The Bridges-May 2010

The Bridges- Hole 2

The Bridges- Holes 17& 18

Winona is a beautiful town in southeastern Minnesota nestled between bluffs on the west and the mighty Mississippi River on the east. Being from the Minneapolis area, I almost called Winona a “little town”, but really, that’s not the case. Winona has a population of right around 30,000, so it’s not all that small. It’s big enough to be the home of two excellent universities, Winona State and St. Mary’s. Winona has an historic downtown area that is filled with a vast array of Victorian architecture. Located right on the banks of the mighty Mississippi is the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, which holds a huge collection of world-class marine art and other maritime artifacts. In other words, there are a lot of things to keep a person occupied in Winona. I believe that one of the best things that can occupy my time is to spend a few hours on a golf course, and one of the nicest courses that I have played in a long time is The Bridges Golf Course located, you guessed it, in Winona. Formerly the private Winona Country Club, The Bridges became a public course in 2005, but the course superintendent has maintained a private club feel nonetheless. Let’s take a quick tour of The Bridges.
    First of all, you may be wondering why the course was given the name “The Bridges”. The course was built in and around a steep valley that contains the lovely little Pleasant Valley Creek, a picturesque little trout stream that flows cold and clear. There are countless creek crossings, so bridges are necessary for cart travel. There are also steep ascents and descents throughout the course, so several unique walking bridges help walking players maneuver more easily, as well. These walking bridges add to the charm of The Bridges.
    The first hole at The Bridges is a fairly benign par-4 of 380 yards. As straight as can be, the biggest obstacles are the two fairway bunkers that really pinch the fairway at about 240 yards out. Make sure you stretch out your muscles so that you are loose enough to blast your drive past these bunkers. Next time I play The Bridges, I will remember to do just that!
    The second hole is a real beauty of a par-3. From the tee boxes, there is a steep descent to the green, which is deviously guarded by Pleasant Valley Creek in the front, a large bunker on the right, and a huge oak tree on the left. This tree stands about 20 feet from the green, but its branches seem to stretch endlessly, and fully envelope the left side of the green. Thankfully, I played this hole in the spring before most of the leaves had popped out, so this tree didn’t pose as big of a problem as it could have. But when you’re perched high up on the hill at the tee box, the green seems exceedingly small and narrow, so it’s difficult to hit no matter what time of year you play it. This is just about a perfect par-3, as far as I’m concerned.
    The next two holes are paralleled by the aforementioned Pleasant Valley Creek. When you hit your ball in the creek, if you sneak up to the bank real quietly, you might get a glimpse of some lovely brown trout checking out your ball. I’m told that some people bring their fly rods to the course and try their hand at catching some trout after their round is done. I’d be afraid of getting hit by wayward golf balls, but there are numerous other streams in the area, as well, so if you like to try to catch the wary trout, make sure you bring your tackle with you when traveling to the Winona area.
    Hole #6 is another lovely par-3 with an elevated tee box, but this time there are no huge trees or trout streams guarding the green. There are a multitude of bunkers surrounding the green, though, so it’s not an easy walk in the park. The green is elevated slightly, so missing it requires a delicate uphill chip. The green itself is quite large, so that helps, but it is canted from back to front, so most putts are slippery downhillers. Just make sure you hit your tee shot below the hole, and everything will be fine.
    I really like the way hole #7 sets up. Another elevated tee box awaits golfers on this 400-yard par-4, but despite its length, the best shot off the tee probably isn’t with a driver. A perfect tee shot is around 240 yards towards the fairway bunker that is straight in front of the tee boxes. A 240-yard tee shot from the back tees will put you right at the point where the fairway curves to the left around a thick grove of trees. The fairway becomes very narrow around the corner, so I wouldn’t advise big hitters to try to cut the corner, but you can try if you want to. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you! From this point the fairway heads downhill slightly to an almost square green, which again is sloped from back to front.     
    The back nine starts out with another interesting par-3, this one playing to 180 yards from the back tees. Instead of playing downhill like the two par-3s on the front, the green and tee box are at about the same elevation, but between the two is a deep chasm that will swallow up any tee shots that are short. I thought I hit a good tee shot, but my ball got batted down by the strong winds blowing at me, landing right in front of the green. Next thing I know it started to roll down in to the chasm. Luckily it found a patch of thick rough that kept it from rolling all the way down to the bottom, but I still had a tough chip shot up the hill, and I was down far enough that I couldn’t see the flagstick. If you make sure you use enough club, you should be okay on this neat little hole.
    Hole 11 is a great par-5 that can be played in multiple ways. There are two fairway options off the tee: the right fairway stays on top of the hill, but ends at a steep drop-off about 200 yards out; the left fairway heads down the hill, but the hillside may kick a well-struck tee shot into the creek at the bottom of the valley. I chose to hit my 5 iron off the tee and lay up on the upper portion of the fairway, but I had an awkward second shot to the extremely-skinny landing area about 150 yards from the green. From that landing area, the fairway heads back uphill to a small, plateau-like green. From my first time playing at The Bridges, I’m not sure I know what the best strategy is on this hole. When I go back, I think I’ll try the other route and see what happens.
    I am not always a fan of short par-4s, probably because I rarely choose the best way to play them. I really like the 13th hole at The Bridges, though, which plays to just a smidge over 300 yards from the blue tees. This is a beautiful dogleg right that just seems to set up perfectly from the elevated tee box. A golfer can either hit a lay-up to just short of the two fairway bunkers about 240 yards out, or you can try to cut off the dogleg by driving over the grove of trees in the right rough. The golfer who can do that successfully can turn this in to an easy birdie hole, but you still have to be wary of all the bunkers that surround the green.
    The 17th hole is another beautiful par-4, but this one isn’t a nice short hole like number 13. No, the 17th plays to 413 yards from the tips, but another elevated tee box helps add some distance to drives, so it probably plays more like 400 yards. When you play this hole, the high tee box gives you a lovely view of most of the course, the river valley, the clubhouse, and a good look at the 18th hole, which heads back towards you. The fairway on this hole is nice and wide, with just a slight turn to the right. Pleasant Valley Creek again comes into play, this time slicing across the fairway right in front of the green, potentially causing all sorts of problems.
    Our trip around The Bridges concludes at the 375-yard dogleg left par-4 18th hole. The wise play off the tee on this hole is a 200-yard shot to the corner of the dogleg. You could probably hit as far as 225 yards, but anything longer than that and you’ll risk hitting through the fairway. A small pond guards the left front corner of the long, narrow green, and a bunker guards the right. This is another lovely hole that fits in beautifully on this excellent course.