Our coverage yesterday of the Junior Girls’ State Championship was also my first visit to Windsong Farm Golf Club, currently ranked the fifth best course in the state by Golf Digest. This John Fought/Tom Lehman design opened in 2003 to rave reviews. This same design pairing opened Somerby the next year outside Rochester, which I recently played with Greg Peterson.

Like I mentioned in my Somerby course notes, I love the work that John Fought has done, especially his projects with Bob Cupp. While I didn’t play Windsong yesterday, I walked most of the front nine and a few of the other holes as well.

My initial reaction is that while there are some holes that seem somewhat ordinary, there are also some incredible standouts that I think should be counted among the best in the country (the 340 yard par-4 third hole that was featured among Tad Reeve’s Dream 18 and the 550 yard par-5 eighteenth were both visually stunning).

Their website has interesting information on the Windsong Farm founding principles and club customs. I could tell that this club was a little different from your ordinary golf course by the Titleist Pro V1x range balls (complete with “RANGE” and “WINDSONG” stamps on them) and the zen-garden-like crushed rock paths between the very Midwestern-style pro shop, clubhouse and locker room buildings.

One last note: as Phalen Park’s Nora McGuire mentioned to me, Windsong is quite a haul from St. Paul (she was there officiating for the junior tournament). Located in Maple Plain directly across highway six from Pioneer Creek Golf Course, it takes about 30 minutes to reach downtown Minneapolis via highways six, twelve and I-394.