Manitou Ridge Golf Club

Only course we’ve played this week with all kind of elevation changes Was very fun and interesting with course condition very good Fairways and greens were in good shape and we had a very nice round of less than 4 hours !

There's no way hole #10 is only a 7 handicap. 200 yard, par three, with a postage stamp green. This has to be the toughest hole on the course.

Played March 22nd, course was in great shape for early in the year.

Worse pace of play I’ve played!! 5+ hours. Had to wait on every shot on every hole. No ranger!! Won’t play again for this reason alone

Manitou has many great holes. You don't have to hit 300 yard tee shots to score on this course. (Blue) Hole 1 you'll need a 220 yard shot to reach the dog leg. From there it's a long green sloping towards the 110 yard approach shot. It's crucial to hit the fairway on hole 2. If that's done, you'll have a 150 yard shot in down hill to a large green. Hole 3 you'll need to hit a good approach shot. I miss short is much better then going long. Don't miss to short and left or you'll be in the water. The green has a large slope from back to front and it's a very hard chip or putt if you're beyond the pin. Hole 4 is a scoring hole. Relatively straight forward. Hole 5 is a reachable par 5 but that's when the fun begins. This green goes extremely hard from left to right. If you can't reach in 2, try and leave your approach on the right side. Hole 6 is another scoreable hole. Favor the left side off the tee. If accomplished, you'll have a good look at the pin from 120 yards. Green has a gradual slope. Hole 7 is the easiest par 3 on the course. Just make sure you get on the correct level of this two tier green. Hole 8... Put away the driver. Hit a 200 yard shot to this 90 degree dogleg left. You'll have 120 in uphill to a green the slopes towards the front. Hole 9 is a short par 4 downhill. It's tempting to go for it. If you're having a lousy start, give it a shot. Smart play is lay up favoring the left rough and the ball will kick down to the right in the fairway. You'll have 80-110 in depending on the club select. Water protects the right side of the fairway and green. Hole 10 is a beast. It's a long par 3 playing longer than the measured distance. Hit this green is challenging because it looks like a turtle shell. Missing right or short is good. Easy up and down. Missing left is almost a guaranteed bogey. Hole 11requires a good tee shot and a longer iron in. Hole 12 is a slight dogleg right with a green the has a good slope to the front left. Hole 13 is a par 3 with a very deep green. If the pins in the back, avoid going over. Hole 14 is a straight par 4 with a large hill in the fairway about 230 yards out. Land your approach just short of the pin and you won't do worse then par. If you go beyond the pin like me, you can easily putt it off the front of this elevated green. Hole 15 has the easiest green on the course. Hole 16 par 5 plays 50 yards longer from the blue tees. The long hits can reach in two. I played the hole 3 wood, 4 iron, pwedge. The green has a large slope 20 feet on creating two tiers. Get on the right level and you got a good shot at 1 putting. Hole 17 is a down hill par 3 with a large pond protect the front and right off the green. This is my favorite hole on the course. Hole 18 is a reachable par 5 for all with a good tee shot. Great county owned course with new golf carts that are equipped with windshields, USB plug ins and nice seats. Try the course out and keep your pace of play to 4 hours!!!

Looking at the scorecard, Manitou Ridge golf course looks very ordinary- not too long (6,401 yards from the blue tees and 6,043 yards from the white tees) and not too difficult (70.7 rating and 127 slope from the back and 69.1/121 from the middle tees). However, when you actually get out on the course, it immediately starts to get appealing. The starting hole is a 312 yard (from the white tees) dogleg right par 4. The fairway is fairly flat, and the green has a little back to front slope. Take your par and move on. At 380 yards the par 4 second hole is more challenging. The fairway has plenty of undulation, which is a feature of most of the fairways on the course. Manitou Ridge is situated on one of the most elevated tracts of land in Ramsey County, and there are significant elevation changes throughout the course. There are enough trees to make you want to stay in the fairway, but if you do stray the rough is cut fairly low so you'll probably be able to find your ball. One place you might lose a ball is on the third hole, where the front left of the green is protected by a water hazard that can't be seen from the fairway unless you've really hammered your drive. My playing partner was kind enough to warn me about the water, but of course that just made me pull my approach into the hazard. The front nine ends with a short (280 yards from the white tees), pretty hole that plays downhill to a flat landing area that is bordered on the right by water. Stay left and you'll be rewarded with a wedge shot to the green and a potential birdie. The starting hole on the back nine is a 192 yard par 3 over a pond to an elevated green. Make par here and you'll have momentum for the rest of the round. You'll need it because the most difficult hole on the course is the par 4 14th, not terribly long at 358 yards from the middle tees, but it will be hard to find a level lie on the undulating fairway to hit your approach shot to the elevated green with a false front. If you do hold the green on your approach shot, don't be too aggressive on your putt, because you might find your ball going off the green. The penultimate hole is a real beauty, 157 yards from an elevated green over a pond to a wide but not very deep green that lies almost perpendicular to the line of the shot. The danger here is taking too much club in order to ensure carrying the water, but then going too long and through the green. Chip back on and secure your par. If it sounds like I had fun on my first time playing this course, it's because I did. For a county-owned course, it is far from ordinary, and a real treat to play.

I've played this course 3 times recently, and it has some really challenging holes, and lots of not-so-memorable holes. Friendly staff. Not really long, I'm a 20 handicap and was able to reach the front of the green on the 2 longest holes in 2 shots. Overall an excellent value for the money.