The Wilderness At Fortune Bay

I think this course would rank higher than The Quarry at Giants Ridge if it weren't for the stupidly made greens. They have huge mounds everywhere, and rolling at a fast speed, it felt more like mini-golf once you got on the green sometimes. Golf is hard enough, shouldn't be punished with a 3-putt anytime you're outside of 20 feet. Otherwise, friendly service and the turf was immaculate so no complaints there.

Playing Giants Ridge and Wilderness on a fun golf outing. This is a resort course and was very good except for the greens. Too many of the greens had man-made hardness that served no positive purpose. By this I mean greens with extreme tiers that no one except low handicapper can get close to mastering. They were not natural at all, and were a real downer for an otherwise excellent course. It's ok to have fast greens with different sections for pin placements. But to have small sections with10 foot height differences and place the pin there does nothing good. Service was excellent.

Having played this a few times, thought yesterday’s experience deserved comment. This is one of the best public golf courses in the Upper Midwest. Course layout will test top amateurs, and the forward tees will offer opportunities as well for the less skilled player. Course conditions are excellent. Greens are enormous and offer various strategies depending on pin placements. Greens rolled true, but were not too fast which is needed due to dry conditions in the area and the difficulty and severity of slopes - well thought out. Back nine gets a bit tighter off the tee, but most holes offer ample room off the tee. The par threes are really interesting and challenging. The staff is top notch, pricing is very fair for experience. Very remote location and quiet part of the state....if you get this far north, might as well tag on both courses at Giants Ridge as well as they compliment this great course. This is a must play for golfers......

The Wilderness at Fortune Bay is a par 72 layout designed by Jeff Brauer near Tower Minnesota.

Golfers will find a tremendous layout with plenty of challenging shots through wooded corridors, over ponds, around lakes and through hazards. Though many holes look intimidating, the course is actually quite fair with large landing areas off the tee and big greens.

On the day I played, the green speeds were very slow, compared to other top courses in the area. This may have been a blessing given that the greens have some huge slopes which could lead to a bunch of 3 putts. That said, I would like to see the greens roll about a foot faster to enhance the experience.

One cool feature is The Wilderness has Finn Cycles available on a first come, first serve basis. Our group took 2 Finn Cycles and a cart and switched off after 9 holes. The Cycles were a lot of fun and provided a unique way to see the golf course.

I did find the staff to be just average. I expected a more welcoming environment given the resort nature of the course. Nobody seemed to really care that we were there to play. That said, the food at the Wilderness Grill was fantastic.

The Wilderness at Fortune Bay is a must play and worth the difficult travel to get to the course. My favorite hole is the par 5 16th, which is a definite 3 shotter, working uphill to a pushed up green. Making a 5 is a good score on 16.

This is a beautiful course that is simply a joy to play. No homes on the course, holes are surrounded by nature with rocks, woods, water, etc...just a very nice environment to enjoy a round of golf.

The course layout is great for all levels of play and has many tee box options to chose from. A wide variety of golf hole layouts that let a person chose multiple options off the tee which I enjoy.

The course is in great shape and staff is great! The golf course is walking distance from the Fortune Bay Casino so it's very convenient. Clubhouse and restaurant is great and has a nice selection of good food.

It's ranked number 2 (public) in the state of Minnesota (The Quarry is #1) but I enjoy my round more at the Wilderness. It's simply a course I recommend to the fullest.

Amazingly beautiful course, would go annually a few times with my Dad. Great course, great food and getting the bloody mary from the drink cart is a must.

I had heard so many great things about this course I had to play it, so we headed the 5.5 hours got it done. The staff are great, the course is beautiful, greens are bit tricked out as nothing is flat to reference against, but the course is built on some gorgeous land. It was wet and windy which makes conditions rough, but it was well worth the trip.

I play the Wilderness on an annual basis, typically in September. Conditions that time of year are perfect (usually before any aeration occurs). The last time I played was September of 2018, this was a year when many courses in the region had a very rough start to the year due to freeze/thaw/rain during the winter. The Wilderness was fantastic. This is the best course in NE Minnesota, outside of Northland Country Club (a Donald Ross gem). I'm playing it again in September 2019 and expect the the same satisfaction.

The Wilderness at Fortune Bay is a one of a kind place and if you can, you should absolutely jump all over the opportunity. I tee'd off at 8AM, first time of the day. We arrived and right away a very nice man running the carts drove one out to us. Brand new carts with GPS, and I love it when places invest in nice carts. They have an extremely nice clubhouse and pro shop. A lot of items you can buy and it is very well put together. The restaurant is top notch. Awesome views of multiple holes while you eat, and they grill everything outside on the patio right by the 18th green. Their range is my favorite I have ever been on. The layout is very nice, accurate yardages to multiple greens and a large fairway landing area to try and pick your spots. The practice green is large and had landscaping all around it, including a little brook with bubbling water. I could putt there all day if they would let me. The course is amazing, the views are spectacular and if you like golf, you will love this place. Long holes, great greens and white sand bunkers. I love thick wooded courses and this course had me hooked the second I stepped on the grounds. A few holes are on Lake Vermillion and it really makes for a cool stretch of holes. The par 3's are some of my favorite I have played. The staff were all welcoming, nice and accommodating. It is a challenging course with a lot of obstacles but that is part of what makes it so great. They have some forced carries, plenty of water and strategic bunkers. I have played the 2 Giants Ridge courses and love them, but The Wilderness takes the #1 spot in my mind. I will drive 4 hours many, many more times just to play this course.

