The state of Minnesota may be known for its intense and long winters, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t also feature some great golf for the times when the weather is right. There is a deep bench of quality golf courses to choose from here. If you are a fan of playing golf in somewhat isolated areas surrounded by trees, Minnesota is ideal for you. The north woods area of the state doesn’t have a ton of large cities, but it is thick with quiet and tranquil golf courses that are great weekend getaways from the hustle and bustle of city life.On the other hand, if you’re more into staying close to town, Minnesota has golf courses that will meet your expectations. These three elements are often combined to create a golfing experience that always keeps a player guessing and excited.
Best Golf Courses in Minnesota
1. The Quarry at Giants Ridge
Rating: 5.0/5.0
Giants Ridge is located in Biwabik and offers two fantastic golfing experiences. The top public golf course in the state can be found here in The Quarry. The Quarry is built on the location of an old sand and gravel mine, which is where it derives its name. Like many Minnesota golf courses, it’s very wooded. It also features a lot of raised tee boxes, which highlight the beauty of the landscape. There are some unique hazards here that have reuse the features from the previous mines. In the regular season, it’ll cost $89 to play during a weekday and $97 on weekends.
2. The Wilderness at Fortune Bay
Rating: 5.0/5.0
The Wilderness at Fortune Bay is located in Tower, on the far northern part of the state of Minnesota. Its location creates a great isolated woods golfing getaway. The Wilderness is a golf course that is always in pristine playing condition; you rarely find a blade of grass out of place. It’ll also challenge just about every part of your game for players of all skill levels. It can be stretched out to 7,200 yards or down to 5,300. This course will cost you $86 to play on the weekdays or $88 on weekends.
Rating: 5.0/5.0
Deacon’s Lodge is located in Breezy Point, near Brainerd. It’s an Arnold Palmer designed golf course, so you know it’s a great quality design. It takes advantage of the wooded area and lakes that surround the property. The course features bent grass greens, tees, and fairways that are maintained really well. It seems like every approach shot on this golf course has some sort of risk-reward play, with water, bunkers, and slopes that provide a really great test for any player’s iron game. This course is a little more expensive than some others on the list, it costs $105 to play on weekdays and $127 on weekends.
Rating: 5.0/5.0Dacotah Ridge is located in Morton and is the first course on our list that isn’t a “northwoods” experience. That being said, it doesn’t mean it’s not a fantastic golf course to play. There are some trees on the course, but they don’t come in to play as much as a typical Minnesota golf course. Designed by Rees Jones on a piece of property that was rolling countryside. It aims to feature its prairie-style roots in this golf course. Since there aren’t as many trees, you often get a bit more of a breeze when you play golf here. No doubt though, it deserves the number four spot in our list of top golf courses in Minnesota.
Rating: 5.0/5.0Madden’s Resort is located in Brainerd and features three 18-hole golf courses and one 9-hole. One of those courses though, The Classic, stands out above the rest. We return to the typical Minnesota-style golf course with this wooded golfing landscape. It was designed by Scott Hoffman, who aimed to give a tour-quality golfing experience to the Midwest. This golf course will cost you $110 on weekdays or $125 on weekends if you’re playing between 12-3pm.
6. StoneRidge
Rating: 5.0/5.0
Finally, we come to a Minnesota golf course located near the Twin Cities in the town of Stillwater. To play this golf course, most people won’t have to drive too far away from civilization to get in a round of great golf. It was designed in 2000 by Bobby Weed as a links style course, which is really unique to the Minnesota golfing scene. This course provides a nice bit of variety to our list of best public courses in the state. It features large greens with a lot of undulation and bunkers that are meant to remind you of European links courses. During the regular season it’ll cost $84 to ride on Monday through Thursday and $99 on Friday through Sunday.
Rating: 4.5/5.0The Legend is the second golf course at Giants Ridge to make our list of top public golf courses in the state of Minnesota. Even though it’s the second-best course at the resort, doesn’t mean it’s a slacker. This is a fantastic course that was designed to be a true northern woodland experience. There are huge trees, vast fairways, and incredible views that make this a fun place to play. It’s located on two lakes which also come into play. During the summer season, this course will cost you $89 on weekdays and $97 on weekends.
Rating: 4.5/5.0Chaska Town Course is located in the town of Chaska, Minnesota. It comes in at number 8 in our list of top public golf courses in the state. This is our second course in the Twin Cities area, so you won’t have to travel far to play this golf course. It’s a great mix of prairie, woods, and wetland that combine to create a golfing experience that has a ton of variety. The course has been compared to top private golf course that’s located nearby, Hazeltine National. It’ll cost you $52 to play on weekdays and $71 on weekends.
9. Rush Creek
Rating: 4.5/5.0
Rush Creek is located in Maple Grove, another Minneapolis area golf course. It’s a course that is great enough to have hosted LPGA and top amateur golf tournaments. The strength of this golf course is that it is always maintained really well. The greens are super smooth and true to roll. The fairways are mowed perfectly and you’ll rarely, if ever, find a bad lie if you keep the ball in the short grass. You’ll pay either $79 or $119 to play here depending on the day of the week or time of day.
10. Legends Club
Rating: 4.5/5.0 The Legends Club is located in Prior Lake, which is just outside of Minneapolis. It features both wooded and wetland areas throughout the golf course. It was designed by Gill and Miller Golf Architects. It sits on a pond right in the center of the golf course which comes in to play several different times. There are a couple other separate smaller ponds throughout the golf course as well which add to the scenery of this golf course. Even though The Legends Club is ranked number ten on our list of best golf courses in Minnesota, it’s definitely no slouch. This golfing experience will test players of all ages and skill levels. It’ll cost $84 to play here any day of the week.
Wrap up
So, there it is, our complete list of best golf courses in the state of Minnesota. Whether you’re up near the Canadian border, in the Twin Cities, or somewhere in the middle, there’s a high-quality golf course there for you to enjoy. Even though there’s a relatively short golf season up in Minnesota, they have enough great golf courses to keep you busy until the snow starts flying. Your game will never get bored with the awesome scenic views that this state provides.
