Giants Ridge has what many call the best public course in the state — the Quarry — and this stunner of a par 3 isn’t even on it. The 17th at the Legend Course is as picturesque as they get.
Courtesy Photo
Kick up your feet and indulge in GOLF.com’s Top 100 Resort of the Week, where we’re celebrating the best places in golf to stay and play. Heavenly accommodations. Delectable food. Stunning scenery. Oh, and, of course … world-class golf. These luxurious golf getaways are the best of the best. To browse our complete Top 100 Resorts list, click here.
Resort of the Week: Giants Ridge (Biwabik, Minn.)
Sure, it’s a trek up to Giants Ridge, in northern Minnesota, but it’s exactly the type of resort that’s waiting for you, completely inclusive of what you’d want in a golf trip … and then some. Two hours north of the Twin Cities and one hour north of Duluth, Giants Ridge becomes a bit of a beacon in the distance. When you arrive, you find what many call the best public course in the entire state.
They’re probably right. The Quarry Course at GR constantly delivers variety with every tee shot. It’s not all drivers. It’s not a lot of lay-ups. It’s some of this, some of that, some of something else. (If you’d like more detail, its mix of playable, challenging par-5s are unrivaled pretty much everywhere.) A recent round at The Quarry offered these club choices off the men’s tees:
No. 1: 3-wood
No. 2: Driver
No. 3: 3-wood
No. 4: Hybrid
No. 5: Driver
No. 6: 4-iron
No. 7: 8-iron
No. 8: Driver
No. 9: Hybrid
No. 10: 3-wood
No. 11: Pitching Wedge
No. 12: Driver
No. 13: Pick Your Poison!
No. 14: Driver
No. 15: Hybrid
No. 16: Driver
No. 17: 6-iron
No. 18: 3-wood
That’s four 3-woods, six drivers, three hybrids, three irons, one wedge and one dealer’s choice! Every club in the bag is tested, and depending on the day you play, you’ll get that test for right around $100 (maybe a touch more during peak season). That rate is tough to beat anywhere in the country.
For a taste of what The Quarry has to offer, check out the incredibly helpful online 3D flyover tour. That should help for scouting purposes.
Even if staying at a resort isn’t totally your preference, the Quarry as a course is worth the trip alone. And for the resort-staying folks, the Legend course is located right next to the resort’s main lodge. Plenty of other, more intimate lodging options are located on nearby Wynne Lake. Waking up on the water, these cabins provide a true sense of summer in the Midwest.
But what would a resort be if not more than the golf? Giants Ridge has a lot more going on. After all, it was ranked in our Top 25 resorts for families in 2019. In the summer months, you’ll catch many mountain bikers tearing it up on the popular ski runs and disc golfers getting one helluva hike up and down them as well. More scenic trails — for both biking and hiking — are also readily available. You, of course, just have to plan the trip. Click here to get started.
