<< Back to Summary

Driving Minnesota Week 1 Recap

Friday, June 18, 2021

June 14 - Brookview Golf Course & Lawn Bowling (Golden Valley)

June 15 - Braemar Golf Course (Edina)

June 16 - Pioneer Creek Golf Course (Maple Plain)

June 17 - Oak Marsh Golf Course (Oakdale)

By Josh Miller

The Driving Minnesota Golf Tour kicked off at Brookview Golf Course in Golden Valley. Golden Valley Mayor Shep Harris came to hit the ceremonial first tee shot! The course was in excellent condition, especially for a heavily played public track. Like other courses in the region, Brookview has benefited from high pandemic demand and has been very busy to start the season. This, combined with an influx of new apartment buildings in the area, has brought a new generation to the course.
 
Tuesday, I visited  the newly renovated Braemar Golf Course in Edina, MN. I played with three influential figures at Braemar, including Pacy Erck, who was an original employee there when the course opened in 1964. “This course is family to me,” she says. The layout featured a few especially unique par fives, particularly holes 11 and 16 on the back nine. A notable feature of the course was that they didn’t use colors to denote tee markers — instead, they used the letters E-D-I-N-A. This is an effort to take ego out of play when choosing which tee box to play from, since there isn’t a set mens and ladies tee.
 
Wednesday, I played Pioneer Creek Golf Course in Maple Plain, MN. The greens were firm, fast and pure. Without houses on the course and an abundance of wildlife, it felt like a golfing paradise in the middle of the state. Situated across the road from Windsong Farms, the Minnesota Gophers play there each year and the course was also host of the US Girls Amateur.
 
I closed out the week Thursday with a visit to Oak Marsh Golf Club in Oakdale, MN. I put together my best round of the tour so far (74!) thanks to the generous fairways and gettable par fives. The most difficult hole was number two, featured in the first slide above, as it required a precise tee shot over water and between hazards.

6550 York Avenue South, Suite 411 • Edina, MN 55435 • (952) 927-4643 • (800) 642-4405 • Fax: (952) 927-9642
© 2024 Minnesota Golf Association. All Rights Reserved