This weekend I drove down Highway 169 to North Mankato to play North Links Golf Course. Built in 1992 by Wyss Associates of Rapid City for the City of North Mankato, North Links is a 6,110 yard, par 72 course. I’m not sure of the history of the course since it opened, but it’s now owned by the Wilson Golf Group (who also own Oak Glen in Stillwater, among others).
The course rating and slope from the tips are only 69.4 and 117, respectively, but there are quite a few challenging holes on the course. The tee box complexes were very nice and the man-made wetlands around holes 1, 2, 10, 11, 17 and 18 added a lot of visual appeal to an otherwise wide-open layout. The greens didn’t look fast, but they putted that way and most had a lot of conturing (especially 18). The suspension bridge over the ravine between the third and fourth holes was impressive, but also loud when carts went across. Too bad the ravine couldn’t come into play more on some of the holes.
With such a low slope, I was hoping to shoot better than 89. I did have two birdies, though: hit a SW to 4 feet on the par 3 eighth and my third shot on the 497-yard par 5 fifteenth hit the stick and dropped down for a ten-inch birdie putt. The pace of play was a little slow, but for $26, it was a good value…DK
