Live from Minnesota - David Kingsbury's 7 Minute Miles » Golf

New Clubhouse Rises at Hazeltine

dmk — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:24:17 +0000

I noticed while driving through Chaska yesterday the new clubhouse at Hazeltine National Golf Club is progressing nicely:

You can also track daily progress on their live web cam.

2010 USGA Calendar and Repair Tool

dmk — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:55:11 +0000

My 2010 USGA member gifts arrived yesterday, just in time for our first big snow storm of the season. I love the cover shot of Chambers Bay – I really hope to play there someday. They will host the 2010 Amateur, then the 2015 U.S. Open. Looks like a beautiful setting…

Round 31 – Valleywood Golf Course

dmk — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:16:40 +0000

The good weather streak in Minnesota continues, which allowed my friend Brad and I to get in one more round of golf for 2009. We had a 12:42 tee time at Valleywood in Apple Valley and barely finished 18 holes before the early sunset. I was a little rusty after not playing for a few weeks, but still shot an 88 from the MGA tees.

The weather this week still looks good (upper 50s and sunny), but I think I’m probably done for the year. Time to get the skis ready!

Late Season Nine at Parkview Golf Club

dmk — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:08:16 +0000

Thanks to a last minute call from my lawyer and friend KJ, I got in nine more holes for the 2009 golf season. We played the back nine at Parkview Golf Club in Eagan, which as you can see above, was absolutely covered in leaves. There actually is a ball in the picture, if you can believe that. Good thing scores don’t count after October 15 in Minnesota (although I did birdie the par five thirteenth hole).

Barring another warm-up, that’s probably it for me this season. Time to get the skis ready!

Round 30 – Meadows at Mystic Lake

dmk — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:52:10 +0000

Yesterday might have been my last Minnesota round of the season, and what better place to play than the Meadows at Mystic Lake with my friend and neighbor Tim (center). We both had our doubts about the weather at the start, with clouds covering the sun and winds blowing 13-17 mph right in our faces on the longer holes on the course (including the way too long 442-yard, par four fifteenth hole). Tim’s brother-in-law Bob (right) and his friend Dave (left) also joined us.

Things turned out fine, though, and I shot my usual 93 from the 6,668-yard blue tees (72.3/142). The highlight of the round for me was a birdie on the 410-yard, par four fifth hole. My drive was in the fairway, but left me with about 190 yards to the green, which is fronted by water. I hit one of my best four-iron shots ever, landing in the front third of the green. The 15 foot birdie putt curved right into the middle of the hole.

I wish winter would hold off a little longer – all of the courses I’ve played lately have great conditions now that could last another few weeks. Hard to play in 40 degree temps and snow showers, though.

Tim and I stayed for lunch in the wonderful Meadows Grille and watched the last ten minutes of the Vikings game (which was another story in itself). Thanks again, Tim!

7MM Meadows at Mystic Lake Photo Gallery

Round 29 – Bristol Ridge Golf Course

dmk — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:58:16 +0000

Thanks to member Steve Morrison, the Miller boys and I played Bristol Ridge Golf Course in Somerset, Wisconsin, this weekend. I had never been to this course before and was happy to get out anywhere after a few weeks of cold and snow.

Located about 15 miles from Stillwater, Bristol Ridge was different from what I expected. Some holes reminded me of Hidden Greens (like the narrow, wooded, 354-yard second hole), while others had similarities to Braemar – long par fours with lots of elevation change. The fall colors really made the course pop, too.

The weather was perfect and the crowds definitely picked up behind us as the morning went on. I couldn’t hit a straight drive to save my life on the front nine, which contributed to a not-so-great 48. I had four pars on the back nine, but still only managed a 45, thanks to one blow-up hole. I really need to make driver improvement a priority next season.

After the round, we had a nice lunch that included cheese curds and grilled cheese sandwiches – when in Rome, right?

7MM Bristol Ridge Photo Gallery

Round 28 – Crystal Lake Golf Club

dmk — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:23:48 +0000

With the marathon last week and the snow this week, I sort of forgot to post about golf round 28. On October 1, I played a free round with my neighbor at Crystal Lake Golf Club in Lakeville. We both had coupons for a free mid-week round that we had received at the Guide Dogs tournament this summer.

It was rainy, cold and windy, but a free round is a free round, right? We actually only got rained on for two holes and pretty much had the entire course to ourselves. I didn’t play that great, shooting 92 from the 5,827 yard white tees (68.7/127). I also had a $25 gift card from last year’s tournament that we used for lunch afterwards.

