Minnesota Guide and Deals

The Summit Golf Club's Championship Course sprawls with meticulously manicured fairways, tees, and greens composed of hearty bentgrass. Seasoned swingers and wobbly woods-wielders alike will find the course comfortably competitive as it rolls across elevation changes of up to 110 feet. This rise and fall also makes for exhilarating golf-cart rides between holes as you and your party rush through fully grown tree lines and evade booby traps set by herds of feral groundskeepers. Multiple layers of limestone throughout the course ensure that no dancing gopher puppets distract you from scoring a birdie, eagle, or albatross.

Golfers of all experience and confidence levels are accommodated by 18 diverse holes spanning more than 6,600 yards of well-groomed fairways and four sets of tees. Designed by Joel Goldstrand, the Heritage Links course features arbor-lined greens, 45 bunkers, and challenging water hazards on 16 of the 18 holes. Before you saunter up to swing for your full round, warm up your putt and pendulum arm in Heritage's practice facility, consisting of a wide-open driving range and manicured putting greens. In between holes, keep your feet and legs well rested in preparation for their victory dance by kicking up your spikes and relaxing in the included golf cart.

Mississippi Dunes Golf Links' sophisticated, 18-hole layout blankets 3,000 feet of rolling Mississippi River shoreline with manicured, bent-grass fairways and an inventive, tree-lined design. As golfers cruise over the course atop a cart or a caddy training to be an Olympic power squatter, majestic views of the river appear through groves of trees that shelter native prairie creatures. On their odyssey from tee boxes to speedy, contoured greens, golf balls must split fairways to avoid sidelines riddled with mounds, pot bunkers, and knee-high grasses—a trinity of hazards that imbue the course with a Scottish, links-style vibe. A memorable tee shot awaits at the 399-yard, par-4 fifth hole—the course's most difficult, nicknamed "Humpback" for the large mound in the middle of the fairway as well as its voracious appetite for krill—where golfers must draw or fade drives around a dogleg left.

After hacking their way across the breeze-swept links, guests can unwind at Doc's Landing Pub, where a menu of traditional grill fare, fish, and pizza sates tour-worthy appetites. Patrons can look out on the river on the Pub's patio, catch up on the day's sporting events in the glow of a flat-panel TV, or discuss how greenskeepers maintain the immaculate felt that covers the billiards table.

The Director of Instruction at Edinburgh USA Golf Academy and PGA-certified instructor Adam Guili teaches swing-honing wisdom and results-oriented practice techniques accrued through a 14-year teaching career. Adam’s teaching philosophy is based on the notion that a sound short game and a simple golf swing are crucial to achieving success on the course, and he helps golfers develop a tension-free motion. During lessons, Adam can address any on-course concern, such as how to add length to drives or how to extract shirttails from ball washers.

Amid the lake-speckled country of northwestern Wisconsin and draped over the terrain’s volatile elevation changes rest the bentgrass fairways and greens of Siren National Golf Course. Sculpted into the land in 2001, the course forces players to corral golf balls over terrestrial ripples with peak-to-peak amplitudes of more than 100 feet, but it offers five sets of tees and generous landing areas as a friendly gesture to less experienced players. After starting out with a moderate-length par 5 to warm up, golfers must hit a long uphill shot—206 yards from the back tees—to reach the par 3 third hole’s green, which is fronted by an intimidating rock wall. The designers saved the hardest hole for last, however, as players must make a decision on the 18th tee to use the driver, lay up for a full wedge shot into the small green, or chip onto the back of a carrier pigeon.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Total length of 6,737 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 73.1 from the back tees
• Course slope of 132 from the back tees
• Five sets of tees per hole

Designed by course architect Kevin Norby, The Refuge Golf Club cleaves through 350 acres of woods and wetlands to frame an 18-hole, par 72 course. Native grasses, wooden cart bridges, and immaculate bluegrass fairways characterize this northern-style course, which challenges golfers with tight tree lines and abundant sunbathing opportunities for losing shirts in sand traps. If golfers haven't spotted much wildlife throughout the course, they might find a gallery of hawks, deer, and feral caddies watching at the 17th, the course's second-most-difficult hole. Clubbers must blast tee shots over a forced carry before safely landing on an open fairway that leads to a green flanked by bunkers on both sides. Players can warm up for rounds at the 20-stall driving range and contoured putting green, and PGA professionals help golfers hone their game during private lessons. Meanwhile, a 13,000-square-foot clubhouse built of rock and cedar beckons for post-round revelry in the facility's restaurant, bar, and pro shop.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Total length of 6,534 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 71.9 from the back tees
• Course slope of 139 from the back tees
• Five sets of tees per hole