Sawmill GC-May2010

I remember playing Sawmill Golf Course back in the early 1990s during a junior tournament that I probably had no right to be in. Luckily there were no requirements to get in to the tournament. Any high school-aged player with a pulse was allowed in. Needless to say, I did not play well enough that day to win a trophy, and probably was nowhere near the top ten finishers, however my exact score remains a long-forgotten mystery. One thing I do remember about that day was the fact that the Stillwater area in which Sawmill is located got a healthy amount of rain the night before, and it continued to rain during the time that the tournament was going on, and the total amount of rainfall was obviously too much for the course to handle: I distinctly remember that at least two, and possibly three, of the greens at Sawmill that day were completely water-logged, with squishy water seeping up from the ground under each footstep. The worst of the water-logged greens had a visible layer of water still sitting on top of the grass, waiting to be absorbed by the already-full ground. The cup on that green that day was filled to the top with rain water, so our golf balls made a nice plop sound when they dropped in. Looking back at it, I wonder why the groundskeepers at Sawmill allowed us to play on those greens. Having 30 to 40 junior golfers loping around on them couldn’t have been good for the grass in those types of conditions. Ah well, at least most of us didn’t weigh as much as full-sized adult men would have. Maybe we didn’t cause as much damage as I imagine.
    Recently I was happy to learn that the owners of Sawmill had changed some of the holes a few years ago and had addressed some of the drainage issues that were such a problem in the past. I wanted to see for myself how these changes had affected the playability of the course, so I made a tee time to play a round there with my friends Mike, Terry, and Paul. We were fortunate enough to get a tee time right at the beginning of the twilight rates on a Monday afternoon. The twilight rates at Sawmill are some of the lowest in the entire Twin Cities metropolitan area, which was nice to see. We played 18 holes with riding carts, and only paid $26 per person. This price is at least $20 less than a majority of the courses in the area, making it an excellent deal.
    Although the price was certainly right, I still wanted to see what kind of shape the course was in. Right from the first tee I could tell that the course was in wonderful shape. Even though the Twin Cities area was in a bit of a drought that summer, every part of Sawmill that I could see from that first tee box looked lush and green. The first hole is a short par-5 that was playing to about 470 yards when we played it. There is a small creek bisecting the fairway at about 250 yards off the tee, and a single large tree right in the middle of the landing area. I guess I was fortunate that I popped my drive up a little more than I usually desire, because it left me short of the creek, and far enough back from the tree that I had no problem choosing the correct path to get around it. The green on this hole is beautifully framed by a clump of mature trees on the right side, and the aforementioned creek bed, which snakes its way up the left side of the fairway. The green itself is fairly flat, but in very good condition and running smooth on the day we were there. All in all, it’s a very nice looking, and fair, hole to start your round at Sawmill.
    The second hole at Sawmill is a short par-4 of about 300 yards, but it is filled with danger. There are 3 sand traps situated directly in the middle of the fairway, just waiting to gobble up tee shots. The good people at Sawmill have given golfers another option that would allow them to bypass the sand, however. There is a newly added second part of the fairway that has been built to the right of the original fairway, giving another landing area option. There is no sand on this new section of fairway, and the golfer who can hit this new landing area is given a much better angle in to the elevated green. The 2nd hole at Sawmill does a nice job of giving players multiple options off the tee, which I think makes it a very good hole.
    The 5th hole is the signature hole at Sawmill, and is a par-3 playing over water. There are a multitude of tee boxes that play from various lengths and angles to the green, making it possible to change the length and the difficulty from day to day. The back tees on the east tee boxes makes the hole measure over 200 yards, which is a difficult par-3 in itself, but that difficulty is multiplied by the fact the there is a long carry over the water to get to the green. If the groundskeepers decide to use the west tee boxes, the entire tee shot is a forced carry over the water. The east tee boxes are situated on the edge of the lake, and bring possible escape routes into play, since players that hit to the right might be able to avoid the water. The forward tees on this hole play to just over 100 yards, but there is still a lot of water directly in front of the tee box that can come in to play on wayward shots. This is a very lovely par 3 with the elevated tee boxes looking down on the green and the lake in front. It is definitely a worthy “signature hole”.
    The 8th hole at Sawmill is another very good par-3. It can play anywhere from 115 yards to 175 yards, depending on which tee box you’re hitting from. What’s interesting about this hole is the fact that there is a long bunker lining the entire right side of the fairway. This bunker must be at least 70 yards long, and while it shouldn’t come into play too often, just having it there surely gets into the mind of some golfers while standing over their tee shot. Right before the green, the sand ends and a small, marshy water hazard sits in front of the right front edge of the putting surface. Standing on the tee box, looking at all the sand lining the entire hole, and the water hazard directly in front of the pin, the desired landing area on the green looks miniscule. But once we got up to the green, it was obvious that the green is actually quite large, and there’s plenty of room to land a golf ball, even if it’s not hit exactly where you’re aiming.
    The back nine begins with a very photogenic par-4 that plays right at 400 yards from the tips. The tee boxes on this hole, like many at Sawmill, are surrounded by beautiful flower beds. The fairway parallels the first hole, and the same creek bed that crisscrosses the first fairway comes into play on number 10. It runs along the right side of this fairway, and has another small rivulet which crosses the fairway from the left and joins the main creek bed. This hole has a large green that is framed by a large stand of trees on three sides. It is a very well-designed hole that is a great start to the second nine.
    The 16th hole is a fantastic par-3 that only measures 140 yards from the tips, but it is fraught with danger. A good-sized pond sits in front of the elevated green, and prodigious trees surround the small green, which is also abutted by a small sand trap in the rear. If your tee shot isn’t accurate, a big number can creep on to your scorecard after playing this photogenic little hole.
    The 18th hole is a fun finishing hole, because it has two fairway options to choose from on your tee shot. The right fairway is the more straightforward option, but the terrain goes up a slight incline, so a golfer deciding to follow this path won’t get much roll on their drive. The left fairway heads downhill, so a drive down this side will get some extra roll, but this route isn’t as straight, so the extra distance on your drive might not be as big of a benefit as you think. This side of the fairway also brings a very deep greenside bunker into play on the approach shot. The bottom of this bunker sits about 15 feet below the level of the green, so a sand save from this bunker can be very difficult to achieve. This is a great finishing hole to a fun round of golf at the scenic Sawmill Golf Course.