I’ve got one more planned tee time this year on Saturday – hopefully it will warm up enough to get that one in…

Round 27 at Southview and Mendakota Guest Day

dmk — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:35:42 +0000

My last two rounds of golf have been all about the social aspect of the game. Last weekend I was invited to play Southview Country Club with Tapemark Charity Pro-Am president Phil Callen, while Monday was guest day at Mendakota Country Club, hosted by my friend and former Northwest Airlines colleague Phil Keeney.

Saturday afternoon at Southview was a perfect day for fall golf – sunny skies, cool temperatures and a very light breeze. I was surprised to find the course so empty – we played 18 holes in about 3 hours. I played the front nine well, shooting 43 with two doubles and four pars. I also hit the purest five-iron I’ve ever hit on the ninth hole. Too bad it flew the green, bounced across the putting green and almost hit the parking lot fence…

The back nine was much tougher for me, but also included a few bad breaks. Phil played well, especially considering he just opened a new play the night before (Bill W. & Dr. Bob at the Illusion Theater in Minneapolis). I ended up with a 92 from the whites (6,121 yards, 71.0/136), while Phil had a 97.

The weather Monday at Mendakota was straight out of the British Isles – winds gusting to 45mph, temps in the low 50s and a spot of rain here and there. There were a lot of cancellations, but I was ready to play in multiple layers of clothing. We were joined by two other former Northwest revenue people – Gary Zehnder (refunds) and Mark Bodurtha (agency sales).

This was the first time I’ve played Mendakota since the changes on the back nine. The par five thirteenth hole had major changes that I really liked (removed trees, new target fairway bunker, green-side updates), as did the par four sixteenth hole (lengthened, green pushed back towards pond). Changes were also made to the par three fourteenth (new back tee) and the par four eighteenth (tees moved). I didn’t take my camera with due to the weather, but I’ll get shots of these changes soon.

My former pro-am partner (and Mendakota head professional) Dale Jones wasn’t in the shop Monday, but the rest of the Mendakota staff was very friendly and the food service before and after our round was superb. Despite the weather (and getting my butt kicked in the two-man scramble), it was really fun visiting and recollecting old NWA days in building B.

Thanks again to Phil and Phil for the invitations.

7MM Southview Photo Gallery | 7MM Mendakota Photo Gallery

Spare Key Golf Benefit at Willingers

dmk — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:57:36 +0000

Yesterday I played in the Spare Key Golf Benefit at Willingers Golf Club in Northfield. Spare Key is a Bloomington-based non-profit organization that “provides assistance to Minnesota homeowners with critically ill or seriously injured children by making a mortgage payment on the family’s behalf, allowing them to spend time with their child.”

The driving range and silent auction for the event opened at 10:30AM, with a shotgun start at 1PM. The club was selling food for lunch before and a buffet dinner was included afterwards (that I had to skip out on). The silent auction has some nice items, including rounds at Hazeltine and Legends Club, a signed Y.E. Yang flag from the PGA and a diamond pendant from Tiffany & Co.

After nine years of working with the Tapemark Charity Pro-Am, I always find it interesting to see how other charity golf events are run. This event was a more traditional, one-day golf scramble with a shotgun start, so it’s not really an apples-to-apples comparison.

I’m not a big fan of scrambles for several reasons: 1) I like to play my own ball, 2) play is always so slow and 3) we never score well when handicaps aren’t used. Our round took a little more than five hours and we played terrible, finishing with a tournament-worst 73 (+1). That included bogeys on six, eight and sixteen and birdies on nine and thirteen. Not all the scores were in when I left, but 58 was leading (-14).

The volunteers were all very nice and the organizers did a great job with the sold out event. I took a peek at the silent auction table before I left and it appeared Spare Key raised a lot amount of money for the cause.

Special thanks to Jeff Miller and his wife Deb for the invitation.

15th Annual Tapemark Women’s Golf Event

dmk — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:43:54 +0000

Today was the women’s edition of the Tapemark Charity Pro-Am at Southview Country Club in West St. Paul. The weather forecast didn’t look great, but the rain broke up before it got to the metro area and the sun peeked out for most of the afternoon.

A record 142 golfers teed off for the 1PM shotgun start, which was proceeded by a nice buffet lunch prepared by the excellent Southview staff. Following the round, golfers gathered in the St. Andrews room for dinner and the awards ceremony. Here are the winners of the various flights:

Championship: White-Beutel, 73
First: Bixby-Shivers, 80
Second: Hynan-Jeannette, 86 (tie breaker)
Third: Begich-Swenson, 86
Fourth: Hauff-Scheffler, 91
Fun: Britton-Megan, 83

7MM 2009 Women’s Tapemark Photo Gallery