Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2021 - 18

To uring the Land of Irons & Woods
VIRGINIA GC
mid-1930s by Hugh Vincent Feehan,
(see sidebar) who also designed Detroit
CC in northwestern Minnesota. This
municipal course has a new log clubhouse.
Hoyt
Lakes' 3,200-yard, par-36 nine
is no pushover, routing through and
around a dense pine forest flanked by
the Partridge River-which is in view
but not in play. On the seventh hole, a
periscope provides a view of the green,
and a greenside ship's bell sounds the
all clear for the next group.
Fortune Bay Resort Casino is on
the shores of vast 40,000-acre Lake
Vermilion.
Its golf complex,
The
Wilderness at Fortune Bay, is, by the
numbers, the most difficult course on
this tour. Rated by Golfweek as the #7
Best Casino Course in the U.S., it is also
an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.
First time players will look at the scorecard
and be somewhat confounded
by the 325-yard par-4 finishing hole,
which appears to have birdie potential.
While tending the course's pro shop
holiday sale, an assistant pro amended
that thought. No. 18 is a bogey hole
with par potential and a pond looming
on the left side of the green. Pier 77
Mini Golf at the resort is much easier.
Giants Ridge, a golf and ski resort,
is home to two splendid golf courses:
The Legend and The Quarry. Both
courses have received extensive recognition
since their inception. Most
recently,
accolades have poured in
from Golfweek, Golf Digest and GOLF
Magazine.
PGA Professional John Kendall
explained how the resort has upgraded
its ski lifts, and on weekends in season
golfers can ride the so-called Sarajevo
Express to the top of the mountain in
75% less time than before. Gulp.
Under the circumstances, a trek to
this area could be a necessary dose of
self-medication during COVID-19.
The courses there are ready to protect
you. On behalf of all these courses,
resorts and communities: don't let our
recent challenges completely eliminate
your golf season. MG
ESHQUAGUMA CC
18
MINNESOTAGOLFER Directory 2021
MESABA CC
mngolf.org
THE QUARRY AT GIANTS RIDGE
Hugh Vincent Feehan (1899-1952)
Feehan was a Minneapolis landscape architect and engineer who was responsible
for the layout at Virginia GC, as well as Detroit CC in northwestern Minnesota. He was
born in Ithaca, New York, at the turn of the century, and graduated from the College of
Agriculture at Cornell University in 1921.
When Feehan rolled out Virginia GC in the 1930s, there was reportedly a drought so
severe that extremely dry fairways became fire hazards due to cigarette smoking! The
climate was probably similar in St. Paul, where, during the same period, he designed
buildings, landscapes and the football field at the University of St. Thomas. He also
designed Mayo Memorial in Rochester, and cemeteries in Mendota Heights. Feehan
and his wife lived at 5235 Irving Avenue South in Minneapolis, and they both rest at
Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights.
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2021
