Today was our first round of the year and we headed to Columbia Golf Club in Minneapolis. The weather was great and the course wasn’t very crowded, so it was an enjoyable first outing.

Course conditions were pretty typical for early Minnesota spring – splashes of green here and there, some winter kill, small buds on the trees and lots of brown everywhere. The fairways and greens were rolling relatively fast and I actually started out the year with a birdie on the first hole (that’s my approach shot pictured above).

One of the players in our group stopped at the practice area on the opposite side of the course before our round and reported full stalls and long lines to get practice balls. There seemed to be more people practicing than playing. The fee today was $32 for a walking 18 hole round.