The Quarry at Giants Ridge, Minnesota, USA

The Quarry is part of the Giants Ridge resort and once again Jeffery Brauer was the designer of the course, and although The Legends and The Quarry are virtually next door to each other, as I rock up onto the first tee and look down the fairway The Quarry feels and looks totally different.

Standing behind my ball picking the line I really do get the feeling I am back at home on a Surrey heathland type course – although the softer fairways tell you a different story as I make my way to my ball. Unlike the Legend, you can walk the Quarry course. The second is a stunning brut of a par 5 from the back tees and like the legends the great holes just keep coming as I make my way round.

The difference I believe between the two courses is that The Quarry is a golfers golf course, a thinking course with tighter fairways and you need to be in the right position rather than bomb it from the tee. Again there are four teeing options ranging from 7,201-yards from the tips to 5,119-yards from the reds.

There truly isn’t a weak hole on the course and the stunning elevation changes, which are all natural from the time when this piece of land was mined for iron ore give these holes the wow factor. When you make your way around the course you will see lots of displaced blue/grey bedrock, which ended up here when they diverted the water from the lake to be able to mine the iron ore.

If you wanted me to give you a run of holes that I thought you need to look out for then I would have to say the 1st to the 17th, the course is that good and although the 18th has some great views of the lake as you play the hole, I think it needs to be stronger considering the rest of the course. Put the 18th on any other course and it be a classic finishing hole, but the rest have set a standard, that the 18th just misses out on.

But I do have a favourite which was the par 4, 9th which has a very narrow fairway that you need to lay up to, you then play your second shot through a narrow funnel of trees and grass dunes. It may only be 377-yards long, but in my opinion it’s a gem of a hole.

I am sure when you play here and are sitting on this magnificent outside deck that over looks the lake you will all have your own opinions and I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone in your group picked a different hole and that’s what makes The Quarry a must play golf course, a golfers golf course.


Top: Great birdie chance at the 14th. Above: The tough par 3, 11th hole



269-yard par 3, 4th holeOne of my favourite holes 9thThe Driveable Par 4 13th hole

4th and 9th holes taken on the day of play © James mason planetgolfreview