Best golf courses near Woodbury, MN

University of Minnesota’s Les Bolstad Golf Course plays tougher than you might expect from a course that’s just 6,300 yards from the tips, as its narrow fairways and small greens require accuracy. The course, host of the 1958 U.S. Junior Amateur, offers weekday rates under $40.

Before he moved to California, where he laid the foundation of many of that state's best courses from the pre-Depression era, William Watson was a pioneer of golf in Minnesota. He arranged the first nine holes at White Bear Yacht Club in 1912 near the shore of White Bear Lake on some of the most roly-poly land imaginable. Several years later, Watson added another nine holes and proceeded to remodel the entire course. Donald Ross has long been rumored to have done the remodel work, but the club doesn't have evidence of this and is now of the mind that the course is entirely Watson's creation. The site's wildly rumpled, unmodified land is the heart and soul of White Bear Yacht Club. Modern architects would likely have leveled and softened the slopes and ravines, but here they bring the golf to life visually and psychologically, offering nary a level stance and asking the player to drive to high sides of the tilted fairways and hit approaches with extreme control. Over the last two decades, under the guidance of Jim Urbina, the surrounding canopy of forest has been pared back to better reveal the massive, enthralling undulations of the course, and several holes, including the par-3s at six and 11, as well as the 12th and 18th green complex, are currently being restored.

Midland Hills always suspected their course was designed by Seth Raynor in the early 1920s, but they had no records of what that course looked like. They could intuit what some of Raynor's original holes were, but the overall architecture had dulled and shrunk over the years. That changed in 2018 when superintendent Mike Manthey discovered a 1921 irrigation map hidden above the ceiling in his office. The drawing showed Raynor's vision for the course, including individual holes and bunkers, a roadmap that designer Jim Urbina used to recreate and sharpen the old templates like the Biarritz, Road and Eden. The improvements have helped vault the course into the Best in State rankings for the first time.

StoneRidge Golf Club in Stillwater is one of the best courses in Minnesota. Discover our experts’ reviews and where StoneRidge Golf Club sits in our rankings.

Somerset Country Club in Mendota Heights is one of the best courses in Minnesota. Discover our experts’ reviews and where Somerset Country Club sits in our rankings.

Troy Burne sits on 420 acres of rolling hills in the St. Croix Valley, just east of the Twin Cities. 1996 Open champion Tom Lehman collaborated with Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry to design this well-bunkered layout with wide fairways and sloped greens. Ponds and creeks come into play on many holes, especially around the greens, placing an emphasis on approach play. With few trees on the course, wind often plays a strong factor.

Town & Country Club in St. Paul is one of the best courses in Minnesota. Discover our experts’ reviews and where Town & Country Club sits in our rankings.

A muny packed with history, Keller hosted the 1932 and 1954 PGA Championships, a Western Open, and for nearly 40 years, from 1930 to 1968, hosted the PGA Tour's annual St. Paul Open. On top of all that, it also hosted the 1931 U.S. Amateur Public Links. As one of our Minnesota course-ranking panelists described: "Holes 11 through 16 are as good of a stretch of holes as anywhere in the state."

This western Wisconsin layout sits just 30 minutes east of the Twin Cities. There are plenty of elevation changes, with many holes playing downhill to the fairway before working back uphill to the green. The rough that lines most holes often slopes back toward the fairways, making the landing areas play wider than they appear. Given all the elevation changes, the course can be a strenuous walk.