Category Archives: Just plain old golf

Back in time: Town & Country Club, 1898

Golf history

towncountry

Minnesota golf, at least 116 years ago.

Yesterday, I came across the photo above in the library at the Hennepin History Museum in Minneapolis. I don’t believe I’ve seen it before. I would guess it’s one of the oldest half-dozen or so published golf photographs in Minnesota history, right up there with that cool photo of the woman with the long skirt and sick overswing on Bryn Mawr GC or Minikahda CC (if you dig, you probably can find that one, too. It is in Rick Shefchik’s “From Fields to Fairways” book.).

Anyway, this photo is from the 1898 book “The City of Homes,” published by The Times Newspaper Co. The book is little more than a rather random collection of photos, mostly showing Minneapolis scenes and sites. This photo was taken just across the Mississippi River in St. Paul, on Minnesota’s first golf course.

It is titled “On the Golf Links at the Town and Country Club.” (Click on the image for a larger view.)

I’m guessing this photo might even predate the “long skirt” photo, as Bryn Mawr opened in spring of 1898 (much more on that course in “Fore! Gone.”), and its successor, Minikahda, didn’t open for play until spring of 1899.

I would gladly entertain discussion on whether there are older Minnesota golf photos in existence. I could be entirely wrong. Thanks to the Hennepin History Museum for storing the book and allowing me to share the photo. Please don’t flock there to take a look; the book is fragile.

Art Hennington postscript

Just plain old golf

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Hats off to Art Hennington, the retired Elk River history teacher who on Thursday presumably became the first person to play all of Minnesota’s golf courses. The “presumably” is included mostly because, A, no one with a similar claim has come forward, as far as I know, and B, we have to presume Hennington is an upstanding fellow who hasn’t played, say, 54 Minnesota courses and meanwhile studied the state’s golf guides in order to sound credible should anyone challenge his claim. (Highly unlikely. Throw the name of a course or town at Hennington, and he’ll likely have at least a couple of nuggets to pass along from his stop there.)

I was fortunate enough to chat with Hennington and his wife, Joni, a couple of hours before he teed off at St. Paul’s Town & Country Club, the 526th course he now has played. My story for the St. Paul Pioneer Press is here (thanks to my editors, who let an embarrassingly long story by newspaper standards run in its entirety): http://bit.ly/1na5SWo

I would be interested in hearing about how many courses the Minnesota golfers out there have played — also favorites, anecdotes, even the “unfavorites” — but keep it classy, please. In the meantime, I’ll pass along a few unpublished notes from my visit with Hennington.

— Although Hennington has played 526 Minnesota courses, he does not — nor should anyone — say there are 526 golf courses in Minnesota. That number is all but impossible to define. Hennington mentioned 519 as the number of golf courses by the Minnesota Golf Association’s count. In addition, there is a small minority of Minnesota courses that are not MGA members, there are courses Hennington played that have since shut down, and there are some establishments that may or may not be real golf courses, sort of like Pluto may or may not be a real planet. Hennington mentioned a visit he made to a piece of land in central Minnesota on which the owner had constructed a “golf course” that featured so-called re-creations of famous sites and battlegrounds, such as Bataan. Hey, whatever floats your military-industrial boat … but Hennington found it difficult to label that one a golf course.

— I asked Hennington about his favorite courses. Based on other stories that have been written about him, he has been reluctant to identify one, but he clearly had a strong attraction to The Wilderness, Jeff Brauer’s gem alongside Lake Vermilion in Tower. He also has said White Bear Yacht Club was a favorite, and after Thursday’s round he was highly complimentary of Town & Country. Also, he was a fan of the former side of one of the state’s love-it-or-hate-it courses: Mississippi Dunes in Cottage Grove. Hennington was impressed. “With six par 5s, six par 4s and six par 3s, there is an interesting dichotomy of holes,” Hennington said. “And diabolical green setups. It’s kind of a hidden gem, although I’m sure a lot of people hate it because it’s so tough.”

— Hennington has a “bottom 10” list, but in the interest of decorum, I didn’t ask him about it. Though I like to think that everything that calls itself a golf course has some redeeming quality, I can think of a few bottom-10 candidates.

— Hennington did identify a few holes he particularly enjoyed — in addition to the relatively unknown par-4 second at Oak Knolls in Red Lake Falls that’s mentioned in the PP story, he saluted the par-5 18th at the Arthur Hills-designed Chaska Town Course, with water all along the left.

