Round No. 3 - Ft. Snelling

Last weekend we played our third city course: Ft Snelling. I've included some extra pictures to try to give you a feeling for how strange this place is.

Fort Snelling dates back to 1820. The original fort still stands on a bluff above the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers. There is a large, active Vet's hospital on the general property as well as an enormous cemetery. The complex was active during the Civil War as well as WWI and WWII. There are acres of boarded up buildings that once served as barracks, housing for officers, and even stables.

This "unorganized territory" has a total area of 6.7 mi².

The Fort Snelling Golf Course sits in the middle of all o f these abandoned buildings. One edge of the course is bordered by the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport.

There are some weird vistas. At times I felt like we were on the set of sci-fi movie.

The course itself was in decent but not great condition. On several holes you can't see the green from the tee because of a major (90 degree) dogleg. I hit five fairways and shot 47. (course is only 9 holes). First and last holes were disasters.

Overall my putting was OK. I hit a lot of poor first puts but made several long 2nd putts, with only one 3-putt. My problem (again) this week was getting the ball on the green from 100 yards in.

I've still got a way to go before breaking 90, let alone 80.

I hope to get out to the driving range before we play next week.

Next week is "Gross National" , home of the 1964 USGA National Publinks Championship.