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INDEPENDENCE, Minn. - There are two kinds of private clubs: ones that attract local members and others that attract golfers on a national scale.
As one of the top courses in Minnesota, Windsong Farm has always been a destination club, recruiting members and guests from around the country. The addition of a new North Course elevates the reputation of Minnesota's only 36-hole private club into even more rarefied air. When you think of top U.S. clubs home to 36 great holes, names like Oak Hill, Winged Foot, Oakland Hills, Monterey Peninsula and Baltusrol come to mind. It's time to include Windsong Farm on that exclusive list.
Architect John Fought, who designed the original South Course at Windsong Farm with local legend Tom Lehman, made sure that the North Course looks and feels completely different than its counterpart across the street.
“You wouldn’t know the same person designed both of these courses,” Fought says. “The North looks like a golf course that came from the early 1900’s. It’s on a very small piece of land and I wanted to prove to people that length isn’t the only way to add drama to a golf course.”
The new North is 1,000 yards shorter (6,492 yards compared to 7,552) and set within a much smaller footprint (125 acres vs. 220) than the South, a regular host of the annual University of Minnesota Gopher Invitational men’s golf tournament. Even without the added length, the North Course plays much tougher than its yardage implies. with wind a constant threat to push balls into wetlands or bunkers.
Fought leaned hard into C.B. Macdonald/Seth Raynor-style "template" holes, utilizing classic green shapes like Eden (no. 2), Biarritz (no. 4) and Redan (no. 17), plus one double green (nos. 13 and 16).
The par-3 Dell Hole on no. 8 is quite fun, playing between 131 and 149 yards, while the Cape Hole at no. 18 is downright evil, stretching to a punishing 486 yards as it boomerangs around water.
The surrounding views of Fox Lake and adjacent horse pastures give golfers a true sense of place in this rural section of the state 25 miles west of Minneapolis. What's fascinating about the North Course's routing of six par 3s and four par 5s is that no consecutive holes are the same par until no. 14 kicks off a stretch of three straight par 4s. “We configured it to create the most diversity you can get on a golf course,” Fought noted.
Few Midwest clubs offer on-site lodging, let alone something as unique as Windsong Farm's Murphy House, which features a shared living room and kitchen space with private bedrooms, plus a private putting green outside that stays lit at night. The convenience of staying a short cart ride from the farm-style clubhouse and a wonderful food and beverage operation are other amenities that spoil members at one of the Midwest's premier country clubs.
What's the best 36-hole private club you've played? Let us know in the comments below.
Comments (1)
Royal Melbourne Golf Club - outstanding!