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Driving Minnesota Week 5 Recap

Friday, July 16, 2021

July 11 - Stillwater Country Club (Stillwater)

July 12 - StoneRidge Golf Club (Stillwater)

July 16 - Royal Golf Club (Lake Elmo)

By Josh Miller

I had a lighter week of golf due to the weather, playing only three metro courses, but in sacrificing quantity I gained quality: Stillwater Country Club, Stoneridge Golf Club, and Royal Golf Club.
 
I started the week at Stillwater Country Club. I greatly enjoyed the layout and conditions of the course. The course, managed by GM Brent Heit, opens up with a stretch of gettable par fours and throws in a couple of difficult par threes to keep things interesting. The elevation changes offer some unreal views of the St. Croix River Valley and a beautiful par three 14th.
 
Paige McCullough, member of the MGA’s executive committee and former Minnesota Gopher, grew up playing at Stillwater Country Club and came to visit me on the course midway through the round.
 
I also visited StoneRidge Golf Club. My visit began with an introduction to 85-year-old Roger Splinter, who grew up on the land that is now the beautiful StoneRidge Golf Club in Stillwater, featuring his grandmother’s old barn on the signature 11th hole named Splinter after his family.
 
Directly off 94, the course is easily accessible from all parts of the metro yet the long driveway as you enter the club makes it feel like a true escape from the outside world. The course itself is one of Minnesota’s finest and boasts some of the purest greens on the tour so far. Each of the two nines has a distinct personality, the front a traditional links course and the back more tree-lined. Together they create a unique golf experience that does an excellent job of rewarding good shots and punishing bad ones while at the same time offering numerous options off the tee on many holes.
 
The final course of the week was a visit to the Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo, which is quickly becoming one of the region’s premier courses. Formerly known as Tartan Park, the course was once 3M’s own private club, but in 2018 legends Arnold Palmer and Annika Sorenstam were brought in to do a redesign. It ended up being the last course Arnie designed prior to his death, and it was the first course that Sorenstam designed in the US.
 
The nature on the course is astounding, and holes 1, 2, 5, 17 and 18 are especially picturesque with water lining the fairways and greens. The front nine, designed by Sorenstam, has been dubbed the Queen’s nine, and the back is referred to as the King’s. The greens provide plenty of undulation and are plenty fast, and the clubhouse is beautiful.
 
Favorite Hole: Number 5 at The Royal Golf Club
 
Interesting Person: Roger Splinter. It is always neat to be able to connect with someone with such deep roots to a course I have the privilege of playing.
 
Best Shot: I sunk a 30-foot birdie putt on number three at Stillwater CC. The number-one handicapped hole, hearing the ball hit the bottom of the cup felt good.
 
All scores:
 
Stillwater CC: 82 (+10)
StoneRidge GC: 80 (+8)
Royal GC: 80 (+8)

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