Edina Country Club Round Review

Today is the reason I love living in MN.  The weather outside was absolutely fantastic.  ~80 degrees with a smooth breeze to keep you cool.  As I mentioned in my last post I had the opportunity to play Edina Country Club today for the first time due to the fact that Hazeltine is still shut down due to stress on the fairways and greens.
Edina did not disappoint.  I pulled up to a modest clubhouse which had really nice tennis courts and a great looking pool, but to me this is the filler on my plate sizzling with a fresh steak off the grill if you know what I mean.  I promptly headed over to the range to get loosened up.  The course has been around since the 1920's I believe and the range is evidence of that.  They are pretty landlocked for space.  They do the best they can to provide a guest and member tee setup but not very many targets to aim at and the quality of the tees were a little suspect.
Now for the course.  Tom Lehman and team did a great job of placing bunkers in places to make the course more difficult.  However at times it seemed like some of the bunker placement was forced.  Number 9 is a 320 par four and there is a bunker 150 yards off the tee right near the fairway.  Not sure why you want to penalize high handicappers, since they are likely the only ones this bunker would come into play for.  I noticed a few other instances of this "forced bunker" setup but nine really was surprising.  The layout of the course is pretty standard for an old country club feel.  Lots of beautiful mature trees and a lot of back and forth on the holes.  It was simple but pretty fun to play.  The short holes made you think and there was never any point where you could just get up there and rip it away without having to worry about tree lines, bunkers, or water hazards.
Finally I would like to comment on the greens.  A+  These might have been the nicest greens I have played on all year.  No signs of weather or traffic stress anywhere.  Firm, somewhat fast and very consistent from hole to hole.  I hope they are able to keep them in this shape in the future for their members sake. 

Bottom line Edina CC has a great location, a great clubhouse that is simple with lots of amenities,  a traditional golf, course layout with some fun holes and a few goofy ones, a small practice facility and some of the best greens I have played on this year.  If you get the chance to experience a round at Edina CC you should jump on the opportunity and enjoy a beer on the patio while watching guys boom drives on 10 and sink putts on the big 18 green right below the deck.

Enjoy your week.  Fishing report from Lake of the Woods next week and maybe a Titliest 910D3 driver review later this week after I monkey with the club fitting.

The other side of the fence

This past year I fullfilled a life long dream by becoming a full time member at a premier golf course in Minnesota.  Hazeltine National is where I now call home for the golfing season.  This year has been a rollercoaster of a year.  It started with highs due to the new clubhouse opening  and the course opening in June!

View of Clubhouse from 9 and 18 greens.

The First Day the course was open I almost ace'd number 8.  Made a bird from about 1ft away.


Hole 8



Then Came the Lows.  The course started to degrade due to heat and traffic and a temporary closure has been instituted.  See the turfgrass blog for more updates --> http://hngcturfgrass.blogspot.com/

And now for the highs again.  Edina CC also went through a major rip up and they took slightly longer to open then Hazeltine did.  They understand the risks of new grass and have kindly helped out our course by providing reciprocal times.  I get the privelege of playing there this Sunday.  Tom Lehman redesigned the entire course and this will be a great experience.  Below is a photo courtesy of Peter Wong  Link to the site --> http://dynolights.com/2011/07/25/on-assignment-at-the-edina-country-club/

Look for a course review next week!