Last weekend I played a rare 36 holes in one day: the early round at The Summit Golf Club in Cannon Falls and the later round at the Meadows of Mystic Lake in Prior Lake. I’ve written about both courses earlier in the year, but I didn’t take any pictures of The Summit previously.
We paid our first visit this year to Inver Wood Golf Course in Inver Grove Heights last week. This city-owned Garrett Gill design is a popular layout that was very busy on a Saturday afternoon. Pace of play was a little slow on the front nine, but several groups dropped out at the turn and the rangers were doing a good job of keeping things moving.
Earlier this week, we took the family to my 37th annual visit to the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights. The highlight for me was going to the top of the DNR’s fire tower–an attraction that has been closed since 1978. The new Miracle of Birth and Eco Experience buildings were also very nice.
Above: tinted primer applied earlier this week. Today we wrapped up most of the painting: navy blue walls, white columns. One section was left blank, as we are waiting for the projector so we can paint the screen accurately (Silverscreen, by Behr). Tomorrow we get more estimates for flooring and will attempt to locate some nice used room dividers…DK
Last night I drove my kids to Grand Marais on the North Shore of Lake Superior to stay with my parents for a few days before school starts. Four hours and 15 minutes door-to-door, stayed overnight, then left at 7:30 a.m. to return for more painting in the new office. This was my first, and likely only, visit there this summer, unfortunately. Sven and Ole’s was closed, but I did get some donuts at the donut shop…DK
Dellwood Hills Golf Club, a private club located in the northeast suburbs, is offering a fall membership promotion. Join now and only pay social dues until April 30, 2007 ($40 per month). Initiation fees start at $6,000 for one member and include $500 stock. Click here to download a PDF information sheet from the club.
The Wild have a nice booth at the Minnesota State Fair on the second floor of the Grandstand, with special guests every day.
Today Mark Parrish was signing photos from 3:30-4:30 and was really personable. He seemed to be very happy to be back in Minnesota and anxious to start playing.
Picked up tickets for two more games: October 12th versus Washington and October 27th versus Anaheim. Only three weeks to pre-season…DK
Our attempt at a company golf outing ending with lightning and a downpour that lasted about an hour and thoroughly drenched Highland National Golf Course in St. Paul. After everyone left, I completed my round when the rain stopped and played the last nine holes in about 75 minutes.
I paid my fifth visit this season to Willingers Golf Club in Northfield this week. We practically had the place to ourselves and the weather was decent. My round started with the best drive I’ve ever had on one, then I reached the par-5 second hole in two for the first time. I parred every par-4 on the front side (except for bogey on the last), but played the four par threes in a combined nine over par. Ouch.
I noticed some turf damage today that was also apparent at Island View in Waconia. I almost never see this at Willingers and definately not at this time of year. Is something spreading? I really hope not, as late season golf in Minnesota is usually lush, uncrowded and cheap.
I had the opportunity to join Phil Callen, Bob Klas, Jr. and Ed Heil for the 2006 ProAct Golf Classic, held Monday at the Hastings Country Club in Hastings, Minnesota. ProAct is an Eagan-based non-profit that serves people with disabilities and is one of the benefitting charities of the Tapemark Charity Pro-Am.
The weather was perfect, the format was no-bogey scramble and the course was in beautiful condition. We managed to reach five-under-par, just a few strokes off the winning score of fifteen-under. This tournament was well-run and included a pre-round lunch, on-course contests (including hole-in-one contests on every par three), team photos, goodie bag, raffle, silent auction and buffet dinner afterwards. Thanks to Mr. Callen for the gracious invitation.
Last weekend we visited Keller Golf Course in St. Paul for an early morning round. There is just so much history at Keller (St. Paul Open, PGA Championship, Patty Berg Classic) that you can’t help but feel special playing there. The only drawback to Keller has been the slow pace of play. This time, though, it appears things have changed dramatically for the better. A ranger kept things moving, locating stray tee shots and helping us finish in under four hours. Playing well helps too–my 85 was low round of the year.
Dan Callahan, Head Professional at Island View Golf Club in Waconia (and Tapemark Charity Pro-Am player), welcomed us this morning to the first tee on a beautiful Saturday morning. We started behind a fivesome (one of my pet peeves), but Dan assured us that they were members and would not hold us up. He was right–our round took under four hours and we rarely had to wait.
