Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2020 - 13

Southwestern
Minnesota is a
unique region with
hidden treasures and
unexpected surprises.
* BY CHUCK LENNON *
* PHOTOS BY MATT SEEFELDT *
M
innesota's
tallgrass
prairie (TGP) forms a
buffer to the west and
south of seven golf
courses in seven walkable towns, all of
which are hidden treasures. Herein we
endeavor to cross-pollinate golf with
the vast TGP. Its influence as a weather
clarion call is formidable, and it's an
area where storm fronts originate.
The TGP in Minnesota is a patchwork
of lands, and some of the flora and
fauna of the TGP can be seen in pockets
on these golf courses. " There's no ornamental
grass on the course, but we do
have some in our landscape areas, " says
Redwood Falls Golf Club manager Ryan
Fernelius.
The Redwood River skims the northEyes
to the Sky on the Tallgrass Prairie
The TGP region is one of extremes. Temperatures drop
to 20 degrees in the winter and rise above 90 degrees
in the summer, which brings in fast-moving thunderstorms.
Daily weather conditions can bring dramatic
changes, and prairies have little shade by nature.
mngolf.org
ern boundary of the golf course along
the 12th and 13th holes, and a pond is in
play on No. 2 and No. 7, with an island
green challenging on No. 3. Roseann
Schauer, of the Minnesota Department
of Natural Resources at Lake Shetek
State Park, explains that " only 1 to 2 percent
of the TGP is native, and on a threeyear
burn rotation in April through
May, " just as the golf season gets underway.
Highway
19 hosts Mayflower Country
Club in Fairfax, a par-36 nine-hole
course, with the renowned Dacotah
Ridge Golf Course just down the road
in Morton, on the Minnesota River
Valley Scenic Byway. At Dacotah Ridge,
when the prairie winds blow and the tall
grasses sway at the Rees Jones design,
it's a factor. Recalling the course's grand
opening event in 2000, the temperature
reached 100 degrees, and the full force
of southwestern Minnesota summer
was real.
Dine and rehydrate at the course in
the Wabasha Creek Restaurant, or hop
over to Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel,
Summer 2020 MINNESOTAGOLFER
13
http://www.mngolf.org

Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2020

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Contents
Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2020 - Cover1
Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2020 - Cover2
Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2020 - Contents
Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2020 - 2
Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2020 - 3
Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2020 - 4
Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2020 - 5
Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2020 - 6
Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2020 - 7
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Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2020 - 13
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