Todd, AJ, Anthony, Brett
Loon Lake Golf Course Scorecard
I was able to cross Minnesota off of the #golfall50 list on Saturday, August 14, 2021. We were in Okoboji for our annual "family weekend" with all of our kids and grandkids. The guys and I went up to Loon Lake Golf Course just south of Jackson, Minnesota.
Loon Lake is just 17 miles north of Okoboji across the border into Minnesota. It is a nice little nine hole course owned by my son in law Anthony's former boss from down in Ames.
I had played it once earlier in the summer with Anthony and when I started the journey to play a round in all 50 states I knew this would be my Minnesota course due to the location and the way the course played.
The course was in a little better shape in June but the drought the last couple of months made the course fairways and rough very hard and made it tough to hit down on the ball. Nobodies fault but just the fact of not getting enough rain. The greens were still in great shape though which is a compliment to the staff taking care of the course.
Drive on Hole #5
I started the round well even though I didn't take advantage of two par 5's in the first three holes. The photo above is from my tee shot on the par four 5th hole. I hit it about as well as I could with a slight draw, hit the top of a hill and got a good roll within about 60-70 yards of the green. I put the approach to about 15 feet and rolled the putt in for my first birdie in the first five rounds (two in Iowa) I've played in the four states.
Golf is a fickle game. I felt good walking to the next tee and promptly pulled my next drive just a bit and barely caught a tree and the scramble was on over the next four holes. After starting two over through five I finished the last four holes at plus six.
I love the progress my game is making as I play more and feel good about getting a bit more consistent with certain parts of the game each time out. The best part of the day regardless of what the score was going to be was playing with my son and son in laws. I love the fact that we can play and enjoy this game together.
On hole #5 a group let us play through and as I struck up a brief conversation to say thank you the gentleman told me he was teaching his two teenage grandsons to play. That's great. I'll get my grandsons and probably my granddaughters out on the course eventually too. Golf is a great game for families, mine included. I'm thankful and blessed that they can be along and be a part of this journey with me.
