After a few years cutting his teeth at Grand View Lodge, Eric Peterson was hired in 2011 by Dutch Cragun as general manager of the golf course at Cragun’s Resort on Pine Beach Peninsula. Cragun’s was founded around 1940 with a lodge and cabins. The resort grew into an extensive complex, adding multiple courses in the 1990s. Now general manager of the property, Peterson and the Craguns have announced a major renovation of the resort and Legacy golf courses. Minnesota native Tom Lehman leads the charge.
Eagle’s Landing Golf Club in Fort Ripley is a Dahl house. The course is the southern gateway to this tour and known as an excellent warm-up round en route. Josh Dahl is the head pro, and his dad James designed the course, which is an enigmatic par-72 eighteen with a course and slope of 72/117 from the blue tees.
Eagle’s Landing and Whitefish Golf Club in Pequot Lakes are two of five stand-alone courses on this tour. Whitefish is a must-see course when staying and playing in the Brainerd area. It’s a great test in a captivating atmosphere. When asked, pro and manager Steve Bengston says, “it’s amazing that the birch and pine forest has remained intact all these years.”
Anyone who has played the course knows the joy of hearing an errant ball knocking around in the woods. Whitefish is a shareholder-owned course and Bengston affirms they’ve had “plenty of members’ kids work at the course over the years.”
A bit to the northwest at Crosslake, Crosswoods Golf Course is in its third generation. Jack and Dee Stone opened Crosslake Mini Golf on the site in 1967. Years later when their son Mike returned from the Coast Guard (he met and married Kelly in Oregon on the way), he and Mark Mitchell fashioned Crosswoods, which features three nines (Sunrise, High Noon and Sunset). On site, Jack and Dee’s daughter Savannah, 25, a PGA pro, runs the junior program and coaches the Pequot Lakes High School team. The Stones’ other daughter, Alexandra, is on the golf team at Augustana and is grinding to become a CPA. Don’t miss the Dark Moon Mega Mini Golf with a gift shop and Candy Den!
Just north on Highway 6 from Crosslake, Emily hosts the “friendliest golf course in Minnesota.” Emily Greens, a par-69 eighteen, has the largest green in the state on No. 17. A local cabin owner attests to the family friendliness of this golf course and staff. Manager Gregg Gamble says “lots of junior passes are sold, there’s a seven day rate for juniors and grandkids, and great-grandkids play free with grandparents.” There’s excitement on this course every day. It started in 1983 as an executive nine and morphed to its current status in 1997 by the same designer.
West of Emily near Fifty Lakes, the Mike Morley/Bruce McIntosh design at Golden Eagle is under new ownership and management. Crosby native Aaron Johnson is the new director of golf and superintendent. Johnson was previously at Golden Eagle and Wildflower at Fair Hills. Golden Eagle hosts Monday and Wednesday Men’s Leagues, operated by McIntosh, who says “the course was in pretty good condition last season, and Aaron certainly has improved it.”
Wildwedge Golf & RV Park is just north of Pequot Lakes, owned and operated by husband-and-wife team Todd and Jill Breyer. Todd designed the course during 2002 and 2003, creating a challenging par-3 nine with water on three holes and a regulation and Big Cup on each of the greens (which are walk-mowed daily). The Pequot Lakes Middle School Girls call the course home.
Coming into this season, “we’re positive about getting back into the groove,” says Grand View Lodge marketing director Frank Soukup. “The course is in excellent condition and got lots of usage last season. We had a pretty big year.” Grand View is developing 21 housing units on The Pines, where an Open Scramble will be held June 19.
“We’re positive about getting back into the groove. The course is in excellent condition and got lots of usage last season. We had a pretty big year.” —Frank Soukup, Grand View Lodge
At Breezy Point Resort on Pelican Lake, 2,600 feet of shoreline and a private island entertain the sprawling property’s guests. The par-68 Traditional’s longtime pro Mark Johnson also manages the White Birch par-72 eighteen. Over at the resort’s Deacon’s Lodge, the Arnold Palmer design’s 499 acres of beauty are named after his dad “Deke.” The course’s 18 dynamic holes are interspersed among Shaffer and Lynch Lakes, Lake Douglas and Pelican Lake’s Cree Bay. Longtime pro Mark Neva reports “a wonderful 2020 season, with the course and our 10 cabins full July through October. It was a historic year for us.”
Breezy is celebrating 100 years all season with a museum, Wall of Fame, and specials throughout the resort. Plus, the revival of the 10,000 Lakes Golf Tournament.
In its 92nd year and third generation of family ownership, Madden’s on Gull Lake offers 1,000 feet of shoreline on Pine Beach Peninsula. Home to the venerable The Classic, the resort’s Glenn Hagberg says “last year was both challenging and a very good season.” Five wooden bridges were upgraded on The Classic, and the first tees on Pine Beach East and Pine Beach West got some needed attention. The No. 15 green on Pine Beach East is now four times its original size, adding 50 yards in length.
Like most businesses on this tour, Madden’s top management is family. Current CEO Ben Thuringer and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Abbey (Madden) Pieper are descendants of the founders. Each worked at the resort as kids and honed their hospitality skills after college at the St. Paul Hotel and The Broadmoor, respectively.
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