The Refuge Golf Club

Always enjoy playing The Refuge. A little tough to get to unless you live in area. A refuge, if you will. Play from the correct tees or course could be too hard, or too easy, for you. There is room for error but you will have a tough time if hitting it too far left or right. Some redundancy in layout but the beautiful surroundings of similar holes makes up for that. Conditions have always been good to very good over the years I've played here. Staff has been great, as well. Worth playing regardless of receiving discounted green fee.

Decided to sneak away to a course I hadn't played before and had heard/seen a lot about. The staff was great and the course was in good condition. Pace of play was extremely good for the first 9...then ran into some regulars who liked to look for lost golfballs (not their own) and held me up. Then when I skipped 1/2 a hole and went to next tee I was approached and got a stern talking to about 'pushing' play into them. Oh well, some people think the course is there just for them.

Course wasn't that busy on a very windy day.Not very long but you do have to be accurate, very well bunkered,well worth it to play.

In great shape, the greens can be very challenging but if you can putt well on these greens you can anywhere

There are many positive aspects about The Refuge golf course, along with a few negative ones. The course has an excellent practice area, including a large driving range, an enormous putting green, and practice bunkers and chipping green. A good warmup will prepare you for the first hole, a short (314 yards from the middle tees) par 4 with water all along the left side of the fairway and woods on the right. The fast green slopes severely from back to front, so if you haven't tested the speed on the practice green you might find yourself putting a long way past the hole. Remember the speed, because most of the greens will be similarly fast. The second hole is an S-shaped par 5, not too long at 531 yards from the back tee and 468 from the middle tee. As you move on to the following holes, you will never be bored, as you will find right and left doglegs, forced carries over marshland, water on many of the holes, and strategically placed bunkers. The 9th hole, a short dogleg right par 5 (510 yards from the back tee and 403 yards from the middle tee) is a real gem. The first four tee boxes are actually set on islands that have been built in the middle of the marsh. (You'll find similar island tees on several other holes.) The tee shot must carry the marsh and not run through the fairway. Reaching the 200 yard marker in the middle of the fairway is really not terribly difficult if a golfer has chosen the correct tee box, requiring only a 203 yard shot from the middle tee. Nevertheless, the psychology of the shot, looking at that expanse of marsh grass, makes it more difficult. Most foursomes will find at least one member losing a ball. Assuming a golfer is successful in carrying the marsh, what's left should be an easy 4 shots for a par. But the long, undulating green is protected by a complex of bunkers on the left and lots of trouble right and long. Maybe that's why it's the number one handicap hole. The few negatives that I mentioned earlier start with a very slow pace of play. Five hours on a Monday afternoon is really not acceptable. Foursomes ahead of us spent way too much time looking for balls lost in the woods and we never saw a ranger on the course to keep groups moving on. There is also no drinking water on the course, and there were no ball washers on any of the tee boxes. Courses in Minnesota remove the ball washers in the winter, but September seems a bit early to have done this. No ball washers on the carts, either. Finally, even though the carts are equipped with GPS, I was never able to get the one on my cart to work, and the GPS on my playing partners' cart went in and out throughout the round. Very annoying. The bottom line is that I really like this course and plan to continue coming out occasionally, but I really can't give it a five star rating.

The course has a nice design but is not in as good a shape as it used to be, the greens are very bumpy.

The staff is friendly but the worst part is the pace NB of play. Plan on over five hours, even on weekdays. No water to drink on the course is also frustrating. Overall, not a good value.

This was my favorite course in the Twin City areas! The fairways and the greens were fantastic. Have absolutely nothing bad to say about this course. The holes were very challenging but fair. Excellent track and I would highly recommend it. I look forward to the next opportunity to tee it up at The Refuge!

This is a fun course, also challenging. The clubhouse appears new and updated. Beautifully done. The food was excellent.

I enjoyed the course easy to follow from hole to hole play was pretty slow, I golf a single so I waited every shot. had a good time.

Love playing this course. Started round at 3. So, the greens were getting rough by that time of day. Other than that, it was very enjoyable.

Very friendly staff. Food was nice.

Practice green was fast and in great shape, but actual greens were not in a good state. Riddled with pitch marks and spike marks. Not the courses fault, just poor etiquette. The tee boxes and fairways were in good condition.

The various tee boxes gives all levels of golfer a really good challenge. A number of lengthy carries off the tee makes for some scary tee shots.

It took 5 hours to complete a three-ball. No ranger on duty.

Overall I enjoyed the course and facilities.

Great course! Excellent service, play was fast. Great layout, every hole was isolated. Definitely playing Refuge again.

This is a quality course at a great value! Challenging, scenic and affordable.

I played this course for the first time on Sunday. I had a great experience and really enjoyed the golf course. It was in really good shape, greens rolled true and the staff was great. I would highly recommend this golf course!

First time playing course.

Played in under 4 hours. Played early afternoon.

Will play again,

Will need to play more target golf next time.

Fairways are not wide

Would not walk this course.

Refuge is always in good condition, and is a good challenge for any golfer. I had not played the course in probably 5 years but made the drive from Otsego. Course management could really improve on the customer experience. No starter/ranger. When I checked in was told a two-some and another single would be with me. No one shows at tee time so I end up going by myself. No communication from anyone. Range balls looked like they had not been washed for a week. Golf carts need to be upgraded. Only highlight was the cart-girl, who made the circuit very fast. Not sure I would make the trip again.

Nice course, but pace of play was painfully slow ended up quitting after 12 holes. The greens are very slow and bumpy, and did not roll true. Very dissatisfied and disappointed with a upper scale course, kinda reminded me of a municipal course. This course needs help. I wouldn't play it again, even if it was free.

The course was in great shape! Very challenging course. Must keep ball in fairway, rough is very difficult. Look forward to playing again!!

Should've walked away after we had to wait 35 minutes past our tee time to start our round. It was a guys weekend and we drove down from Northern MN to play a few courses. Every hole we played, we had to wait for at least 4 groups ahead of us. This was the most unprofessional course I've dealt with. We were on an itinerary and this ruined our whole day. It took nearly 7 hours to complete the round. Seems like they overbooked on purpose just to get more money, disregarding the experience of their customers. Didn't see one ranger. The beer cart girls were the only ones that were apologetic about the whole situation. They were very sweet. The course itself was in great condition and is a really scenic treat. I don't think the course conditions could've saved the horrible experience we had though. I'd think about going again if they changed their booking policy. Don't make dinner reservations.....you'll miss them if you play here! We did!

Overall it's a great course though. Play at your own risk.

A new member in Sept. '15. I enjoy the course and play it 3-4x a week. I don't have problems with pace of play because I usually play early in the morning during the week. Greens got a little rough, and I hope to see them improved in '16, along with the cart batteries, which often got weak in the afternoon. A challenging course for someone like me, who has returned to the game after many years away. Josh and the staff have been fantastic.