Golden Eagle Golf Club

Absolutely beautiful course, cut out directly of the woods with beautiful fairways, and lush greens. Probably the best all around course in the Brainerd lakes area.

I've played plenty of mountain courses in my day, but I've never seen a course with as many crooked lies as Golden Eagle, a true hidden gem an hour north of Brainerd.

It's such a beautiful hilly setting that it's hard not to love the place. At the same time, it's so difficult to hit solid shots to so many plateau greens that it's easy to get frustrated with your game. Heavy rough is also an obstacle. Wetlands are sprinkled throughout the front nine with a single pond affecting the 14th and 18th holes on the back.

All five downhill par 3s look and play great, but I'd like a little more variety. On three of them, my playing partner and I hit the same club from the blue tees each time.

Ultimately, the question is this: With so many courses closer to civilization, is Golden Eagle worth the drive? YES.

Golf has its ups and downs, and that is definitely the case at Golden Eagle Golf Club. This course is HILLY! You'll see signs reading “Caution- Steep Grade- Use Brakes” about a half-dozen times going down steep cart paths, and the corresponding signs warning of “Danger- No stopping on hill” on the ascending paths. I wouldn't recommend playing this course after a rain storm until the cart paths are thoroughly dry. The positive side is that with all the hills and valleys, the course is a true visual treat. Elevated tees look over majestic sweeping fairways lined with trees or marsh areas. Standing on many greens you look back with appreciation at the fairway you just navigated. We played this course early in the season, so green was the dominant color, but the course must be truly spectacular toward the end of the season when the trees start showing their fall colors. The fairways are generously wide and very forgiving because on many holes a tee shot that goes wide will hit a slope that brings the ball back into play. Unfortunately, the fairways were not as well maintained as one might expect of a northwoods Minnesota course. We found a number of very thin lies even in the middle of the fairway. This might have been due to the early season date. A major disappointment was the inconsistent speed of the greens. Some were moderately fast, others medium, and several downright slow. This resulted in some downhill putts being left woefully short while on other greens a downhill put went rolling past the hole. The first person to putt in our group started feeling like the group's guinea pig for speed. The course starts out dramatically, with a 401 yard (from the blue or middle men's tees) dogleg left par 4 that requires a forced carry to reach the fairway, but also gives longer hitters the opportunity to cut the dogleg and set up a wedge or short iron to the green. There isn't a boring hole on the course, with right and left doglegs, forced carries, well-placed fairway bunkers and lateral hazards all demanding your attention. The par 4 12th and par 3 17th were among the favorite holes for our group. The 12th is a 388 yard (from the blue tees) almost 90 degree dogleg left. A bunker at the inside of the dogleg will make longer hitters consider whether they want to risk cutting the corner. The second shot is downhill to a green with no greenside bunkers protecting it, but a shot that misses right will leave a difficult up and down. The 17th is only 140 yards from a significantly elevated tee. It's a long way down to a fairly deep green. Depending on wind and pin placement, your club choice could easily vary by three clubs. It's a good idea to be short of the pin, because the green slopes quite a bit from back to front. I really liked this course, and my 4 star rating (instead of 5) is based mostly on the inconsistent green speed. It's not a course that I would choose as a “destination course” from the Twin Cities. But if you're traveling to the Brainerd Lakes area staying at a resort or playing other courses, it would be well worth it to stay an extra day and play the Golden Eagle.

this was not our first time playing this course but will be the last.
staff is ice cold ,you pay 88 $ ,four players about 360 $,spent another 150 for beer and food as well, and they want 3 $ for a bag of junk old range balls,no class. on a stimpmeter scale of 8 to 15 the greens are like a fairway at some nice places we travel to.never again for us

There are a lot of fantastic, more widely known courses in the Brainerd area (The Classic, Deacon's Lodge, The Preserve & more), but Golden Eagle might be the best overall value (design, natural surroundings, condition, playability & price). This is the most remote of the Brainerd courses, 45 min north of Brainerd, and is not part of any resort or community - the only reason you go here is to play golf. The course is built in a heavily wooded & very hilly area (not walkable) with some water holes with lots of great views. Course is tight in spots - (accuracy definitely rewarded) with a good mix of hard, moderate & a few easy holes. Most of the holes are right in front of you but with lots of elevation changes. Greens are large with modest undulation & run true & fast. Just a really fun course to play. No bev cart when I played so be stocked when you t off. Restaurant & bar are OK for an after round drink or sandwich. Overall, a very good experience.