As unfortunate as it is to write, the game of golf is dying. Sure the diehards are stronger than ever but the casual fan is more elusive than ever. This is made evidently clear by shrinking PGA Tour viewership and the elimination of golf courses. One area where this is very clear is the southeast metro area of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
The southeast metro area comprises cities such as Eagan, Rosemount, Apple Valley, West St. Paul, South St. Paul, Mendota Heights, Inver Grove Heights, and Burnsville. Between all of these cities, there is a mix of diversity of people and jobs but overall, this area has lots of money. Lots of money is a good thing if you are a private club, of which there are plenty in and around this area. Courses such as Mendakota CC, Somerset CC, Town & Country, Southview and Bracketts all offer superior quality of golf and better golf course design (for the most part) than the surrounding public courses. All of these Private courses “steal” the monetary potential from all of the areas Public courses. Just within the last ten years there have been numerous public courses that have folded such as Thompson Oaks, Brockway GC, Carriage Hills GC, and Parkview GC just to name a few. These places are not just losses to the golfing community but also to the community as a whole. These were public green spaces rich in wildlife, collecting rain water and adding value to the surrounding residential properties.
Despite the elimination of these courses, there still are quality courses in the area and I hope to cover those courses in future blog posts. However, like most public course tramps, I have scoured the Southeast Metro for the perfect course. In a course, I want the perfect marriage of quality maintenance, playable greens, course strategy, affordable rates and all the while giving me a challenge. The topic of the best course given these attributes is for a different blog rather in this post, I would like to highlight what I think is a hidden gem in the Twin Cities Metro area. That course is The Silver Course at Emerald Greens.
Emerald Greens is a public 36 hole golf course located just outside of Hastings on MN-55. From Downtown St. Paul, the drive is roughly 20 minutes which is about the time that it could take to drive across town to Minneapolis during rush hour. All that to say, do not let the distance to Hastings scare you away. In addition to the 36 holes, Emerald Greens has a driving range, putting and chipping area (bunker included) as well as some practice holes used for lessons. The Gold Course is a Par 72 that tips out at 6585 (71.6/127) and the Silver Course, which we will spend the remainder of the post on, is a Par 72 that tips out at 7163 (74.2/134).
The Emerald Greens property has what I would consider two portions of the property and for the most part is divided by the road to the clubhouse. The North side of the road is flat and has bland natural topography. The South side of the road is the fun half that features land movement and topography that make for fun and interesting golf. Unfortunately there isn’t one course that is all on the south side, it is shared by both the Gold and the Silver course. My assumption for this land difference is that Emerald Greens used to be a farm and was later bought and converted to a golf course. That would explain the flat areas on the north side and the calm, rolling hills that create slants and difficult angles on the south side.
The Silver course starts out with a very straight forward first hole and quickly moves to Holes 2 and 3. These two holes are fairly difficult holes using the terrain on the south side of the land to create angles and interest in the golf course. The remaining Front Nine is fairly monotonous as it takes place on the north side and has fairly little to entertain. However, If you are not careful, there are a few holes such as the Island Green Par 3 6th and long Par 4 8th that will spring up and could ruin your round. I would be remiss if I did not restate, the front nine of the silver course is certainly nothing to write home about because of its lack of land movement and generally small green complexes. After trudging through the remainder of the front nine, you stay on the North Side of the road for holes 10-12. Hole 13 is when you cross the road and enter a phenomenal final 6 holes. All of the final 6 holes invoke strategy and take advantage of the sloping ground by routing up, down and even across the grade.
Two holes that I want to highlight are holes 16 and 17. They are back to back Par 5’s (Zac Blair approved) and they each have very different personalities. Hole 16 is a 632 Yard Par 5 that faces the western prevailing wind in Minnesota. All of this to say, this hole is a monster dog leg right and plays all of the listed 632 yards and then some. One way to make this behemoth of a hole shorter is to cut the dogleg on your second shot. The uphill second shot has two options. Either you play down the fairway and have 150 yards into the green or you try to go over some trees and uphill to be inside of 100 yards. While leaving yourself with 100 yards sounds like an ideal line, this path introduces a sizable risk. The risk is not pulling off the shot and either not getting the carry you needed or clipping a tree. Anything short leaves you in absolute jail. With no visual of the hole, you now have met the threat of a double bogey tarnishing your score in the final 3 holes. Will you take the risk?
The second Par 5 17th Hole is uphill and side hill for the majority of the hole. The fairway has two large (and I mean large) hills that slope from left to right. With the addition of a slight dogleg left, the hills add even more strategy to the hole. If you get to the second mound on the left side of the fairway, you will find yourself elevated and able to realistically try for the green in 2. If you miss right or your ball takes the slope, you will find your ball at the bottom of one of the hills and be forced to lay up. This is because the hole is much longer from the right side as well as that side of the fairway leaves you completely blind to the green. The 16th and 17th Hole on the Silver Course at Emerald Greens is a duo good as any you’d find in the Minnesota Public Golf Scene.
In addition to a great closing 6 holes, the Silver course maintenance is as good of quality if not better than most public courses in the city. The rough is a little squirrely and the tee boxes are a little unpolished but the greens, as tiny as some may be, roll pure which is what matters the most. There are a few greens that are trashed by numerous ball marks but unfortunately, it is tough to find an affordable public course where that isn’t the case.
With all of these positive attributes, it is safe to assume that Emerald Greens is near 50 dollars if not more on the weekends. With a cart, you aren’t far off as it would cost $54 to ride and $40 to walk which honestly is not bad compared to other places in the cities. However, Emerald Greens knows that they are out of the way and they offer numerous deals that make this place even better. The past two weekends, my go-to golf partner and I have each played Saturday Morning before 8 AM for $27 walking. What place offers $27 dollars on the weekend?! They also offer discounted rates starting at 4pm all the way until their $14 twilight starts at 6 pm. The beauty of participating in Twilight golf at Emerald Greens is that there are 36 holes. That means that there is space to spread out and tee it up not having to worry about being held up by other players.
Emerald Greens is a bright spot in the ever diminishing public golf scene of the southeast Twin Cities area. While it is obstructed by other top notch courses including the recently turned public Hastings Golf Club, it is one of the best bargains in the state. On a Saturday morning, you can play a well maintained golf course that provides plenty of challenge, has an architecturally intriguing finishing stretch and costs under $30. So next time your buddies are looking for an affordable round of golf, try giving the Silver Course at Emerald Greens a try. I hope you are as pleasantly surprised as I was.
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(Edit: Emerald Greens failed to respond to a request for an interview)
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