Giants Ridge – if Legends is the lamb, Quarry is the lion 

Giants Ridge is the only Minnesota golf resort that has two tracks that each have been named the best public course in the state and have earned spots on Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses list. 

The first course at Giants Ridge, to be called Legend, came about when the State’s Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board, an agency devoted to using iron ore taxes to rehabilitate the iron range, wanted to turn its ski hill here into a year around resort by adding a golf course. Brauer, with Lanny Wadkins working as PGA Tour consultant, was selected to design the 18-hole track on a heavily wooded site.  

There were problems in that property for the course was too small and separate parcels had to be acquired to fit in 18 championship holes. The site also had numerous sensitive environmental areas, making its design and permitting a challenge.  It took nearly 30 routings to satisfy the various agencies and environmental groups reviewing the project.  

The Legend course plays at 6,930 yards from the back tees and was designed to be a resort-friendly course. The majestic pines remind some of Augusta, but Brauer left the edges slightly less refined to mimic the Northwoods experience. His staff worked around ancient red pines and local wetlands to maintain and enhance the environment and subsequent testing has shown minimal environmental impact, with much attributed to care taken in the design process.  

The Legend features carries over deep-cut ravines, sloping rolling fairways, moderately undulating putting surfaces and strategic bunkers. The Legend is a more traditional golf course, where there’s a little wider corridor for players, more rough on each side, and a more traditional style of architecture. There are no blind shots, and players can see every fairway from the tee. 

Perhaps the most famous holes at the Legend course are the par-3 17th over water, which resembles the famous 16th at Cypress Point in California. It plays 225 from the tips and must carry the lake to a small green perched on the side of the hill. Then there’s The par-5 third, with its iconic “giant’s footprint” sand bunker that divides two fairways – drive it between the toes here and you can take a shot at the green in two. 

No. 11 is a beautiful downhill par 3 over water, and par-4 12th is a short dogleg that allows a plethora of options off the tee leaving a short wedge up to a long iron into the green.   

When the Legend golf course opened in 1997, it was ranked as one of the “10 Best New Upscale Public Courses” in the U.S. by Golf Digest.  The website for Giants Ridge describes Legend as “breathtaking, serene, awe inspiring, an unforgettable experience” – a very accurate take. Brauer calls it “the gentle giant,” and claims that about 50 percent of golfers report Legend as their favorite over the more difficult Quarry course.    

Legend has been in the top 10 of Minnesota public courses since its opening and in the top 100 U.S. public courses in several publications, including Golf Digest and Golf News Network.  

The Quarry, opened in 2003, is a little more modern golf course. After the success of the Legends, business studies suggested a second course at the resort could capitalize on first’s popularity and extend golfers’ stays at the remote getaway.  

With the need to differentiate the tracks – and considering the difficult environmental approval processes the first course overcame, the search for a site for the second course quickly settled on an old sand and gravel quarry a few miles south of the existing course.   

Because it was an environmentally scarred site that a golf course would rejuvenate, approvals came quickly. Brauer opined that the second course could be better and envisioned a public “Pine Valley” routed through the spoil piles.  

The Quarry course fits the rugged, industrial history of that site, and requires some strategy – it’s not just what you see in front of you. While the playing corridors are quite wide, the hazards can be severe.   

The calling cards of the course are unique holes, the aesthetics and contrast of the brownish sand piles and the green turf, and a vast sense of scale brought on by the wide fairways.  

Highlights include the par-5 second, with its potential to be reached in two shots if you tempt the sand pit along the right side, the fifth, another par 5 from an elevated tee, and the 8th, which best captures the feel of Pine Valley.  

There a double fairway on the 10th, fashioned from an old railroad siding, and a distinct double fairway 13th follows close behind. The 13th is the property’s signature hole, tipped out at 343 yards to tempt the long-hitter but a hole that can be enjoyed by everyone.  

The course finishes along the shores of the old Embarrass Mine pit and lake and features a Redan-style green.  

The huge elevation changes throughout the routing create some great views and fun opportunities to grip it and rip it off the tee. The Quarry has longer rough, is more rugged in overall design, and plays much narrower off the tee. It also plays 300 yards longer on the scorecard longer from the tips. The greens also have more undulation, and the old rock quarry offers an abundance of waste areas.   

Another visual at the Quarry is the rusting metal remnant that sits on a small hill to the right of the green on the long, par four 8th, the most difficult hole on the course.  It’s a leftover piece of machinery from this property’s days as a fully operational rock quarry, and a fitting reminder of a bygone era.   

Despite its difficulty, the Quarry course remains a very fair test from beginning to end. It is one of those golf courses where you want to do your very best on every shot because every shot has the potential to be a lifetime memory maker.   

The Quarry is currently ranked among the top 20 public courses in the country and No. 1 in Minnesota with the Legend currently No. 4 in Minnesota. In terms of quality and value there are few destinations that can compare to Giants Ridge, a tantalizing one-two punch for golf-hungry travelers, and perhaps the best public combo in Minnesota.