Highway 10 west from Anoka, Minnesota to Little Falls, Minnesota provides a memorable, and often overlooked, stretch of golf.
First, Anoka is home to Greenhaven golf course. Visible from Highway 10, Greenhaven is a historic course that boasts tricky, yet enjoyable greens at an affordable price. As you can see from the images below, Golfers will have to navigate beautiful mature trees and lush green grass.
Just about 25 minutes north of Minneapolis in the northern metro, Greenhaven is a must play.
Next, Just 12 minutes west on Highway 10 is The Links at Northfork. This course might be the nicest and well-respected on this stretch. The Links at Northfork is the closest a Minnesotan can come to experiencing the links style in the Home of golf, Scotland. Where Greenhaven presented a Parkland style of play — lush green grass and mature trees — Northfolk will play dry and with lots of taller wispy fescue grasses. The absence of trees here allows the wind to wreak havoc which poses a unique challenge to golfers.
Next, another 16 minutes west and just 3 miles North of Highway 10 in the heart of Elk River, MN lies Elk River Golf Club. At ERGC (You’ll find these letter is a flower bed on the way to the clubhouse). Elk River Golf club is an old course with Small greens and trees that crowd the Fairways. Hit it straight or you’ll have to hit a trick shot to get clear of the trees. Take a Look!
Just a short jaunt west from Elk River lands you in Becker, Minnesota. A small town with a golf course as the centerpiece. Just 1.2 miles to the north of Highway 10 is Pebble Creek Golf Course. Between The Links at Northfork and the Next course on this list (on next week’s post), Territory Golf Club in St. Cloud, I’m hard pressed to say this, but Pebble Creek might be my favorite on this stretch. A Parkland style course with absolutely immaculate greens. The course winds through well-spaced mature trees not far from the Sherburne County Refuge Nature area. What a view!
On your highway 10 golf trip, you’ve traveled 30 miles. Just north of the metro area we saw Parkland courses, Rolling hills, and Scottish-style links golf. Minnesota has so much to offer that this trip cannot be contained in one post. There are still 50 more miles and 4 fantastic courses to go. Check back soon as I highlight the rest of the journey on Highway 10 from St. Cloud to Little Falls where we see an even more drastic landscape change that poses yet another challenge to golfers.