— In addition to the challenge of getting on exclusive country clubs like Spring Hill, Woodhill and Town & Country, Hennington mentioned one other challenge: bridges. “I’m afraid of heights,” he said, “and there’s a couple of courses where you have to walk across suspension bridges, and I had to walk across them real fast with my eyes closed.” Take note, Silver Bay Golf Course — your walkways are not acrophobia-friendly. (No, that’s not a knock on Silver Bay GC. I’ve played it, and it’s a fine North Shore nine-holer.)

— Access to other private country clubs was not as daunting as the aforementioned. “Some of the courses, literally I wrote to and they said, sure, you can come,” Hennington said. “But the real exclusive ones, they weren’t like that.”

— My 20-minute visit with Hennington was too short. I could have listened for hours to his reflections on Minnesota golf. He conceded that what he has done was “a heck of an accomplishment,” and I might state it in even stronger terms. Well done, Art.

The Big Three and the TPC

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The big news coming out of 3M Championship media day Tuesday was the announcement that the “Big Three” of Nicklaus (that’s Jack), Palmer (that’s Arnold) and Player (that’s Gary) would compete in this year’s Greats of Golf competition during 3M Championship week July 28-Aug. 3 at the TPC Twin Cities in Blaine.

My story for the St. Paul Pioneer Press on the announcement can be read here: http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_25982107/golf-3m-championship-reuniting-arnold-palmer-jack-nicklaus

Surprising news? Somewhat, especially considering the 74-year-old Nicklaus never plays in regular Champions Tour events anymore (hasn’t since 2005) and only rarely plays in exhibitions or charity events (he did play as part of a “Big Three” appearance in this year’s Insperity Championship at The Woodlands, Texas).

But I wouldn’t call the news shocking. Not with Hollis Cavner running the show.

Cavner, the 3M Championship tournament executive director, regularly outdoes himself in terms of landing A-listers. Last year’s coup was adding a women’s team for the Saturday “Greats of Golf” competition, with a pairing of Annika Sorenstam, Nancy Lopez and Pat Bradley captained by Palmer. I followed that pairing for three holes and was floored by the grace and precision of Sorenstam’s swing. Not sure I’ve seen a better one.

Anyway, as for Cavner, I wouldn’t put anything past him. Best guess for next year’s 3M: He’ll land Old Tom Morris.

A couple of leftover nuggets from Tuesday:

— Here is what fans, who incidentally can attend at no charge, will be watching when the Big Three take to the sprawling greens at TPC Twin Cities: a combined 34 major championships and 191 career victories on the PGA and Champions tours. The breakdown: Nicklaus, 18 majors, 73 wins on PGA Tour, 8 on Champions Tour; Palmer, 7 majors, 62 on PGA Tour, 5 on Champions Tour; Player, 9 majors, 24 on PGA Tour, 19 on Champions Tour (he is credited with 163 worldwide victories).

— Defending champion Tom Pernice is having a strong 2014 season. Pernice, 54, won the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines, Iowa, has four top-10 finishes and ranks eighth on the Champions Tour money list with $591,917.

— Pernice, who was on hand for media day, on the Big Three’s appearance at the 3M Championship and on the TPC Twin Cities course, designed by Palmer and Tom Lehman:

“It’s special for me. I grew up idolizing and watching these guys. I played with them a little bit at the beginning of my career. To have Arnold, Jack and Gary — he’s ageless at age 70 whatever he is (78, to be precise) — it’s going to be exciting.

“… What I like about the golf course is that it has variety. The par 5s have risk and reward to them. You can make eagles; you can make bogeys. … I’m just amazed, with the winter and spring you’ve had not being very good, at how good of condition the golf course is in.

“It’s exciting to me to know that at one time this was a flat piece of land; it’s pretty hard to believe. I like that the water’s in play, but it’s not overly in play. It gives you freedom to play. It’s not scary, but it’s there.

“We’re in the entertainment business; it’s good to have birdies as opposed to bogeys. We’ve all played U.S. Opens, and those are great if you’re trying to find the truest champion, but those aren’t necessarily fun weeks. … That’s their career (PGA Tour players). We’re on the other end of our careers; it’s good for us to come out and enjoy ourselves. To be able to see the greats come out and play on Saturday is a huge deal for us. The players love it; I personally love it; I get to see them, talk to them, say hello to them. It’s pretty special stuff what’s going on here at the 3M Championship.”