Played it twice in two days...averaged 4:07 to play 18. 17th and 18th rounds I've played at the Wilderness overall in the past 7 years and every single time it has been in IMMACULATE condition. I would contend that this course has the COUNTRY's best General Manager (in Tom Beaudry), best Golf Chef in Chef Quaid, best 19th Hole at The Wilderness Grille and is one of the most fun/beautiful rounds of golf you can find in America. Only 30 minutes from the twin Brauer courses at Giants Ridge, there is NO EXCUSE for anyone within 500 miles of here to not come up and play all three...and I'd expect The Wilderness to be your favorite.

Buddy and I decided to make the trek up to upper Minnesota and boy are we glad we did. Tee'd off before 8 for 74 dollars which is a steal. This course had an amazing layout cut through the woods. Plenty of scenic holes and risk reward holes. Lots of 2 teared greens, that werw in perfect shape. Words dont describe how awesome this place was. You will not be disappointment at Fortune bay. Wish i could get the pictures on my computer to link to this review. Its a great course check it out NOW!

Giants Ridge, Brainerd, and the Twin Cities courses get all the publicity but this course is head and shoulders above all of them. The only thing you could hold against this course is the location but to get the northern woods feel and terrain it is also required. Beautiful rock outcroppings splitting fairways that seem like they were meant to be there, awesome green complexes, and views of Northern MN that can't be beat. I could go on for hours praising this course but you just need to try it yourself. The only course I've played in MN that is in the same stratosphere is The Quarry but even that feels more contrived than this beautiful set of holes. Do yourself and schedule a weekend to play this course multiple times because once isn't enough!

I have been making annual trips to the Wilderness golf course since it opened. So I have played in all kinds of weather (that happens in Minnesota). The Wilderness gives you spectacular views from all over the course. The course generally has wide fairways, and if you can stay in the fairways the course is very playable. Miss the fairways and the course will eat you up. Love to play this course. Choose the right tee box for your ability and you will love Northern Minnesota golf too.

A friend and I took a golf trip to Minnesota and we played The Classic in Brainerd and we played both the Quarry and The Legend at Giants Ridge and this course was both of our favorites. We loved all the ways the rock was used in the course design.

We both played from the tips and we played 36 holes and it was really wet out because of rain and every time we hit our drives our ball would not roll at all so the course was playing very long. Looking forward to going back and playing it in faster conditions. In my opinion the best golf course in Minnesota! Staff was also great! I have Played golf courses all over the united states and I would rate this course in my top 5! A must play!

Shhhhhhhh. Don't tell Golf Digest, but this course, not The Quarry, is the best course in Minnesota! We played them both on a guys golf outing and I came away more impressed with The Wilderness. Every part. We stayed at the casino which is an 8-iron away from the clubhouse. We drove up to the clubhouse and were greeted warmly by the staff waiting with a cart. They removed our clubs from the vehicle and gave us a towel and sent us on our way. Blown away by the staff.....keep up the good work! The top notch customer service didn't stop there. From the guy firing up the grill outside, the clubhouse staff, the bartenders, the rangers.....everyone was courteous and friendly...cracking jokes and giving tips. I couldn't have asked for more. This is what every golf resort/course should strive to be.

The course conditions were immaculate. I don't remember any spots where we weren't impressed. There is a green that has a valley running through it. The pin placement was in the bottom of that valley. Seemed a bit Mickey Mouse to do that, but we laughed it off! Very scenic and all around fun. If you have the choice of northern Minnesota courses.....choose The Wilderness.

Expect to be treated well when arriving at the golf course. Someone is their to meet you with a cart and load your clubs if you need assistance. The practice range is included with your fee, so hit as many balls as you like. The course is spectacular!!! It had rained several days before I arrived, so it was cart path only and the fairways where swallowing up the golf balls, so playing from the championship tees made the course very LONG. I would recommend taking note of the course condition before choosing your tee box. Everything about the course was top notch. Tee boxes where perfectly level, and roughs and fairways where beautifully maintained with no reason to try to improve your lie. The greens rolled true and just the right speed. (around 10 I would guess) All carts where provided an upgraded GPS system which is one of the best I have seen. I would recommend this course to anyone who loves the game of golf. I travel for a living, and play all over the country. This course rates right with the best.

One of my favorite courses ever played and definitely one of the top courses in the state. Make a great weekend out of it by making a stop at The Legend at Giants Ridge and The Quarry at Giants Ridge. These 3 courses can compete with any golf destination in the US with a unique northwoods feel, at a fraction of the cost given peak season greens fees less than $100. Me and a few buddies make the trip every year for our Bogey Monster Open showdown