By Mason Savage
Golf trips are often the highlight of any Golfer's season. There is something about the combination of traveling, hanging out with friends and playing destination golf courses that makes every Golfer's heart sing with joy. However, when it comes to Golf Trips, the one draw back is the time and the cost associated with the trip. For example, take Golfing in Brainerd, MN. Assuming you are in the Twin Cities, you are looking a half day of travel, playing golf courses that will charge you over $100 for a greens fee and overpriced lodging. Add to this the need to potentially take PTO and you are looking at a fairly expensive trip for something that might not be that extraordinary. What if there was a trip that could be done in a day? A Trip that provided 2 rounds on interesting golf courses and it would not cost you an arm and a leg to play? I have the perfect, affordable golf trip for Minnesota Golfers.
The trip consists of a double header of playing Dacotah Ridge (Morton, MN) and Farmers Golf and Health Club (Sanbron, MN) in one day. The total drive time is approximately 4 hours round trip (assuming you live in the Twin Cities area) and because it is done in a day, there is no need for expensive lodge. All in, you are looking at 27 awesome holes of golf all under $100 (ignoring food, drink and gas). These two golf courses are great golf courses located in Western Minnesota and I want to take this article to highlight these two awesome courses.
DACOTAH RIDGE - MORTON, MN
First on the trip is Dacotah Ridge. Dacotah Ridge opened up in 2000 and was designed by Rees Jones. This course is what you would come to expect of a Rees Jones course designed in the late 90s or early 2000s. That is a long golf course, complete with tons of penal areas such as thick rough, water hazards, forced carries and as is apparent at Dacotah Ridge, deep modern bunkers. However, like a lot of Rees Jones tracks, Dacotah Ridge lacks two things, that is the course being surrounded by housing and an obnoxiously high greens fee which I think is a major win for this golf course.
Typically in these courses you can expect extremely manicured conditions and triple digit green fees that get close to $300 dollars. However, at Dacotah ridge, you get the conditions and championship course experience for an affordable $53 (walking). To me, that is good value for the course!
Despite all of these positives there are two things about the course that leave a little to be desired. I would call out the flat greens and a routing that is not conducive to walking. First off, the routing. The distance from Green to Tee is rather long for a lot of the holes and there is rarely a shortcut between waste areas for walkers. Rather every Green to Tee walk must be traversed via the cart path. While this is a major bummer, it is not uncommon for courses of this era so it is unfair to single out Dacotah Ridge in this regard. The second bummer is relatively flat greens. While there are run offs and some exterior contours, the interior contours were lacking.
All in All, Dacotah Ridge is a great golf course and the course some of the best value in the state with this championship experience at such an affordable rate.
FARMERS GOLF AND HEALTH CLUB - SANBORN, MN
The Second Course for this Golf Trip is Farmers Golf and Health Club. This 9 hole routing is a relatively unknown golf course but provides an awesome golfing experienece. Located in Sanbron, MN this Joel Goldstrand design boasts a fantastic routing and a golf course overflowing with small town charm. With a population of 400 people, you would assume there would not be a lot of rounds played at it but you would be wrong. The course is a staple of the community and I happened to be out there for Mens Night where over 50 people show up regularly on one night. The course is truly special!
The property is dissected by the Cottonwood River making for a difficult property to work with but in the center of the course is a crossroad in the routing, a giant red bridge spanning the length of the River. This allows for people to move between the two portions of the course. Great conditions, intersting greens and the culture of the course make this experience a steal at $15 to walk.
My favorite hole out there is the 3rd hole. Located on the north west corner of the property, this is a beautiful yet simple designed golf hole. The hole resembles a Cape Template hole from Seth Raynor and CB MacDonald. With the Cottonwood River to the right, you aim as close to the water as you would like. The closer to the water you are off of the tee, the better shot that you are going to have into the green. It is a simple design that makes for a fun and memorable golf hole.
All in all, this golf Trip is affordable, can be done in one day and you are going to play great golf courses that you would not otherwise play. Each courses offers a unique golfing experience and the combo of both of them really compliments each other. This is the best Golf Day Trip in the State of Minnesota!
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