Greg WiresShan Coughlin, host of Amateur Golf Talk LIVE! is joined by Greg Wires, publisher of Golf Minnesota magazine since 1996 and golfminnesota.com since 1997,  as they talk about golf courses, the magazine, the website and the fact that Minnesota will be home to the 2016 Ryder Cup matches.  Greg is a member of Golf Travel Writers of America as well as the International Network of Golf and has written, talked about and studied the game for the better part of 19 years.  Shan held her first job in golf in Minnesota at Manitou Ridge in Ramsey County so has a soft spot in her heart for this area.  While the weather in Minnesota in the winter is not golf friendly, as soon as it warms up enough for the snow to melt, those crazy Minnesota golfers area out on the course in force.

Hole No. 1 HazeltineGreg started his magazine out of a need for a publication to talk about the 400+ golf courses in the state that is said to have the most golfers per capita of any state in the US.  Minnesota has hosted several major events including a couple of US Opens, PGA Championships, Women’s LPGA Events and Hazletine National in the Twin Cities area will host the 2016 Ryder Cup.   Greg describes this course as a big long course, maybe even 8000 yards depending on how they set it up.  But the Twin Cities are not the only place there is great golf.  In the north area known as The Iron Range and the Brainard Lakes area, there are gorgeous resorts like Breezy Point, a 90 year old resort which has hosted the likes of Clark Gable and Carol Lombardi.  They started adding golf courses in the 1920’s and have just gotten better ever since.

Breezy Point LodgeA couple of other high notes would include Grandview Lodge which is listed on the National Historic Registry and which had the first high end golf resort called The Pines and they also have the Reserve and these two continue to be the most award winning courses in the state.  Another would be Maddens Resort, home to one of the top 100 courses to play in America – The Classic.  But with two other courses and a 9-hole executive course, those of all skill levels have somewhere to play.  The resort itself is known for the hotel and amenities landing at  #53 on Conde Nast’s top resorts in the world.

 

Greg talks about several others that you wouldn’t want to miss so to hear the entire interview, click on the player above or download the audio to your smart device for listen on demand.  Thank you for interacting with us here at TheGolfDirector.com and for your interest in Golf Minnesota.  CLICK HERE to go directly to their website for more information.  Hit ’em straight and we’ll see you in the fairway.