Willinger’s Golf Club

Best kept golf secret in Minnesota.
Amazing golf for the price… and the drive down from the Cities isn’t all that bad at all.
Course is challenging enough, but absolutely gorgeous. Terrific layout.
I love this course… and the service matches the real estate — top notch.
Go play it. It’s worth the drive.

Willinger’s is a deceptively challenging golf course. At the end of a round, it’s hard to explain why it played so tough, but it’s obvious the course has worn you down. At 6,300 yards from the Championship (blue) tees, it’s not really the length that creates your nightmares. Nor is the greens, which are difficult, but fair. So it must be the tee shots, which often require you to shape your shot around/​through/​over trees and water. Approach shots are also tough, with plenty of sand traps guarding the greens.
Now on to the more pleasant aspect of Willinger’s: the landscape. During a recent round with a friend who has traveled through much of Europe, he remarked how much the course reminded him of the English countryside. The course spans a 40-​acre forest and 60 acres of water and marsh. It’s absolutely stunning, and you might as well call the course «Willinger’s Sanctuary». That is, until your errant tee shots trigger a wave of triple bogeys…
Northfield is about 30 minutes south of Minneapolis, so the drive south is tolerable. The course offers a number of specials to entice the public to make the trek. Considering the course was ranked #1 public course in Minnesota by Golf Digest for 2011, may I humbly suggest you give it a shot.

I am not a golfer and was there for a charity event. It was very nice and clean. I liked the gps on the cart I got to drive. Makes me want to take up gold. In fact I might start taking lessons there. They have a 3 pack of Private lessons for like $ 150.

Beautiful course. Kinda feels like you’re up North when you’re playing. They have great specials for couples on Fridays and Saturdays if you’re up to teeing off after 4:30PM. With the long day hours you should be able to finish 18 holes if you get in on the early side.

This is a Championship golf course. It is not that long, but you need to place the ball in the right part of the fairway. When you reach the green, you will find a fast and true surface. This course is scenic and diabolical. If I post a good score here, I know I earned it. In 2007 they upgraded their clubhouse to the level of the course. The only downside is they may have the worst gps I have ever seen, so check your own yardage.