Highland National Golf Course Review - Highland is Better Than the Sum of its Parts

By Seth Kirkeide

My first loop around Highland National was four years ago one evening in early April. I had never seen the place but had heard adequate reviews, and was excited to take on a new course. I failed to look at the forecast prior to making the drive over, and to my surprise it started snowing as I was rolling a few on the practice green. I considered leaving, before begrudgingly heading off to the first tee because I’m a sicko who needed to feed an addiction that had been quelled for 6 months. 

At first glance, the 1st at Highland is one of those “gentle handshakes” many golf writers and architects talk about, a dead straight par 4 with little trouble to get yourself into. The 2nd and 3rd holes look somewhat benign as well, a bunker to contend with on the tee shot, and another one to contend with next to the green. 4 is a shortish uphill par 3 with a stoplight in the background, and 5 is a downhill par 5 that bends around the maintenance shed and the Charles Schulz Ice Arena. As I finished the front nine in my winter mittens and extra layers that I had found in my bag from the previous fall, I wasn’t able to conjure up many thoughts about Highland National. It functioned as a place to carry my clubs around and be outside in early April. No thoughts, just hit the ball and keep trudging along. 

After making a ugly bogey on 9, I considered packing it up due to my frozen face, but the flurries had stopped so I stuck it out. The ponds on the 10th hole were still frozen over, and the bunkers on 11 had snow in them. 11, 12, and 13 all played back and forth, and I started to realize how many of the holes did this throughout the routing. The water towers on 14 were a striking feature, but all I was concerned about at that point was getting back to the clubhouse. I came down the hill off 15 tee, past the famed Snoopy bunker and down Highland Parkway and Hamline Avenue. As a winter wonderland started to form again around me coming down 17 and 18, I rushed to the finish to get into a heated vehicle. I had set out to accomplish my goal: play a round of golf. Task completed. 

A year and a half later, I came back.

I came back again a month after that. 

And again.

And again.

And again.

I have probably played it a couple dozen times since the day I froze my ass off, and I have come to appreciate it more and more each time. Highland is a grower, not a shower; and it has many elements that make it stand out from most other courses in the Twin Cities area. 

The Holes

At first glance, there’s not much going on. At second and third glance, there’s not much going on either. Many of the holes can be made obsolete, as you can hit it as far and as wayward as you’d like with very little punishment. Despite this, after playing it a couple dozen times, I started to realize that there are some subtle ways that it tricks you into making mistakes. A few examples:

1: A straightforward par 4 where hitting it left is the bail out area due to some trees on the right. Hitting it left is fine! That is, until you have to hit the 2nd shot, which is a much worse angle, and can be an uncomfortable wedge to a green that runs away from you. A hole that looks like nothing, turns into something. 

3: My good friend @aspoiledwalk has mentioned this before, but the third is the same way. You can bail left away from the right fairway bunker, but then you have a much harder approach into the green over the front left bunker. If you wanted to be a #GolfNerd, you could qualify it as a Road Hole template as it has similar strategic features. Is this disingenuous? Potentially, but it’s still a good hole regardless. It’s also an incredible bit to say that a hole at a municipal golf course in Minnesota is similar to what may be the best golf hole in the world. 

13: Another nothing looking hole from the tee that should be a really simple tee shot. If you get complacent though and miss the fairway, it’s a much more intimidating shot coming into a green that falls away on both sides. 

Now, do I think Highland is the most strategically interesting golf course? Not really. When the best angle to a green on a couple of holes is to hit it into an adjacent fairway, it’s not exactly going to grade high in the “strategery” category. Despite that, what I have come to appreciate is that you can miss wildly out there without losing a ball. Many courses have water, OB, fescue and other major penalties. Highland has that, but usually there’s a spot you can miss, you will just have a harder approach shot. It also has the ability to goad you into little mistakes that incrementally beat you down and make dumb bogeys or doubles without throwing away a pack of balls while you’re at it. You’re allowed to recover from a bad shot rather than get immediately punished for it. 

The Routing

One of the biggest complaints I have heard from people about Highland is the routing. There are lots of holes that run back and forth to each other, or in similar directions, and 2, 11, and 13 are all “virtually the same hole”. I get it! However, I think with multiple plays it becomes apparent that it’s not as simple as it looks. 

Originally, I agreed with The People regarding 2, 11, and 13. The more I played it, the more I realized how different they played from each other. They all have varying yardages (330, 400, and 360 respectively from the whites), leading to different approaches. They also all have different features such as bunkering, trees, and green complexes to navigate.

Another part of the routing that stands out is the sequencing, which keeps you on your toes. None of the holes go in the same direction twice in a row until the 15th and 16th holes, which extends along the edge of the property and makes a sharp right turn to 17 and 18 that lead you back to the clubhouse. Because of this and the lack of trees on the property, the wind plays a major factor throughout. On the front nine, with the predominant south wind in the summer the holes go as follows: Downwind, Crosswind off the left, Into Wind, Quartering off the left, Downwind, Into Wind, Downwind, Crosswind off the right, Into Wind. That’s about as varied as it gets, and it offers a great balance throughout the round. The back nine doesn’t do this quite as well, specifically in the 11-13 stretch, but still allows for enough variety in the length of the holes and the pars (going 5,4,5,4,3,4,3,4,4) to keep your interest. 

It’s also usually in solid condition, a good value, and extremely walkable! 

The Community

In my opinion, playing golf in a neighborhood or a housing development almost always significantly decreases the course’s bonafides. If I can help it, I tend to steer clear of these types of “suburban hell” courses. What I didn’t realize was how a neighborhood/community can actually be additive to the experience on a golf course. Highland is a prime example of this. 

There are specific sounds and sights at Highland that I can’t seem to find anywhere else. From the kids being introduced to the game at The First Tee facility by the range, the loud bangs from duck hooks and slices hitting the poles on the outside of the range, the consistent hum from the stoplight and high school sports complexes behind the 4th green, the expansive view of the property from the 5th tee, the ice arena and water towers to the left of 5 and 14, the houses along 15 and 16, dozens of people taking their dogs for a walk on a beautiful night on the sidewalks around the final stretch of the golf course, and the striking clubhouse from 1929,  there’s not really another option in the metro that’s quite like it. The connection to the city of Saint Paul is evident, and it’s extremely additive to the golf course itself. 

I’ll never forget one evening walking up to 14 green, a young kid was peeking out from behind one of the water towers, waiting for my group to pass so he could sneak over to an adjacent tee box to get a few hacks in before dark. I thought about saying something, but then I remembered being that kid too. So, my group walked over to 15 tee and watched him tee off on 12, attempting to feed his own addiction to the game. Highland is just the gateway drug. Later, as we finished up on 16 green, we saw a couple teenagers park their car on Highland Parkway, get out and grab their clubs, and walk over to 16 tee. I didn’t say a word, and couldn’t help but smile because I felt like that is the kind of place that Highland is.

As I finished 17 and 18 on my twilight round, with the street lamps starting to light up on Hamline Ave, I realized that it might be one of my favorite golf courses to play in Minnesota. Architecturally, while it does have lots of strengths like I listed above and rewards multiple plays,  it doesn’t really stack up to the best of the best. But it doesn’t feel like just a golf course when I’m out there. It feels like I become a small part of something bigger: a healthy, thriving community.