OK, so this doesn’t really qualify as golfing in Minnesota, but I’m in Eau Claire for a wedding this week and stopped in to play Wild Ridge Golf Course during some downtime.

I’d heard this was the best public course in town and found out qualifying for the state open is happening here on Friday, so the course was in tournament condition. That of course meant I had a million putts on the slick greens and lost a half dozen golf balls in the thick rough, but it was still fun.

The course has a lot of elevation change and several water features that come into play on various holes. Many of the greens had huge undulations and there is a distinct woods versus links vibe between the front nine and the back nine.

The walking rate for 18 holes was $39. I paired up with two nice gentlemen (one from Eau Claire and one from Chicago) who had a lot of local knowledge about the course and thought I was crazy for not playing with a cart. It is a tough course to walk, with lots of hills and big distances between several holes.

Perhaps we’ll do a little more Wisconsin coverage in the future, what with all the great courses so close to the border…