The Twin Cities are one of America's most underrated golf regions, with a cluster of classic Donald Ross designs and modern championship courses inside a short drive of downtown. Here are the eight best, ranked, with our verdicts and how to get on.
The Twin Cities punch far above their weight in golf, with six of the top seven courses in Minnesota inside a thirty minute drive of one another. We weigh the quality of the design and the conditioning first, then the course's championship pedigree and its place in the region's golf history, and finally how memorable the round actually is. The verdicts are ours. Most of the courses here are private, so we have flagged access plainly and finished the list with the best plays a visiting golfer can actually book.
This is classic American parkland golf shaped by the giants of design. Donald Ross laid out or remodeled several of these courses in the 1910s and 1920s, an era when the Twin Cities led the first great wave of course reformation, and recent restorations by the likes of Andrew Green and Ron Prichard have returned them to their best. Robert Trent Jones, Tom Fazio and John Fought supply the modern muscle. Together they make a golf region worth planning a trip around.
Reviewed June 2026 by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Designers, opening years and hosting history verified at publication. How we research and review.
From Hazeltine's championship muscle to the restored Ross classics and the best public plays, ranked with our verdicts and the access you need to know.
Minnesota's crown jewel and a genuine championship venue. The Robert Trent Jones design, later toughened by his son Rees, has hosted U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships and the dramatic 2016 Ryder Cup, and it returns for the Ryder Cup in 2029. A big, demanding par 72 with water and doglegs that test the best in the world. Private, but the most decorated course in the region.
The course where Bobby Jones won the 1930 U.S. Open on his way to the Grand Slam, a Donald Ross masterpiece in leafy Edina. A celebrated Andrew Green restoration in 2023 returned the Ross greens and bunkering to their full glory and won acclaim as one of the best renovations in the country. Classic, strategic parkland of the highest order. Private and steeped in history.
One of Tom Fazio's most natural designs, routed over rolling glacial land west of the city with minimal earth moving. An ultra private club for a small, devoted membership, Spring Hill is rated among the very best modern courses in the state, all width, movement and beautifully kept greens. Hard to see, harder to get on, and worth every bit of the effort if you can.
Built on rolling pastureland twenty five miles west of Minneapolis, John Fought's South Course is a bold, classically styled layout that climbs Minnesota's private rankings every year, and a second eighteen, the North, opened in 2024 to make it a true thirty six hole destination. Big greens, deep bunkering and proper challenge. Private, modern and increasingly the connoisseur's pick.
The oldest country club in Minnesota, founded in 1898, on elevated ground with dramatic views over Bde Maka Ska and the downtown skyline. Its Donald Ross course, restored by Ron Prichard in 2001, hosted the 1916 U.S. Open and the 1927 U.S. Amateur won by Bobby Jones. A short, clever, hilly Ross gem in the heart of the city. Private and quietly grand.
A cult favorite among design aficionados, a wildly contoured, old world course laid out by William Watson with Donald Ross input on the wooded hills above White Bear Lake. The greens and the blind shots divide opinion, which is exactly why those who love it love it so much. One of the most characterful and quirky rounds in the Midwest. Private and unforgettable.
The region's tour stop, an Arnold Palmer design north of the city that hosts the PGA Tour's 3M Open each summer. A long, water dotted parkland course built to test the pros, with a stadium feel around the closing holes. The most accessible of the championship venues here for a visiting golfer to experience, access permitting. The place to walk in the pros' footsteps.
Since most of the elite courses are private, this is where visitors get their golf. Chaska Town Course, a superb municipal layout next door to Hazeltine, leads the way, with The Wilds in Prior Lake and Rush Creek in Maple Grove, a former LPGA host, close behind. All three deliver championship quality public golf at sensible prices and are the rounds we send traveling golfers to book.
The honest picture in the Twin Cities is that the very best courses are private clubs, played as a member or a member's guest. That is not a barrier to a great golf trip here, though, because the public golf is genuinely excellent and a visitor can fill a long weekend with championship quality rounds. The season is short and intense, May to October, with the courses at their best from June through September and a beautiful spell of color in early autumn before the long winter closes them down.
If a private round is on your wish list, an introduction is the way in, and we can help arrange access where a relationship allows. For everyone else, the premium public courses below are the smart picks, and the figures are indicative per round green fees for the 2026 season to help set the budget.
| Course | Access | Indicative green fee |
|---|---|---|
| Chaska Town Course | Public municipal | $70 to $130 |
| The Wilds | Public daily fee | $90 to $160 |
| Rush Creek | Public daily fee | $90 to $175 |
| Hazeltine, Interlachen, Spring Hill | Private | Member and guest only |
Compare live tee times at the public courses through our partner: check tee time availability. Lodging near the golf: find hotels in Minneapolis.
A Twin Cities golf trip is about building the right week from a mix of access: the public championship courses you can book, plus any private rounds an introduction can unlock. Tell us your group, your dates and the courses on your wish list, and we will shape an itinerary, sort the tee times and book the lodging around the golf.
We handle the logistics so the organiser can play. Groups of any size, from a fourball to a full society outing.
Hazeltine National in Chaska is the Twin Cities' crown jewel, a Robert Trent Jones design that hosted the 2016 Ryder Cup and multiple major championships and returns for the Ryder Cup in 2029. Interlachen, a restored Donald Ross course that hosted the 1930 U.S. Open won by Bobby Jones, runs it close.
Most of the top courses, including Hazeltine, Interlachen, Spring Hill, Windsong Farm and Minikahda, are private and played as a member or a member's guest. TPC Twin Cities, host of the PGA Tour's 3M Open, is more accessible, and strong public options such as Chaska Town Course, The Wilds and Rush Creek welcome visitors.
The season runs from roughly May to October, with June through September the prime months for warm, long days. Early autumn brings crisp air and color. The courses close over the long Minnesota winter, when the ground freezes and snow covers the fairways.
Indicative 2026 public green fees run from roughly $40 to $90 at municipal and daily fee courses, up to around $100 to $175 at the premium public layouts such as Chaska Town Course and The Wilds in peak season. The elite private clubs are access by membership. Always confirm directly before booking.
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