Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 13

* BY CHUCK LENNON *
* PHOTOS BY PETER WONG & PAUL MARKERT *
T
he guys in Northland Country
Club's clubhouse exude a positive
vibe. Pat Heffernan has been
a member since 2010, but his time
at the club began well before that. Heffernan
was a caddie during his youth, before climbing
the ladder to the golf shop and ultimately
working in the bag room. He's the co-head of a
family with his wife Carrie, their twins Ben and
Nick, 13, and son Ashton, 11. All are comfortable
with a golf club in their hands and may
even be earmarked for the caddie shack (except
for mom, of course).
Heffernan, a partner in Wheeler Associates,
has had some limited success at MemberGuests.
But his crowning glory is his role as
founder and commissioner of the B League,
playing as many holes as possible before
darkness shuts the course down on Tuesdays.
Sharing the story of my only round at
Northland years ago (thanks to member and
former Lutsen Resort
owner Scott Harrison),
I relayed that I fiveputted
No. 18. " Yep, the
break to the lake is real, "
Heffernan quipped.
Heffernan's restaurant
recommendation:
New Scenic Café, Duluth
Putting in the Time
Born in Shakopee and
raised on a farm in
Chaska, Norma O'Leary
started young. She first
worked at Dahlgreen as
the night water person, then assistant superintendent,
followed by the head job. Her first
club was an iron her dad welded together from
found parts.
After marrying her husband Mike, she got a
golf job in Grand Marais, before stepping up to
superintendent and general manager at Silver
Bay Golf Course, a popular and challenging
nine-hole par 36. Her University of Minnesota
degree with a minor in horticulture immediately
came into play. She overhauled the irrigation and
vegetation to greatly improve playing conditions,
a reputation the course still enjoys today.
When we spoke this past winter, she was
bouncing between jury duty and the curling
rink in Two Harbors. She's the winner of 12
HOLLOW ROCK, LAKE SUPERIOR
mngolf.org
Spring 2020 MINNESOTAGOLFER
13
Minnesota State Women's Curling championships,
three club national championships, two
world bronze medals and one world senior
championship. Talk about winning.
The old saw is that if you work in golf, you
don't have much time to golf. But O'Leary
keeps her game sharp. " There are few womensupported
golf tourneys in the north, but I'm
proud the Nemadji Women's Invitational is still
going strong since it began in 1947, " she says.
She's won the invitational 11 times. She
hosts a Men's Invite at Silver Bay each year
and has had enough time to play the renovated
Superior National at Lutsen. " It's a better
looking course, and from the whites, where I
play from, it's kind of cosmetic. But I can see
how it plays from the back tees. It's impressive. "
Norma and her husband Mike, a bronze
medalist in the 1966 World Curling championships,
live in Silver Bay.
Pro tip restaurant: Sven and Ole's, Grand Marais
SUPERIOR NATIONAL
Seeking Change
For the better part of the
past 20 years, pro and
manager Heath Ekstrom
has been in the pro shop
at Superior National at
Lutsen. He weathered
the first Jackal Open
(Jesse Ventura's moniker
for the Governor's Golf
Opener) with former
pro Greg Leland when
the Governor was a noshow,
due to a mythological
rainstorm in Saint
Paul that allegedly grounded his plane.
Most recently, Ekstrom was assistant pro
during the dramatic renovation of Superior
National's 27 holes. The River and Canyon nines
now merge to play as the Premier 18, while the
Mountain nine maintains its integrity and has
also become a scenic, testy footgolf track.
" With the renovation,
architect Jeffrey
Brauer reviewed everything tee to green. The
River and Canyon nines were bulldozed clean.
We changed up all bunkers to white sand for
better drainage and attractiveness, " now head
pro Ekstrom says. Tees were also moved, bunkers
were repositioned and mounding was
added for friendlier rolls.
Ekstrom is a native of North Branch and
http://www.mngolf.org

Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020

Contents
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - Cover1
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - Cover2
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - Contents
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 2
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 3
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 4
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 5
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 6
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 7
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 8
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 9
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 10
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 11
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 12
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 13
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 14
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 15
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 16
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 17
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 18
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 19
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 20
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 21
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 22
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 23
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 24
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 25
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 26
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 27
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 28
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 29
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 30
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 31
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 32
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 33
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 34
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 35
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 36
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 37
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 38
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 39
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - 40
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - Cover3
Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2020 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/digitalextra2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/travel2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/travel2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/directory2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/fall2009
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/summer2009
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/mga/spring2009
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com