The other day the St. Paul Pioneer Press came out with their 2010 'Golf Guide.' It's a big spread that lists virtually every public golf course in the State of Minnesota.
I started to flip through it. Then I started thinking about all of the courses I've played round' (pun pardon... please) here over the years. So I started making checkmarks next to the courses I've had the chance to hit. There are 129 courses listed in the Metro area and I've played... gasp... 69 of them.
Yes, that's a ridiculous number. I have 3 shoeboxes at home full of scorecards, and I often flip through them while my wife watches some reality-based dating show (like throwing 25 single women at the feet of some dude is 'reality'). Anyway, my wife hates those shoeboxes because behind every scorecard is some chore that I left neglected. The boxes are so full, they are literally falling apart (I can duct-tape them back together... consider it a chore).
Back to the golf guide; I omitted all the 9-hole courses and all the 18-holers that have a par of fewer than 68. I realize I'm leaving out some great golf, but there has to be some limit to my madness. Based on my crude calculations, there are 19 public golf courses in the area that I have not played and now it is officially my mission to play them.
You might remember I tried to play Golf Digest's Top 20 courses in Minnesota a few years back. I got through 18 of em' (I still have to hack my way around TPC Twin Cities and Spring Hill). Since both of those are private clubs, my mind started to wander again.
I looked up all the private courses listed in the metro area's Hudson Map Book (I have officially spiraled out of control). I have been lucky to play 11 of the 34 listed. Since the cup (bad pun #2) is more than half empty, I have 23 private courses in the metro that I 'must' see.
That gives me 42 courses. Because my life is chalk-full of deadlines (work and maritally imposed) I'm not going to set a time limit on this quest to complete the Twin Cities' golf scene, but in the spirit of the game, I'm definitely going to try to keep a respectable pace.
If you have any extra shoeboxes lying around, send them to the station. And, if I complete this mission, I promise to sell my clubs... and buy a new set.