The par-3 fifteenth gap at Keller Golf Course in Maplewood, Minn.
Josh Berhow
Earlier this month, I visited what is perhaps my favourite public golf course within the metropolis. I dwell about half-hour away now, so I hadn’t been there in years, as I’ve sadly succumbed to the comfort that comes with a “house course” that’s a better commute and entails much less site visitors.
However I knew GOLF’s latest record — America’s finest golf programs you possibly can play for $100 or much less — was going dwell quickly, and I additionally knew two programs excessive on my native Twin Cities record (Keller Golf Course and Chaska City Course) had been on it.
On this content material world we dwell in, our plan right here at GOLF.com was to function a handful of the programs on the record, with our staffers taking turns writing about their private favorites, ones like this and this and this and this.
Josh Berhow
That’s the place I bumped into my dilemma: am I choosing Chaska, or Keller? I want I had some kind of scientific reasoning or epiphany relating to which one I wished to spotlight, however the fact is that this: I wrote about Chaska final month, because it teamed with Hazeltine Nationwide to co-host the stroke-play portion of the U.S. Novice.
So with that, I headed east to St. Paul (or simply exterior of it) to my beloved Keller, which to be trustworthy I used to be kinda hoping would win this head-to-head battle anyway. If I lived nearer, I’d hardly play elsewhere else.
The height strolling fee right here is $53, there’s sneaky-good rolling terrain and the course is at all times in fine condition. It’s a municipal course, which doesn’t essentially imply loads however it does make you fell good to help one.
The tenth and twelfth are fantastic par-5s, the thirteenth is a enjoyable uphill par-3 over water the place the inexperienced is hidden and you’ll solely see the flag waving within the distance, and the par-4 14th is a downhill-then-uphill dogleg that somebody with extra golf structure information than me as soon as mentioned is sweet sufficient to mix proper in on a number of the finest personal programs within the state.
Sean Zak
There’s additionally an ideal quantity of quirk, which you’ll be able to determine to like or hate. There’s an enormous oak guarding the entrance of the par-3 4th and one other, only for good measure, in entrance of the par-4 seventeenth.
I’d be glad to let you know extra about why I really like Keller, and why, as I write this, I’m beginning to speak myself in to creating it my new “house course” come subsequent 12 months, however I really already did that only a few years in the past — which you’ll be able to learn right here — after we determined to place a bow on 2021 by writing about our favourite programs we performed that 12 months.
On the subject of new info I realized on my most up-to-date go to, nonetheless, I can let you know I used to be paired with two males my age and one other, Al, who was a day away from celebrating his 93rd birthday.
Al’s married and has youngsters and grandkids and has performed at Keller for many years. He was nice, humorous, constructive and performed and not using a care on this planet. He picked up when he wished to, drove the cart the place he happy — when you find yourself in your 90s, you are able to do that — and stop as quickly because it began to rain.
On the eighth gap he mentioned goodbye and drove in to the clubhouse. I waved and thought how fortunate I’d be to nonetheless be taking part in Keller 50-some years from now.
