Before Arnold Palmer, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Lee Trevino, Bernhard Langer, and Tom Kite tackle the TPC Twin Cities, they let a hacking reporter and his buddy take on the mighty beast. The beast won. The beast won... by a ton.
TPC might as well stand for "tremendously pretty course." Every hole looks like a post card; they have 18 to choose from when picking a signature hole. It's a fun and fair layout, but it has a lot of bite to it.
I suppose that's why they bring the game's most legendary performers to Blaine every year. Quick side note: The 3M Championship has raised more than 16 million dollars for charities through the years and the tournament raised $1.3 million last year for Twin Cities' area hospitals. Admission for the upcoming week of golf is free. Don't write our copy editor. That's not an error... its totally FREE! TPC, That's Pretty Classy.
Back to the golf course. My buddy (who we'll call "Waterboy") and I were the first group to tee off on the second to last day of club play; before they shut it down for the Championship. It was a picture perfect morning and the course was in incredible, tip-top tourney shape. The grandstands and TV towers were reminders that this wasn't going to be a run-of-the-mill Saturday morning Nassau round for us.
We started on ten at 7:32 a.m. There wasn't a cloud in the sky or a breath of a breeze. There wasn't a soul in front of us. It was just two very average golfers and a tour-caliber course. It took me two swings to find my first drink. Gulp. To say there's a lot of water at the TPC Twin Cities would be like saying there's a lot of grass on the golf course. It's what makes the course a challenge. Titleist stock would jump fifteen points if I ever became a member here.
The golf course was designed by Arnold Palmer and Minnesota golf legend Tom Lehman was the player consultant. It is 10 years old and plays at 7,164 yards from the tips. It's not absurdly long. In fact, you don't have to hit driver on many of the par 4s. The greens are pretty big so crews break the pin placements into 4 sections, not 3.
I kept waiting throughout the round to find a hole or two that was just plain or maybe even boring. Never saw one. If there wasn't water to worry about, there were well-placed bunkers or wastelands to make your palms sweat. Seemed like every hole looked like it should be on the cover of the scorecard (another side: there is no "hole" picture on the scorecard, just that PGA Tour logo golfer who's follow through looks like Danny Noonan's, not Scott Seroka's).
When we stepped onto the 14th tee, we had our first feeling of intimidation. It's a sweeping dog leg left with water all the way down the left side. The lake cruelly curves so the water was both in front and on the left side of the green. Your friendly, neighborhood cup-cutter put the hole front left. This was the first hole with a massive grandstand behind the green. If you head to the tourney, spend some time here; this hole will provide some good drama as the senior pros try to make up strokes. You can also see the par 3 17th hole from those seats.
Somehow I hit the fairway and the green. Pure Luck. My fondest memory of the morning. Can't wait to see a senior tour player bogey this hole and say I played it better.
There must be something about TPC courses and watery par 3 17th holes. 17 was my favorite par 3 at the TPC Twin Cities. There's water front and left, sand on the right, and grandstands behind. Grab a seat here; you can watch the tee shots from 17 and 18 from the top of this seating area. Waterboy got a par, I bogeyed from the sand and was ecstatic.
The 18th is one of the best finishing holes I've had the pleasure of playing. The tee shot isn't too worrisome, though I managed to just miss the fairway, which has to measure at least 100 yards wide. Still, I couldn't imagine having to hit that second shot over a lake in the final round of a tournament with a purse of $1.75 million. I couldn't hit it with two members of the grounds crew watching; the pros will play 18 in front of thousands here later this week.
Waterboy did his best Roy McAvoy "Tin Cup" impersonation. I played the part of the caddie from the Cheech and Chong movies and kept handing him balls that he kept dunking. I also put that one shot in the drink, but managed to hit my best iron of the day onto the green after a drop. Golf glory sans applause; Waterboy was in no mood to compliment the shot.
As a fan, spend some time on 18; you won't be disappointed.
I also really enjoyed the front 9. Number two was my favorite hole. It has water on both sides of the fairway and in front of the green. I think the TPC Twin Cities seems kind of like a blend of 5 star Florida resort course with some true Minnesota holes framed by trees on either side of the fairway for good measure. There's no shortage of sand and no shortage of challenges. I can only imagine that the members here are pretty good sticks.
This Place is Cool. They wouldn't give it a TPC title, or a Champions Tour event, if it wasn't. I can't wait to see what the pros do.
(Copyright 2010 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)