The *different* U.S. Novice course is a well-liked muni you must know

It was practically 20 years in the past when Billy Horschel shot a course-record 60 at Chaska City Course, however the eight-time PGA Tour winner nonetheless remembers each shot.

“I received on 17 and I believed I wanted to go birdie-eagle to shoot 59,” Horschel mentioned final month whereas in Minnesota for the 3M Open. “I hit it to love 12-14 ft on No. 17, I lipped it out. On 18 I believed, OK, have to make albatross to have an opportunity.”

The 18th is a dogleg-left par-5 the place marshland hugs your complete left aspect. Horschel tried to chop an excessive amount of off the nook, pulled it and his ball landed above the hazard line and plunked off the financial institution into the water. He dropped, hit a mid-iron to about 25 ft and drained it for birdie.

Minutes later within the scoring space, Horschel was adamant he shot 61.

“They usually’re like, ‘No, 60,’” Horschel mentioned. “I’m like, No, I shot 61. Par’s 72. They’re like, ‘No, par’s 71.’ It was kind of a bit of extra of a dagger as a result of I believed par was 72 and I noticed all I wanted to do was make eagle on 18; I’ll have performed a bit of bit extra conservative on the drive.”

Horschel’s 60 on the 2006 U.S. Novice — nonetheless the bottom rating ever recorded in a USGA championship — is a narrative informed typically round Chaska City Course, which was the stroke-play co-host with Hazeltine for that yr’s U.S. Novice. It’s more likely to be unfold much more this week, when the 2024 U.S. Novice returns to the Hazeltine/Chaska combo for stroke play on Monday and Tuesday earlier than match play begins on Wednesday at Hazeltine.

Whereas a $30 ticket will get spectators by way of the gates at Hazeltine this week, it’s not as straightforward to snag a tee time on the non-public membership that’s hosted PGA Championships and a Ryder Cup (with one other coming in 2029). However the identical can’t be mentioned for Chaska City Course, a muni that’s one of many prime public golf programs within the Twin Cities and among the best values ($82 peak strolling) within the state.

The Arthur Hills design weaves by way of practically 300 acres of marshland and open prairies and combines loads of scoring alternatives with a contact of quirk. It passes the weekend golfer’s litmus take a look at — a number of the par-5s are reachable in two, a few the par-4s are close to drivable and, better of all, there’s 4 good par-3s the place you really get to hit quick irons (none of that hybrid enterprise).

The primary gap is broad open, and should you lose a ball off the tee it most definitely received’t be your day. The third is a brief par-4 with a pesky tree standing in the course of the golf green and a inexperienced that’s pushed up towards a pond. Some individuals dislike it (I’m not one in all them).

The fifth is a split-fairway par-4 with water guarding the entrance of the inexperienced, the sixth a picturesque par-3 over a marsh and the seventh a par-5 that’s gettable in two should you can thread a needle together with your second shot (and get a bit of assist with the downslope in your drive).

The par-4 eleventh is the No. 4 handicap gap however is likely to be thought of the toughest by regulars (and probably the most annoying, by others). A fairway that narrows in entrance of a pond will forestall the most important hitters from pulling driver off the tee, and even a very good drive nonetheless leaves a protracted iron into the inexperienced.

The thirteenth is a semi-blind drive over the marsh on a dogleg par-4, and the fifteenth is a par-5 you’ll virtually definitely like extra (and play higher) the second time round. On 16, you blast away from the tee on the ultimate quick 4, and on 17 you attempt to hit two lengthy, straight pictures (and don’t go left). On 18, the signature finisher, undoubtedly don’t go left.

You received’t shoot 60 right here like Horschel did; his feat (and ball) are probably protected on the USGA Museum in Pinehurst, N.C. However you’ll be able to play a really enjoyable golf course for a couple of dollars greater than that.

Josh Berhow

Golf.com Editor

As GOLF.com’s managing editor, Berhow handles the day-to-day and long-term planning of one of many sport’s most-read information and repair web sites. He spends most of his days writing, modifying, planning and questioning if he’ll ever break 80. Earlier than becoming a member of GOLF.com in 2015, he labored at newspapers in Minnesota and Iowa. A graduate of Minnesota State College in Mankato, Minn., he resides within the Twin Cities along with his spouse and two children. You’ll be able to attain him at joshua_berhow@golf.com.