Edinburgh USA renovations begin

Just plain old golf,

The grounds were bustling Friday at Edinburgh USA in Brooklyn Park. The driving-range stalls were nearly full, 24 high school boys golf teams were in action in the highly regarded Tri-State Invitational, and even with all that, there was a short stop in progress.

No, not a shortstop. A short stop.

The short stop was mine. I checked in briefly at the pro shop while on, well, business. I’ll get to that later.

More significantly, I was the beneficiary of an update on changes that are coming to Edinburgh USA. The city-owned course, designed by Robert Trent Jones II and opened in 1987, home to an LPGA Tour stop for seven years and the 1992 U.S. Public Links Championship, is about to get a facelift. The backhoes are set to be cranked up Monday morning as work begins on an extensive course renovation. Trees have been and will be removed, much of the course’s sand will be dispensed with, and two greens will be redesigned. Trent Jones II will handle the redesign work as well.

Club pro and golf course manager Don Berry — a week removed from a second-place finish in the Senior PGA Professional Championship that earned him a berth in next month’s Senior PGA Championship — said the changes will have the cumulative effect of making the course easier for medium- and higher-handicap players, though he noted that the course still will be a challenge for better players. (Edinburgh USA measures 6,904 from the back tees and requires an astute hole-by-hole game plan.)

Berry didn’t use the word “playability,” but it’s apparent that increased playability is one aim of the redesign. On Saturday, Berry told ESPN 1500 Golf Show hosts Craig Teiken and Joe Stansberry that 40 percent of the course’s sand will be removed. He had told me the day before that there would be much more grassy and fairway area around the greens than currently exists, so presumably higher-handicap players will be able to play their way onto the greens with more ease, buoyed by the prospect of fewer bunker shots. It seems likely that pace of play will improve as a result.

Berry also told Teiken and Stansberry that work would be done three holes at a time and should be completed by Aug. 1.

Those familiar with the course will notice a difference right away. The first hole (pictured below), a 492-yard par 5 from the middle tees, currently has three bunkers just inside the left rough. The three-bunker configuration will turn into a single bunker with the redesign, and there will be fairway on both sides of the bunker.

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Edinburgh USA’s best-known hole, and one of the best-known in Minnesota, the par-4 17th featuring an “island fairway,” will be one of the least-changed holes with the redesign, Berry said. (Can’t say it’s one of my favorites, but I’m probably just sore because the first time I played it, I double-cross-pull-hooked my tee shot left of all of the water, a feat that likely has never been repeated, wound up with a 30-degree sidehill lie in no-man’s land and shortly penciled in a snowman on the scorecard.)

In a January web posting, Berry wrote this of the prospective changes:

“Edinburgh USA will be starting an extensive golf course renovation in the spring. All the bunkers and surrounding areas will be completely re-done; new sand, new design, new liners and some fairway grass around the bunkers to completely modernize the course. Also, the first and third greens will be re-designed and re-grassed. What this means for the golfer is that some bunkers will be closed during your round and we will have a couple of temporary greens for the first half of the golf season. We feel the wait will be worth it as the golf course will be amazing when completed.”

Edinburgh USA’s website is www.edinburghusa.com.

As for the business I was on, it falls here under the category of shameless self-promotion. If you stop by the Edinburgh USA pro shop, you can not only view detailed, hole-by-hole sketches of the redesign work, you can pick up for $19.95 a copy of my book, “Fore! Gone. Minnesota’s Lost Golf Courses 1897-1999.” Makes for a great Father’s Day or Mother’s Day gift. (Full disclosure: If you look to the right on this web page, you’ll see that Berry pre-read the book before publication and offered a short review.)

Say hello to Stillwater Oaks

Just plain old golf, ,

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Here’s a Minnesota golf course you probably haven’t heard of: Stillwater Oaks.

Here’s one you probably have heard of: Sawmill.

Sawmill, however, is no more. As the 2014 golf season nears opening day in Minnesota, the former Sawmill Golf Course will heretofore be known as Stillwater Oaks Golf Course.

4-22-14: Additional notes at bottom of this passage.

