Como Golf Course

I hadn't played the course for a few years until playing an early morning round today. The price was good and the course has an interesting layout. The tee boxes were full of divots and it was difficult to find a place to address the ball without a foot sinking into a divot. The rough was unevenly mowed and full of large sections of clover that made finding and hitting the ball difficult. Some sections of fairway had standing water from leaking water pipes. Some sandtraps were pockmarked with square holes from improper use of grooming equipment. This course could be a gem with proper maintenance,, but until I know that is occurring I wouldn't return.

Como Park Golf Course is short (5,821 yards from the back tees), hilly with lots of elevation changes (it is used for downhill skiing in the winter), and relatively easy (rating of 67.5 and slope of 122 for the middle tees). Nevertheless, it is a fun course with a few holes that will challenge most golfers. Probably the major negative about the course is that there is no driving range, so you'll have to be satisfied with warming up by stretching and doing some putting on the practice green adjacent to the first tee. The first hole will tell you a lot about how the course will play on any day. The large green is severely sloped from back to front, so when the greens are playing fast a downhill putt may go several feet past the hole. Keep that speed in mind as you proceed. Long hitters will need nothing more than long irons or hybrids off the tee on many holes, and even average hitters will find that a good drive will leave them needing only a wedge or short iron for their approach shot. One exception to this is the par 4 7th hole, which is 410 yards from the middle tees to an elevated green that is sloped significantly from back to front. Most average golfers will need three shots to reach the green, and will then be happy to avoid a 3-putt. By contrast, the par 4 11th hole is only 287 yards from the back tees, so long hitters will be tempted to try to drive the green. Many are successful, but those who pull or hook their shot left will see their ball go OB. The course par is 70, as there are only two par 5 holes and four par 3's. The par 5's (holes 8 and 18) are some of the more challenging holes on the course, as they both have forced carries over water to reach the green. If you are above the hole on the severely tilted 18th green, a 3-putt is very likely. Following the round, the clubhouse provides few options in terms of food and liquid refreshment, but luckily there are many alternatives within a mile or two of the course.

A pretty solid municipal course in Minneapolis. It is on the short side and not particularly challenging. It uses the land pretty well overall with a few quirky holes that run through a valley. Found it very easy to walk. Found a great rate online and our whole group played for 80 bucks plus an additional dollar for the yardage book (which wasn't particularly necessary). Overall it is a pretty run of the mill municipal with some nice elevation changes and a great price point.

Everything about the course was very well kept. The course layout was very fun to play, but the fast and undulating greens kept the scoring down, as they were the main challenge.