Destinations
In the Land of Giants
Where “build it and they will come” courses first started
By Tom Mackin
Before there was a Bandon Dunes, Sand Valley, or Cabot Links, there was a remote golf destination in Northern Minnesota. And while it’s profile (or its green fees) might not be as high as those more high-profile places, almost three decades later, it’s still going strong.
You’ll find Giants Ridge in Biwabik, a 3-hour drive north of Minneapolis and an hour northwest of Duluth, in an area known as the state’s Iron Range thanks to a long mining history of that natural resource. The border with Canada is not far away. All of which made it a roll of the dice to introduce golf in 1997 at what was solely a ski resort since the late 1950s. The courses needed to be good. Actually, very good, to make the journey worthwhile.
Enter golf architect Jeff Brauer. He created The Legend, an engaging layout whose highlights come at the downhill par-3 11th and the stunning par-3 17th, both holes where water is very much in play. “At The Legend everything is laid out in front of you,” said John Kendall, PGA director of golf. “It’s very straightforward and what people come to expect of a northeastern Minnesota golf course with the setting of trees, rocks, water, and the quiet.” Brauer also incorporated a tribute to a local Indian legend about a giant in the form of a massive, foot-shaped bunker in play off the tee on the third hole.
“Destination golf wasn’t really something that people thought of when you thought of Northern Minnesota, but The Legend was very well received,” added Kendall. “That success led to the quick realization that we could shave more golf up here and still not meet the demand.”
That second course came along in 2004, when Brauer was brought back and given free rein on another old mining site, just a mile down the road from The Legend. He came up with The Quarry, which has merely been the top-ranked public course in the state, per Golf Digest, ever since it debuted.
“We pull customers from a pretty wide area, but I don’t think people see golf courses that are designed or more importantly, look or play the way The Quarry does,” said Kendall. “I think it poses some interesting decisions off the tee, ask a lot of golfers, and you have a chance of hitting every club in your bag. The two courses play off of each other very well. I have never been to a property where the courses are this dissimilar as these two, but also of such high quality.” And less expensive than those aforementioned, higher profile remote destination. Green fees at Giants Ridge range from $92 to $130 (includes golf cart and range balls). You can also play both courses in the same day with lunch for $190 on weekdays and $215 on weekends from June through August. Consider using some of your savings on the most effective mosquito spray you can find; those can be prolific, and hungry, especially after some rain at the courses.
Stay-and-play packages are available at three very different choices for accommodations: Privately-owned, multi-bedroom Villas overlooking Wynne Lake; the Green Gate Guest House, with four properties across a secluded 13-acres; or The Lodge, with 67 rooms right next to the Legends Course. Dining options include the Wacootah Grill at The Quarry Course and the Burnt Onion Kitchen & Brews at The Lodge (where you can get local Walleye broiled or fried).
As of late, the resort has added some non-golf options, like a climbing wall and extensive mountain bike trails. Plus, not far away are the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth (with an extensive tribute to the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team and an area where your slap shot speed gets measured) and the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm, which takes you into the former world of mining that dominated the region a century ago. But is there more golf – maybe a short course or even a putting course that are all the range at golf destinations these days – to come in the future? Maybe. But for now, the existing golf is firing away on all cylinders.
“We’re not on the coast or near a major metropolitan area, but people do find us,” Kendall says. “Golfers will travel to play courses that are recommended, and we’re glad that even though we might be a little bit out of the way, we can still draw people. I think once golfers do come here, it’s always impressed them. We have a high rate of return customers, which shows that we are doing something right. It’s the biggest compliment we can get.”
At-A-Glance
Giants Ridge
Biwabik, Minnesota
(800) 688-7669
