Peter Wong
Peter Wong
Peter Wong
Peter Wong
Peter Wong
The Club at Golden Valley
The Club at Golden Valley
7001 Golden Valley Rd
Golden Valley, MN 55427-4609
United States
Overview
For most of its history, Golden Valley has been in a state of flux. Tom Bendelow designed the club’s first course before A.W. Tillinghast was hired in the 1920s to construct a new course. A number of his bunkers were removed in the 1930s to reduce maintenance costs (Tillinghast, by this time, was traveling the country on behalf of the PGA of America, advising clubs on ways to cut costs during tight economic times), and others were tinkered with and modified in one way or another. A series of mid-century renovations took the design further from the one Tillinghast put in the ground, but recent work, first by Ron Forse and, in 2023, by Kevin Norby, has gradually restored much of the architect’s ideology. Greens have been expanded to add new hole locations, trees have been thinned and Tillie’s lost bunkers have returned with their shapes redefined. This is a classic parkland expression of golf on a graceful property that demands drives be placed in the fairway and approach shots left below the hole.
About
Awards
RANKING HISTORY:
100 Greatest: The course was part of Golf Digest's original 200 Toughest Courses list from 1967-'68.
Best in State: Ranked inside the top 10, 1987-'89. Ranked 14th, 2015-'18. Ranked 15th, 2019-'20, 2023-'26. Ranked inside the top 15, 1995, 2003. Ranked 18th, 2013-'14. Ranked 19th, 2021-'22. Ranked inside the top 20, 1999-2001.
2025-'26 ranking (and previous): 15th.
Panelists
Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“One of a handful of similar private courses on the west side of the Twin Cities. Greens were sloped and quick and fairways were softish. The par threes felt repetitive and didn't stand out to me. A couple of holes were dictated by the placement of huge cottonwood trees."
Read More2026
Review
“The Club at Golden Valley recently completed a renovation of its Tillinghast course design. Upon my playing and evaluation, I have favorable reviews of the course and its renovation. Classic Tillinghast features are evident, but the course also offers a very unique layout and routing in many ways. I view this course has a borderline Top 200 candidate. Shot Options (6.86) -- The Tilly design measures up well when it comes to presenting ample options to the golfer throughout the layout. Aggressive angles are rewarded on many holes. Challenge (6.52) -- Although the course is heavily bunkered and wayward drives can be punished throughout with OB penalties (especially to the left), the fact that the course offers 6 par 5's and 5 par 3's presents ample scoring opportunities for the scratch golfer and reduces the challenge score. Layout Variety (7.58) -- Layout variety is where Golden Valley really stands out and separates itself, and it measure up to a Top 100 overall course in this category. I've never played a layout presenting 6 par 5's, 5 par 3's, and only 7 par 4's. Truly unique, and adds to the fun factor (see below). In addition, the layout offers significant variety when it comes to doglegs as well as uphill and downhill shots. About the only aspect I found lacking in the variety was the absence of a truly long par 3. Aesthetics (6.65) -- The parkland layout and undulating property is visually appealing, and the meandering creek throughout the property adds to the asthetics. But the layout and its surroundings do not offer a home run from an aesthetics standpoint given the lack of unique views, water features, or ornamental features such as fescue, mounding, etc. Conditioning (7.12) -- The course has benefitted from the recent renovation and regrassing -- greens were very true and fairways were rolling out appropriately, even for a relatively early Minnesota spring round. Character (6.98) -- In addition to the character elements arising from the unique layout, the course course also benefits from unique character elements coming from an active freight train line running through the property (although I saw no trains during my round) and an intersecting village road. Fun (7.25) -- 6 par 5's.....enough said when it comes to fun!"
Read More2025
Review
“Unique combination of six par 5's and five par 3's. Wide fairways are pretty forgiving on your tee shots but that is more than made up for with very challenging approach shots. Undulating crowned greens which were in immaculate condition, surrounded by many deep bunkers, made for a challenging but thoroughly enjoyable round of golf. Practice facilities were first rate."
Read More2024
Review
“Fun parkland course with excellent greens and deep greenside bunkers"
Read More2024
Review
“The Kevin Norby renovation bringing the course back to the original intent of the Tillinghast design was well done. Conditions were very nice. Bunkering and green surrounds very attractive and playable. A very fun experience."
Read More2024
Review
“Excellent "Tilly" course, has been renovated over the years to soften some greens, move some tee boxes, and deepen the original bunker design."
Read More2024
Review
“Unique layout with six par 5's and five par 3's. Multi year renovation has brought back Tillinghast design to include artistic bunkering, challenging greens, and fairway expansion. Turf transition to bunkers includes fairway cut on several bunkers now."
Read More2024
Review
“Such an interesting visit to the Club and Golden Valley. The property and routing is just the first part of the uniqueness of this golf course. You have road that intersects and railroad tracks that AW Tillinghast had to navigate while laying out this property. The par is 73 and includes 6 Par 5's, 5 Par 3'a and 7 Par 4's is something you will not find in many places. The changes felt more like a refresh rather than total transformation. The biggest visual changes were the uncovering of bunkers throughout the golf course but so many good subtle changes have been done. For example moving the 8th green over 15 yards, the expansion of the second green where they lessened the front slope to have more pinnable locations. They also rediscovered mounding around several greens that made for interesting visuals. Another bigger update was the transitions from the greens and tees and also many shortgrass runoffs around the greens to increase the shot options around the green complexes."
Read More2024
Review
“Solid older course with great bunkering."
Read More2019
