Benefit Spotlight: U of M Golf Course
5/11/2004 | | The mature and well-maintained U of M Les Bolsttad Golf Course. Photograph courtesy of University Athletics |
For 75 years, one of the green gems of the University of Minnesota has sat quietly just northwest of the St. Paul campus. The Les Bolstad University of Minnesota Golf Course is one of the most challenging and beautiful courses in the inner Twin Cities, says course manager Chris Korbol. "This is really a well-maintained golf course, certainly the best public course in the immediate area," he says. "But a lot people don't even realize we're open to the public."
With groves of mature trees, strategic sand and water hazards, and rolling hills along its narrow fairways, the course plays longer than its advertised 6,100 yards. "It definitely rewards the golfer who can hit it straight over the big hitter," Korbol says. "But when you walk the course, you'd swear you were playing a 6,400- or 6,500-yard course. It gives you quite a variety of things."
Something else a lot of people don't know is that UMAA members enjoy discounts at the course. Members receive $10 off single rounds on Mondays, making a round of 18 holes just $15. A season pass for UMAA members is $1,100, a $200 discount. Season-pass holders also have priority in scheduling weekend tee times.
Named after legendary U golf coach Les Bolstad, the course has hosted nine Big Ten golf tournaments, most recently the women's tournament in 1999. The women's golf team also hosts an annual invitational tournament in the fall, and many University and alumni groups hold golf fund-raisers there every summer.
Bolstad boasts one of the largest driving ranges in the area. With its location between the downtowns, Korbol says he sees numerous people who take a break from work to come over and hit a bucket of balls. The course is located on Larpenteur Avenue in Falcon Heights, just east of Highway 280 between interstates 94 and 35W.
The late-1920s clubhouse, featuring a remodeled pro shop, celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. Weekend reservations can be made the Monday before, while weekday reservations can be made one week in advance.
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