The North Star state of Minnesota lies in America’s Midwest Region and it’s the only one of the forty-eight contiguous states in America to have part of its land mass sit north of the 49th Parallel at Lake of the Woods. It also adopts the moniker of “Land of 10,000 Lakes” which is understandable when you consider there are almost twelve hundred bodies of water that are at least 10 acres in size within its borders.

The Minnesota Golf Association was founded in 1901 and it has upheld and promoted the game of golf throughout the state for over a hundred years, providing administration nowadays to male golfers in almost 400 clubs. The Minnesota Women’s Golf Association was formed in 1915 and it looks after the golfing interests of ladies in around 100 clubs throughout the state.

Hazletine National is probably the best known course in Minnesota as it has hosted many of the top national tournaments since it opened in 1962, including the US Women’s Open (1966 and 1977), US Open (1970 and 1991), US Senior Open (1983), US Amateur (2006) and the PGA Championship (2002 and 2009). It also staged the Ryder Cup series of matches in 2016.

Of an older vintage, the century-old Willie Watson designs at Interlachen and Minikhada are rightly regarded as national golfing treasures whilst the two 18-hole layouts at White Bear Yacht Club and Northland are fine examples of Donald Ross’s architectural talents.

Our Minnesota Best In State Rankings were last updated in October 2020. Click the link to read the story.