No, not the movie. I’m moving soon to new digs at work. I had a very nice office the past few years (friends called it the dorm room office), but HSRA is growing and the need for space in the school itself was dire. The new building owner offered us some space in the opposite end of the building at a good price–the catch is we have to finish it ourselves. The original contractor quote was quite high, so we are doing as much of the work ourselves as possible.
Tonight we had a visit from my favorite insurance agent, Sam Welter of the Catholic Aid Association (CAA). I’m not Catholic, but my wife is and she worked at CAA for a number of years. At one point, I was also under contract as the web developer for the CAA website (which was just recently replaced).
Earlier this week, I participated in the Hawgs for Dogs John Massetti Memorial, also known as the Sixth Annual Guide Dogs of America Minnesota Chapter Charity Golf Tournament. Hosted by the Machinist Union District 143, the event was held at Crystal Lake Golf Club in Lakeville and helps raise approximately $100,000 annually for Guide Dogs of America.
The weather was perfect and the course was in great shape (as usual). Three teams tied in the scramble format event at eleven-under 60, with the tie-breaker going to the team from Sun Country Airlines. Thanks to the Cook family for inviting me to participate in memory of Guy Cook, father, grandfather and former IAM leader who recently passed away.
WWDC keeps attracting more people, but the trend has been to offer less each year. I hope it doesn’t slide too much–it’s still my favorite tech event of the year…DK
Today was the last day of WWDC 2006 and I’m currently at SFO waiting for my flight home. Security was no problem and we have another two hours to wait before our flight leaves. I bought the $10 day pass for internet access to pass the time and just filled out the online feedback survey for the conference (lots of feedback for them this year–more on that later).
The week is flying by quickly. Yesterday’s schedule was jam-packed with things to do. Dinner at Roy’s was great and we went to see Clerks II afterwards at the Metreon. Today, we had breakfast at the Marriott, attended the morning sessions, then walked over to Tommy’s Joynt for lunch. I had pastrami on sourdough and soaked in the unique atmosphere of the place. Now I’m finishing up the afternoon sessions before boarding the bus to the campus bash in Cupertino…DK
This morning I took the advice of the hotel concierge and ran a five mile out and back that went along Market Street to the Embarcadero and up to Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf. The iPod voice said my half-way point was right in front of the ticket booth for the boats to Alcatraz. It was a beautiful route on a beautiful day…DK
The food today was great: sesame chicken at the House of Nanking in Chinatown for lunch and a hot open-faced turkey sandwich with fries and vanilla milk shake at Lori’s Diner on Powell for dinner.
Tomorrow will be a bag lunch at the conference while listening to a Pixar presentation, then dinner at Roy’s on Mission Street. Can’t wait for that desert: Roy’s Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé…DK
Didn’t know much about this until today: iTunes U
It’s only open to U.S. and Canadian non-profit universities right now, but I can see all sorts of ways this could be used at the high school level by an organization like HSRA. I’m going to hound the product manager again to see if we could be a test site for the K-12 segment. Here are examples from UC Berkeley, Duke and Stanford…DK
Charley Walters had lots of golf items in today’s column:
Read it before it’s gone…
Last weekend, we returned to course that I really love, but had avoided for a year due to slow play and the owner’s policy of letting fivesomes play on weekend mornings. The Ridges at Sand Creek is a beautiful Joel Goldstrand course that opened in 2000 just outside Jordan, Minnesota. I understand getting behind a slow group every now and then, but it happened several times in a row. After receiving no response from owner and general manager Mike Malone, we decided to go elsewhere for a year. This is a shame, as the course itself is wonderful (although the design does contribute to slow play).
After winning four free 18-hole rounds through the Swing Through the St. Croix Valley promotion, we headed to the old course at New Richmond Golf Club last week. Part of the St. Croix Valley Golf Trail, New Richmond has an older, mature front nine that opened in 1923 and a newer back nine that opened in 1982. Willie Kidd did the original design, while Don Herfort was brought in for the expansion. There is also a nine-hole reversible links course located near the entrance to the old course that was built in 1998. We had a great time and the course was in good condition. Some of the holes on the front nine are really memorable and would fit in well on a Brainerd area course. We hit the Zantigo in town for lunch before driving home through the rain that seemed to stay just south of town all morning.
