St. Cloud Area New golf courses have been sprouting up all over Minnesota over the past 10 years, and this year St. Cloud joins the ranks with Fairways, a new course set to open June 1. The course is characterized by open wetlands on the front and a heavily-wooded back that is reminiscent of the popular Brainerd courses, according to Steve Bloom, Fairways owner and general manager. Measuring at 6,900 yards from the championship tees, the course is separated by the Elk River, which comes into play on two holes. The river will run parallel to one hole, and golfers will have to hit over it on the 11th hole, which is set to become the course's signature hole. The course will also feature a par three, nine-hole executive course featuring regulation tees and greens.
Bloom says they plan to offer social golf and youth programs on the executive course.
Both have been named to Golf Magazine's list of the Top 100 Courses in the World. Blackwolf Run, designed by Pete Dye, is carved out of land sculpted by glaciers thousands of years ago. The River Course offers panoramic views of the Sheboygan River on a tract of land characterized by river valleys, deep ravines, meadow plains and rolling hills. The challenge of this course is obvious in its undulating greens, strategic bunkering and water or river gorges that come into play on 14 of the 18 holes. Two very different landscapes come together on the 18-hole Meadow Valleys, a challenge for both the amateur and the professional.