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You will see the course is laid out with
the golfer in mind. It will provide all of the challenge you're looking
for, yet is still playable by the average player as well. With 5
different Tee Boxes (Gold,Black,Blue,White,Red) we are sure every golfer
can match up well with our track.
The article below was written by Mark Sculati
BLUEBERRY PINES, MENAHGA MN
The Real Pines
by Mark Sculati from
www.minnesotagolf.org
POSTED MAY 27, 1999--
SIGNATURE HOLES
Golf courses love to promote "signature" holes. Whether it be a par
three with a huge elevation drop (see Mississippi National) or a par
five with a giant bear claw sand trap (see Giants Ridge), courses are
always looking for ways to grab the almighty golfing dollar by
showcasing a particular hole. What lies beyond that hole is what really
makes a golf course work.
Blueberry Pines Golf Club, located just eight miles south of Park
Rapids, doesn’t really promote a signature hole. The reason being - it
doesn’t need to. There are so many good golf holes that golfers who play
the course will invariably pick out a different hole as their favorite.
The scorecard shows a photo of the par four fifteenth while a flyer
sports the par four fifth. One golfer in my foursome said that any one
of the par threes could be a signature hole – they were that nice.
MINNESOTA MASON-DIXON LINE
Playing anywhere above the Minnesota Mason-Dixon line (St.Cloud) in the
month of May can find some golf courses in typical early season shape.
That is poor, spotty greens, tee boxes, and plenty of "hardpan", whether
your ball rests in the fairway or not. This was certainly not the case
with Blueberry Pines. From the very first tee box to the eighteenth
green, the course was in great shape. The tee boxes were lush, the
greens contained no winterkill brown spots and rolled perfectly. Prior
to our arrival it had rained for about a week straight(5-8 inches).
While other courses were under water, Blueberry Pines, with bluegrass
fairways on top of sand, and bent greens, the only problem was hole
number five, a low lying par four bordered by water the entire length of
the hole. The course will only get better with the approaching summer.
LAYOUT
The layout mostly consisted of generous driving areas lined by pines
with big sloping greens at the end – a much better layout than that
other Pines course with the same degree of difficulty. The MGA should
consider hosting the MGA Net Team Championship at Blueberry Pines versus
The Pines.
The par fives average around 480 yards and provide some real scoring
opportunities. Two dogleg left and two dogleg right. A booming drive
cutting the corner allows a go for in two while anything less requires a
third shot. The beauty of Blueberry Pines lies in the par fours and par
threes.
Birdie the par five first? Step to the number one handicapped number
two, a 406 yard dogleg left with a narrow driving area and water
bordering the left-hand side of the green. Anything but a perfect drive
and you could be looking to keep that double bogey off your card (notice
I didn’t say bogey). A par and you’re whistling to yourself after you
run off the green. I was unable to keep the double bogey off the card
when it came to number seven – a 365 yard uphill par four that required
a perfect drive over water and valley. One member of our group took the
dreaded Malcolm "X". Two of our favorite par fours were the 395 yard
twelfth and the 377 yard sixteenth. The sixteenth has water along the
left hand side that you eventually have to cross to reach the green – a
true golf hole(#2 handicap that we all pared – maybe that’s why we liked
it so much).
The four par threes will hold their own against any other par threes in
the state. Four on four, it will be hard to top these beauties. Scenic
with water, pines, and sand traps, they were clearly our favorite part
of the course.
SETUP
Blueberry Pines was built in 1991 and designed by Joel Goldstrand. This
track has to rate as one of his best designs and when some of the
smaller pines mature, it will be that much better. There is a beautiful
log clubhouse with a bar and room for dining. There is also an outdoor
deck to watch golfers come up the eighteenth. They also have a driving
range and putting area to warm-up before hand.
Our group had a very enjoyable experience and would recommend this
course to anyone – especially if your thinking of playing one of the
higher priced courses around – this is one you’d probably like better.
**Reprinted with permission from
www.minnesotagolf.org and Mark Sculati
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