The Refuge Golf Club

Pace of play was poor. So poor that the pro-shop attendant warned us prior to starting. We were given a rain check after a 3 hour front nine. This was very nice of the attendant.

Conditions are pretty nice. Layout is impressive. It is short course (back plays under 6,600 yds) so dog legs and other elements are introduced to keep it challenging. It is in no way "gimmicky". Sand is great (imported from Ohio?). I would make the drive for this one more frequently but the pace of play is a deterrent.

This has almost a resort course feel (scenery, layout, quality) packed into a decent public option for the north metro.

It took our foursome 5 hours and 15 minutes, we waited on every hole to tee off. The course is in great shape, but beginners should golf this course.

Spent Fathers Day golfing with my daughter, son in law and grandson. They were very impressed with the golf course. My son in law who has golfed all over the twin city area said, "I can name 10 private country clubs in the cities that aren't as nice or have better greens than The Refuge. I love this course."

Being that I'm a pretty average golfer, I thought The Refuge might be overwhelmingly difficult and too tough to enjoy. It was indeed more challenging than the courses I normally play, but it was very fair and my partner and I really enjoyed our round. We lost more balls than usual due to the marshes and woods, but we didn't mind. The marshes and woods are part of what make it a beautiful and peaceful course. It feels kind of like you're way up north somewhere. The greens were a bit faster than I'm used to, but they were in near perfect condition. There are some marshes and water to carry and contend with, but we both agreed that they provided challenges that were pretty fair. Along with the pleasant staff, very nice clubhouse and beautiful weather, it was a great day of golf. Already planning our next visit!

The course was in excellent shape. We had a great time, paired up with two friendly gentlemen. Lost a few balls, but it was fun to play a different course.

You had better know where your golf ball is going on this course, if you stray too much it will get very interesting in a bad way. Having said that, if you keep it in play it is a really fun course with great conditions and great greens.

Loved the way the course was designed into the existing setting. Great use of wetlands and the natural surroundings to define the course and layout.

I'm sure most of you checking out these reviews have heard of The Refuge being named in any number of magazines as a "Top Twin Cities Course" and I have to say I agree.

I golf almost exclusively through GolfNow and therefore I usually only pay ~$20-25 to play Refuge w/ a cart, and frankly, I feel like I'm getting away with a crime.

This my my home course and I try to play it at least once a week, it is always well kept and the undulating/elevated greens are always challenging. If you are a lower handicap looking for a good challenge, play the tips. By playing the back tees the course really changes. Having said this, however; I feel the need to mention that the course plays completely different from the white tees, so if there are some not-so-long guys in your group, know that they will be able to enjoy themselves as well. If you choose to play the tips, bring your hammer.

Friendly staff, well-maintained course especially this time of year and moderately challenging.

Very well kept. Played early spring and it was already in great shape. The course is very fair. You can score well if you play well. Retail price is kinda high but they have many deals. I'll be back next time there is a good deal :)

Course was in good shape for this early in the year. Fun course, very challenging from the black. Range finders in the carts are very helpful.

Course was challenging and fun to play as usual, but spring conditions don't really showcase The Refuge. You need the greens cut tight and fast, and than you've got your hands full.

This was my first time playing The Refuge. It's only 15 minutes from home. I had booked Purple Hawk and arrived to find Purple Hawk was flooded and we couldn't get on the course. I got a refund from Golfnow and booked The Refuge. When I pulled up to the course I was blown away!!! All this time and I never considered playing there. What was I thinking?!? My new favorite course. Absolutely beautiful!!!

Fantastic golf course great greens pace of play is historically slow understaffed in the clubhouse and no ranger ere was on duty

I have played this course multiple times over the past month. Every time I was greeted and helped by an incredibly friendly and accommodating staff. The driving range is fairly priced for a warm up bucket before your round. The tee times are consistently on time and the pace of play is usually above average. The condition of the course is impressive considering how early in the season it was opened. The greens are well managed and provide a variety of difficulty for even low handicap players. The tree lined fairways make a good tee shot a necessity. My favorite hole is the signature #9 a Par 5, dogleg right. The manmade tee boxes carved into a marsh require a longer carry to reach the fairway and a cluster of green side bunkers make going for it in two a high risk, high reward shot! I play 3-4 times a week around the metro and have a +5 USGA handicap and The Refuge is one of my favorite courses to play.

I was a little afraid to play this course again as the last couple times were enough for a lifetime. The last two times I played here on a Saturday the rounds took over 5 and half hours and the staff was OK with it, and they barked at you for questioning it. I was please to say that the staff was friendlier and even though the place was packed, our round only took a little over 4 hours. This was the first time in years I have seen a ranger on the course checking things out and ASKING how things are going. I will definitely be back and maybe I can talk my friends into giving it another try.
Great job and hopefully things keep going in the right direction as the it is one of the better tracks in the north metro.

Cold and Challenging! Good to get out Golfing in March in MN.

My wife and I love the course usually but the last few times we have played since club championship day forward the greens are wayyyy too fast. Pace of play has been slow and you could easily improve this by making greens slower. The course has excellent greens with lots of natural slope so excessive speed is not needed in my opinion. I would guess most golfers that play your course are 15 to 25 handicap and speedy greens just reduce enjoyment and add lots of time for extra putts. Also there was no ranger that I could see trying to keep pace of play going and there were a couple of holes backed up with 3 groups waiting. I saw very average to poor golfers playing green tees when they belonged on white or yellow - not sure what can be done about that but the fast greens thing is really a problem in my opinion.

Like the course. Play a few times a year, Anymore rain and there will be problems with some of the fairways.. Water levels very high. Very soft condition on fairways and greens.

I joined a twosome on this course, playing it due to top ranking for public courses. The layout was great, conditions were very good, and greens were really fast and hard to score on. Getting organized to join a twosome was not handled well, but no problem. I'd play again.