Merry Christmas

For us Minnesota golfers, we are in the midst of Winter's icy cold grip.  I have been a terrible blogger- my last post was in October!!  My new years resolution is to catch up on my blog. 

On this Christmas Eve, I want to reach out and say Merry Christmas to you all.  May you have a safe and happy holiday season and may 2014 be your best year yet!

Here is a poem that Totally Driven shared with me:

In My Hand I Hold A Ball,

White And Dimpled...Rather Small.
Oh, How Bland It Does Appear,

This Harmless Looking Little Sphere.
By Its Size I Could Not Guess
The Awesome Strength It Does Possess.
But Since I Fell Beneath Its Spell,

I've Wandered Through The Fires Of Hell.
My Life Has Not Been Quite The Same
Since I Chose To Play This Stupid Game.

It Rules My Mind For Hours On End;
A Fortune It Has Made Me Spend.

It Has Made Me Curse And Made Me Cry,
And Hate Myself And Want To Die.

It Promises Me A Thing Called Par,
If I Hit It Straight And Far.

To Master Such A Tiny Ball,
Should Not Be Very Hard At All.

But My Desires The Ball Refuses,
And Does Exactly As It Chooses.

It Hooks And Slices, Dribbles And Dies,
And Disappears Before My Eyes.
Often It Will Have A Whim,
To Hit A Tree Or Take A Swim.

With Miles Of Grass On Which To Land,
It Finds A Tiny Patch Of Sand.

Then Has Me Offering Up My Soul,
If Only It Would Find The Hole.

It's Made Me Whimper Like A Pup,
And Swear That I Will Give It Up.
And Take To Drink To Ease My Sorrow,

But The Ball Knows ... I'll Be Back Tomorrow.

Fore! Gone Minnesota's Lost Golf Courses

With the October 1st announcement of the Sawmill Golf Course closing in Stillwater, I thought I would recommend a link about a book that is attempting to get published about the lost golf courses in Minnesota's history.

Joe Bissen has been researching the history of courses in Minnesota lost to time.  He is trying to raise money with a kickstarter campaign to get his book published. 

He has been working in collaborations with Peter Wong, one of the most amazing photographers.  Peter has done a lot of great golf photography, along with just being generally awesome in his other work too.

I love the history of golf.  Fields to Fairways, is an especially great read about the more storied courses in Minnesota.  I find it fascinating.  If you do too, check out his Kickstarter page:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1578228330/fore-gone-minnesotas-lost-golf-courses-1897-1999

While your browsing, check out Peter's site too:

http://peterwongphotography.com/

The future of Sawmill Golf Course in Stillwater?

The owners of the Sawmill and Loggers Trail golf courses in Stillwater, MN announced today that the 30 year lease on the Sawmill Golf Course will not be renewed.  They are stating that this means they can focus more on developing the Loggers Trail course. 

It looks like Sawmill will be closing on October 31st.  I assume this is a permanent closure?

Here is the full announcement:


Sawmill Golf Club, Inc. to Focus on Developing Loggers Trail Golf Club
Sawmill Golf Club, Inc. announced today that the thirty year lease on the 18-hole Sawmill Golf Course property will not be renewed. This will allow the staff and management team to focus 100% of their time on Loggers Trail Golf Course. Loggers Trail Golf Course is located in the City of Grant just off of Manning Avenue at 11950 80th st.

“Thirty years ago a small group of golfers signed a lease on a nine hole cow pasture and turned it into an eighteen hole golf destination that focused on providing a great golf experience at a great price.” stated Dan Pohl, President of Sawmill Golf Club, Inc. “We are very proud of what we accomplished and we want to thank all the people who played and contributed to the great golf experience at Sawmill.”

Now it is time to focus on taking Loggers Trail to the next level,” continued Pohl. “Plans are under way to build a new club house to support a pro shop and golf grill but also to provide space for wedding receptions and special community events. We hope to be breaking ground on the new facility next year.”

Giants Ridge - The Legend's 17th hole

I really am working on trying to catch up on my blog.  I worked last night on getting some of the pictures ready of the Giants Ridge trip.  With the NFL starting up and now the NHL preseason underway I find less time to get to my blogging.  Tonight is another Wild game but hopefully I can start to crank some content out soon.  Here is one more teaser pic before I actually post some stuff about the courses.

This is me on the par 3 17th hole at The Legend course at Giants Ridge.  Of the Wilderness at Fortune Bay, The Quarry, and the Legend, this is arguably the most recognizable and photographed hole. 

A true test of your tee game, it plays 226 from the tips.  There is not much room to miss.  With the green being elevated anything short of the green will find the rugged hill sloping down to the lake.  Any shots long will likely either find the large bunker behind the green, or come to rest on the hill- making for a knee rattling chip back towards the lake.  Left is all but dead.  To the right there is a small amount of room to work with, but not much.  It is to the right where you will find the drop zone should you miss the green.

The green is somewhat bowl shaped and is bisected with a ridge making the back half of the green slope away from you off the tee.  Simply hitting the green off the tee does not offer a gimmie par, as the green is very large and a wayward first shot can leave a long couple of putts.

But it is not all doom and gloom.  This is definitely one of the prettiest holes in the state.  Stop and enjoy the numerous flowers around the tee boxes and stairs and spend a moment looking out over Sabin Lake.

The Wilderness' Par 3 third hole

Named "The Walleye", this is one of their signature holes.  It plays around 220 yards from the tips.

This is a really beautiful hole from the tees and a treacherous one from the green.  A massive two tiers makes 4 putts a possibility if on the wrong tier.

Off the tee you must clear the water short and avoid the bunker and false front.  If you go long the rough behind the hole is pretty thick and a missed chip from here can send your ball to the very front of the green.

Teeing it up at The Wilderness

Last weekend I headed up north with my wife, our dads, and my good friends Carrie and Michael to Giant's Ridge in Biwabik, MN.  We didn't get a chance to go last year since we blew all of our vacation time in England and Scotland.

I will be writing more shortly but here is a little preview of the opening par 5 at The Wilderness at Fortune Bay, which is located near Tower, MN.  About 30 minutes north of Giant's Ridge.

Every type of golfer