Looking for a new golf destination for next year? Here’s one you probably haven’t considered: Minnesota.
There are two affordable destinations in the Land of 10,000 Lakes that between them grant you access to the majority of the state’s best public golf.
If your goal is to check in, unpack and stay put for a few days while playing top-ranked golf courses, either of these two destinations fill the bill.
Destination No. 1 is Brainerd Minnesota, about two and a half hours northwest of Minneapolis, also known as the Brainerd Lakes area.
If you haven’t heard of Brainerd, it’s likely you’ve never played golf in the Golden Gopher State. You’ll find most of Minnesota’s consensus top 10 public courses in around the Brainerd Lakes, all within 15 to 20 minutes of one another.
ll are affiliated with old-line Minnesota resorts clustered around Gull Lake. The courses are: The Classic at Madden’s Resort, Breezy Point Resort’s Deacon’s Lodge course, and the Grandview Resort’s Pines Course.
Also in Brainerd are the Cragun’s Resort & Conference Center’s two new Tom Lehman designs, the Lehman Course and the Dutch Course. Both, unveiled in 2023, are likely to find their way into the state’s top 10 lists as the national golf magazines’ raters take note.
Glenn Hagberg, head golf professional at Madden’s Resort on Gull Lake, said the local resorts recognize their guests will likely want to try other courses. “If someone from out of state calls and says, we’d like to come to the Brainerd Lakes area, we’ll house them at Madden’s, and that’ll be their home base for the week, and we’ll line them up to play at Cragun’s or at Breezy Point’s Deacon’s Lodge.”
Destination No. 2 is farther north, where you’ll find the consensus No. 1 and 2 courses in Minnesota: Giants Ridge and the Wilderness at Fortune Bay. Stay at the tribally owned casino hotel at The Wilderness or in one of the cabins at Giants Ridge and play those two courses, plus Giants Ridge’s second course, the Legend, which has ranked in the state’s top 10. More
