that make up the Black Brook course, there is only a single hole that runs along the shore of Mille Lacs, the par 3 14th.

Trying to find information about the course is difficult, as their website is pretty light on details.

The one thing I noticed walking the course is how tiny the greens are.  Think Hiawatha Golf Course small.  The holes are all threaded through the woods or marsh areas so straight hitting, or an abundance of extra balls is a requirement.  I can imagine scoring well here would be a challenge with the small greens and the tight fairways.

While the course had been closed for a week when I walked it, the overall condition seemed a little shaggy.  Certainly a week of being closed couldn't account for this, so I expect the conditions while in play to be about the same.

The course advertised on their web site a rate of $59-79 for weekend play in 2014. This includes cart but not tax.  For that price and given what I saw it seems to be really steep.  I guess if you are at the resort and have to play golf, it is very convenient.  There are a few other options in the area.  A smattering of other courses in the area around lake Mille Lacs, include Higbee, Fiddlestix, Hardwoods, Garrison, and  Wealthwood.

For the serious golfer though, a visit northwest of here to the Brainerd Lakes area is the far better option.


Anyways here are some pics of the course.

 The first tee- a 389 yard dogleg left par 4.

The fairway of the par 5 2nd hole. 604 yards from the tips.

The approach into the 2nd green. 

The par 3 3rd hole is a short 123 yards from the tips.   

A view of the green surrounded by water on the 3rd hole, taken from the 4th tee box. 

And a view of the 4th tee.  A straight ahead par 4 at 333 yards.  The green on this one is an interesting quasi-island design that is also guarded by heavy bunkering.