Giant's Ridge GC (Quarry & Legend Courses)
Biwabik, MN
Giant's Ridge- Legend
Golf Digest Senior Editor Matty G's Top 10 Most Affordable Courses In The Country
Explanation: In almost every trip to report an Away Game, I try to find a round of affordable golf to include in my itinerary. "Affordable" is as relative a term as a list like this is subjective. So for the purpose of this list, here’s how I’m defining affordable: A course that charges less than $125 on weekends during peak season for non-residents. I’m ranking them in reverse order, based on the green fee. The least expensive on my list earns the top spot.
# 5--The Quarry and The Legend at Giants Ridge in Biwabik, Minn. ($89).
I’m grouping them together because if you were willing to get to Biwabik, which is practically in Canada, you’d never play just one.
I prefer The Legend (opened in 1997, ranked No. 72 on our list of America’s 100 Greatest Public), over The Quarry (opened in 2003, ranked No. 20), but it's splitting rocks because they’re both good and they’re both a bargain. Two different looks, The Legend (pictured above) runs along a river and a lake and sits at the base of what functions as a ski resort most of the year. When it opened, my colleague, Ron Whitten, wrote a review of the Quarry: “Hands down, the finest course in Minnesota. It’s a combination of Pebble Beach, Pine Valley, Merion and Tobacco Road, with a bit of architectural Tabasco sauce sprinkled in for the occasional jolt.” That might be a bit of literary hot sauce, but you get the idea. (Twilight, $60, start time varies. Replay rate is $58.)