Wow, I bet you’re all salivating over that title — like Pavlov’s schnauzers, on the morning the doc brought an extra bag of bones into the laboratory.
Yes, the title of this post is more than a little self-deprecating. First off, how many of you have even seen a lost golf course site before, at least knowingly? Probably not many. Most of them are nondescript. Second, it’s not like a handful of amateur, that is to say amateurish, photos are going to bring to life golf courses that have been closed for 78, 74 and close to 40 years. (I’ll leave that task up to “Fore! Gone.”)
More than anything, this post is just my vehicle for getting some use out of the fancy-schmancy toy I bought the other day: my new Android cellphone/camera/texter/device-for-getting-lost-between-seat-cushions. OK, it’s not fancy — just a lower-rung Droid Ultra, no bells, no whistles. And it’s not schmancy — if it runs the newest apps or coolest new games, there’s almost no chance I’m going to figger them out.
But my daughter did show me one feature that I thought was neat: the panoramic photo-taking feature. So, like the kid with the new toy at Christmas, I brought out the toy today and shot panoramic photos of some East Metro lost courses. Nothing earth-shattering here, but I think they do point out just how lost most of Minnesota’s lost golf courses really are. (You should be able to click on the photo for a larger view. I’m going to apologize for the thumbnail-size photos on this post — if I try to make them bigger, they get really fuzzy. I’m sure there’s a way to do it, but it’s beyond my knowhow. West Metro panoramic photos, for better or worse, coming soon.)
Bayport Golf Club: The grounds of this 1930s course are shown in the photo at the top of this post. I was standing near the first or second hole, and the photo includes three well-known Bayport features: Andersen Windows, Croixdale senior care center and Minnesota Highway 95. The related chapter in “Fore! Gone.” is titled “Nuts to You.”
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Above: Oddest Minnesota golf-course site ever. Within about 500 yards of the Bayport Golf Club site. Chapter title: “Playing with Conviction.”
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No lost golf course sites above, at least none that I know of. I just couldn’t pass through the Bayport-Stillwater area without getting a panoramic photo of downtown Stillwater, the St. Croix River and neighboring Wisconsin. (Considering how overbearing people can get about the Viking-Packer rivalry, is it even possible to write “neighboring” when it comes to the two states?)
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Matoska Country Club: If you’ve ever played Gem Lake Hills Golf Course and taken a gander at the million-dollar homes immediately to the south, you’ve taken a gander at the former grounds of Matoska CC, where, incidentally, a gander or one of its relatives once met an unkind fate at the hands of a Matoska golfer. Chapter title: Thor and Tom’s Place.
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Northwood Country Club: Minnesota’s first Jewish Golf Club, in North St. Paul. Nothing to see here, really. Just streets, houses, a park and a water tower. Purely out of shame, I was prepared to not post this photo. Then I thought, what the heck. Might as well give any of my photographer friends who stumble upon this a good guffaw over the rotten photo. (It’s what happens when you hold the camera still when you’re supposed to be panning at a consistent pace. Guffaw away.)