Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2018 - 21

HIAWATHA GOLF CLUB
The project was completed last fall
and will be in full bloom this spring.
Hiawatha Golf Club was also hit hard
by the 2014 flood. And while it has been
repaired for play, the Park Board is still
in the process of deciding what to do
with the property. Originally built on
wetlands, much of the course is below
the flood plain, causing water pumping
issues (and expenses) that have
yet to be resolved. The Park Board has
explored numerous options, including
maintaining nine holes and a driving
range outside the flood plain. They've
also considered dog parks, bike paths
and cross-country ski trails. For now, the
course remains open.
Snowballed into Action
Norby has also been working at nearby
Theodore Wirth Golf Club, where the
land's dual purpose as a golf course
and winter recreation area were finally
separated.
In 2001, the Minneapolis
Park Board began exploring ways to
" disentangle them, " according to Matt
Just, the board's director of golf. The
golf course had been experiencing difficult
conditions from late-thawing, as
well as hard-packed snow and ice on the
fairways due to cross-country skiing,
sledding and snowboarding. Meanwhile,
the Loppet Foundation was looking for
a way to expand
the winter activities
in the area,
and they decided
to approach the
Park Board.
The result was
a new ski chalet
facility built near
the par-3 course's first tee (which had to
be moved) and reworking several holes
on the 18-hole track, which included:
eliminating the old par-3 No. 18; rerouting
and rebuilding No. 17 (since it had
an elevated tee that was in a prime spot
for winter activities) into the new 360yard
par-4 No. 18; and creating a new
par 3 (12th hole) out of an old green that
had been a nursery green since it was
abandoned in the 1960s.
" Golfers united and came out in force
at the park board meetings, " Norby says
of the early stages of project planning.
" The park board said, 'We are going to
listen to the golfers this time around.
They wanted this new par 3.' And we
agreed. It's always nice to bring back
something that was lost and try to make
it as good-or better-than it was. "
The renovation also included rebuilding
the existing bunkers and addressing
ongoing maintenance issues by shrinking
and repositioning some of them.
" It's always nice to bring back
something that was lost and try
to make it as good-or better-
than it was. " -Kevin Norby
Adds Norby: " It allowed us to tie the
golf course together and give it a fresh
new look that was consistent with the
age, history and character of a golden
age course. "
Lakeside Restoration
Golf course architect Jeffery Brauer said
architects will usually look for one main
feature on a golf course project, but
Superior National in Lutsen actually has
three: the ancient Sawtooth Mountains,
stunning views of Lake Superior, and
the rushing Poplar River cascading
through the course. But one of those features-the
rocky, mountainous terrain-
wreaked havoc on the holes.
" We pulled out boulders that were
literally the size of cars, " PGA head
professional Heath Ekstrom says. " I don't
think Brauer's crew anticipated that. "
Built in 1991, the River and Canyon
nines needed some work; all 18 holes
were redone tee-to-green starting in
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21
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Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2018

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