What you will notice when you arrive at Territory Golf Club and make your way to the clubhouse is a rolling prairie landscape. What you will also notice is wetlands and streams running through the property. What you won't notice is an abundance of trees. This is what you see about the property from the parking lot. Because looks can be deceiving, what you will later discover is the tale of two golf courses. All of the hole on the front nine, as well as, holes 10 and 18 are situated on rolling prairie with a compliment of native grasses in the rough and other places that you are not supposed to hit your golf ball. Holes 11 through 17 are cut out of an oak forest that also features wetlands and streams along with some significant elevation changes.

Territory Golf Club plays to a par of 72 and measures 6,921 yards from the back tee markers. The course rating, from the back tees, is 72.9 and has a slope index of 125. There are four sets of tee markers, which means there is an appropriate yardage for golfers of all skills.

The management team consisting of Brock Swanson, head golf professional, Dan Stang, golf course superintendent and Dan Dols, general manager make sure that the players experience is outstanding. The course condition and the pace of play make Territory Golf Club a golf course that you will want to place on your list of places to play in central Minnesota. My playing partner and I played our round on a weekend morning and completed our play in just less than four hours. There were groups in front of and behind us and the pace of play flowed nicely.

The greens at Territory Golf Club are quite large, averaging nearly 7,000 square feet each and have significant undulation. These two factors make club selection as you approach the green critical. Just being on the green in regulation does not guarantee that you will have two putts for a par. My playing partner for the round described the greens a looking like "big potato chips" referring the random shapes as well as the wavy appearance as you walk onto the putting surface.

Another challenge at Territory Golf Club is the sand traps. The traps can generally be described as large, deep and having steep faces on them. Getting out of the traps successfully should be your first concern, getting close to the pin should be of secondary importance.

The back nine plays longer than the front nine with number 10 and number 18 being the two longest holes on the golf course. The par-3 holes are longer-range holes with the shortest playing at 170 yards and the longest playing at 245 yards.

If you are looking for a challenging golf course to play in central Minnesota I would certainly check out Territory Golf Club in St. Cloud. You can call for a tee a time at 320-258-4653 or visit their website at territorygc.com for more details.

By: Dana Buttenhoff
Dana Buttenhoff is an avid golfer and a native Minnesotan. After 20 years of golf and traveling around the USA, Dana would like to share the golf gems rural Minnesota has to offer: http://www.minnesotaruralgolf.com.

Minnesota is a fantastic place to play golf. The many fine Minnesota golf resorts located in various parts of the state are perfect destinations for your summer get-away. Listing all the Minnesota golf resorts and their amenities would be quite lengthy and the space of this article does not permit that degree of detail. Instead I will highlight a couple of favorite Minnesota golf resort destinations, but rest assured that there are many other fine locations across the state.

Perhaps the premier Minnesota golf resort destination is the Brainerd lakes area. Golf Digest magazine agrees and lists this area of Minnesota as one of the top golf destinations in the USA. Madden's, Cragun's and Grand View Lodge are just a few of the Minnesota golf resorts in the Brainerd lakes area and represent the larger golf resort experience. But what if you want a smaller experience? Here is a suggestion; why not check out Birch Bay Resort which has it's own 9-hole golf course along with cabin rental as well as water activities for the entire family.

The Alexandria area is another favorite destination and another fine Minnesota golf resort is the Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center on the shores of Lake Darling. You can experience golf at Atikwa Golf Club at Arrowwood as well as the many fine area golf courses that call Alexandria their home. Alexandria is also the boyhood home of PGA Tour player and past USA Ryder Cup Captain Tom Lehman.

The Detroit Lakes area is another hidden gem in Minnesota and a golf resort that doesn't get nearly enough attention from the Twin Cities population base is the Fair Hills Resort featuring the Wild Flower Golf Course. As with the Arrowwood Resort near Alexandria you can stay at Fair Hills and make this your home base while you spend the week discovering the other fine local golf courses just a short drive away.

The Native American Tribes of Minnesota have added to the golf resort landscape in recent years with the introduction of fine courses such as Dacotah Ridge near Morton, Minnesota and the Wilderness at Fortune Bay near Tower, Minnesota. There are lodging, restaurants and casino facilities near by so you can stay and play as long as you wish.

The Old Barn Resort and Rivers' Bend Golf Course is a Minnesota golf resort that specializes in a wide variety of family activities. Nestled in the Root River bluff country near Preston, which is located in southeastern Minnesota, this is a camping and golf experience that will have you coming back again and again.

Thumper Pond, near the city of Ottertail in northwestern Minnesota, offers the complete golf resort experience. In addition to the golf course there is also a spa, indoor waterpark and of course lodging and dining facilities.

As you can see there numerous choices offered in Minnesota golf resorts such as areas of the state to stay and play as well as services offered at each facility. This is just a small listing of what Minnesota has to offer as you plan your next golf get-away.

By: Dana Buttenhoff
Dana Buttenhoff is an avid golfer and a native Minnesotan. After 20 years of golf and traveling around the USA, Dana would like to share the golf gems rural Minnesota has to offer. http://www.minnesotaruralgolf.com.

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