The northeast metro course is under new management. It is now operated by Northco Golf & Hospitality, a St. Louis Park firm, under a five-year management contract with the Nicholson family of Stillwater, which owns the land that Sawmill-nee-Stillwater Oaks is on. Company President Frank Jermusek confirmed to me via phone today that the course has been renamed Stillwater Oaks and said much of the course’s new direction was finalized last week.

The changes are so new that I couldn’t even find a reference to them today when I Googled “Stillwater Oaks” and golf.

Last fall, there were rumors and even reports last fall that Sawmill was set to close permanently. I heard the rumors as recently as last month at the Minnesota Golf Show. They are untrue. They were an outgrowth of last year’s split between the Nicholson family of Stillwater, which owns the Sawmill land, and Sawmill Golf Club Inc., a group led by Dan Pohl which had leased and operated Sawmill Golf Course on a 30-year lease. The lease expired on Oct. 31, 2013, and the Nicholson family chose to hire new management. Pohl’s group will continue to operate the nearly adjacent Logger’s Trail Golf Course (both courses have Stillwater mailing addresses but actually are in the city of Grant, which is more or less halfway between Stillwater and White Bear Lake, north of Minnesota Highway 36).

The course will have new staff this season, and Jermusek indicated there will be changes to the clubhouse. He also allowed that green fees will rise, though he said rates will be priced “very, very reasonably.” It should be noted that in recent years, Sawmill’s green fees have been among the lowest in the Twin Cities metro area among full-length, 18-hole courses, edging as low as $18 for 18 holes.

A fee rate provided by Jermusek lists Stillwater Oaks’ 2014 rates:

18 holes, Monday-Friday: $23

18 holes, weekends and holidays: $30

18 holes, seniors (over 60) and juniors, Monday-Friday: $18

Cart fees are extra. One-season membership for a single golfer will cost $795.

Update, 4-22-14: Stillwater Oaks now has a website, http://www.stillwateroaksgolf.com/. The full website is under construction. The course is not open yet, because the new management team still has some significant repairs that must be done to the clubhouse, for one. Bill Laimer, the new pro at the course, said he believes Stillwater Oaks could be ready to open sometime during the week of April 27.  The course came through the winter in fine condition, and Laimer expects there to be no issues with the grounds once it opens. Laimer said he doesn’t anticipate any major changes to the layout.

Jerry Webb is the new Director of Grounds / Agronomist (in other words, superintendent) at Stillwater Oaks.

Below is a photo of the Stillwater Oaks grounds as of March 21. No doubt, it will green up even further with warmer weather and a little moisture (no, not snow!).

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A couple of asides:

— Another rumor I heard last week of a similar nature also is untrue. I was told French Lake Open Golf Course, a nine-hole, par-29 course in Dayton, was among the growing number of recently closed courses around the metro (joining the likes of Parkview in Eagan, Hudson (Wis.) Golf Club, Red Oak and Lakeview in Mound, and Sundance in Dayton, among others). Not true, not true, not true. Course owner Mark Regan told me by phone that French Lake will in fact be open in 2014, albeit with some changes in ownership/management. At $13 and well under two hours for nine holes, French Lake and similar par-3 and executive courses (I’m partial to Gem Lake Hills in Gem Lake because I live only a couple of miles away) are every bit as integral to the game of golf as the bigwigs like Hazeltine and Interlachen. The French Lakes of the world are the courses where people learn the game at their own pace and without the prospect of being intimidated by being around more accomplished players. I can’t state strongly enough how much I respect those who continue to operate such courses (as well as those who have tried but have found it just too burdensome in the past 10 years).

— Sadly, there are two more entries on the roll of Minnesota’s lost golf courses as 2014 opens, in addition to those mentioned parenthetically in the previous paragraph. News reports confirm that the Fred Richards executive course in Edina has closed permanently, as has KateHaven in the southeastern corner of Blaine. Adding those two to the list, my rough count of lost golf courses in Minnesota since 2000 now stands at 28.

— I will not go into detail on this subject, but after my brief conversation with Jermusek, who I admit is biased, I am in agreement on two things: A) regardless of all of the closings, golf is not “dying,” as ill-informed commenters are wont to post any time another course is abandoned; and B) this rash of closings still is a residual effect of overbuilding and overinvesting in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and what’s happening now is a market correction as much as anything. No doubt there still are tough times ahead for many course owners, maybe even for the next 10 years, but at some point, and not to diminish the carnage incurred so far, the market will sort itself out.