Olympic Hills - Minnesota - USA

Olympic Hills Golf Club is named for the Greek land of the gods, and sits within Eden Prairie, which is named after the biblical paradise on Earth. Might we be reading too much into the experience? Golfers, depending on their patience, may imagine themselves in quite the opposite situation, depending on how their game stands up to this 7,400 yard leviathan.

Charlie Maddox created the course during 1969, when challenging layouts were coming to the fore, and Ron Pritchard’s later renovation only added more teeth. Two of the biggest thrills (or chills) will come during the first half of the round. No. 7 is a par three that plays more than 200 yards to a green that sits directly in-between an irrigation lake and a larger marshland. Landing in one of the two bunkers might actually be a lucky break; at least you didn’t splash down. Two holes later, No. 9 is one of the shorter par fours from the back tees, at just 399 yards. But the green is a sinister boomerang that wraps around another pond. No approach shot is safe.

The course may be brutish, but if you come out with a positive score, your beverage at the clubhouse will be like pure ambrosia.