The Bridges Golf Club – Absolutely Not A Bridge Too Far

I get asked all the time where I prefer to golf in southeastern Minnesota. The Jewel comes off my tongue before the question is finished. (No brainer.) And? Cannon Golf Club. (Still too easy.) And? The Bridges in Winona. (No question.) Really? Absolutely. Sure, it’s a little bit more out of my way than the other two, but – like the other two – it is every penny worth the drive.

My preferences come as no surprise to anyone who has experienced them, but if you’ve played the other two and haven’t yet made it to the Bridges… this article is for you. I played it two years ago for the first time. Never even knew it was an option before then. I’d heard that Robert Trent Jones Sr. had carved a great course in that part of the valley. I just always figured it was private. It definitely could be. But I’ll get to that more later.

The Winona/La Crosse area is truly an undiscovered little hotbed of golf. It shouldn’t be, but it takes marketing commitment to stand out, and where the La Crosse courses falter, Bill MacAskill (at the Bridges) capitalizes. His invitation two years ago to come experience what he felt was the “most underrated course south of the Twin Cities” changed my golfing life. He wasn’t telling me something the locals didn’t already know – he was absolutely right – something everyone from the southern metro on down needs to realize. What Troy Burne is to the Twin Cities, is what the Bridges is to Winona/La Crosse and even Rochester. It is an anchor, the best of the area, the course everyone in the know flocks to. Better late than never for me. Now I know. And now I’m telling you.

The Bridges name wasn’t accidental. “Bobby” and his pal Ben Knight built bridges here to get to bridges (#9). They took ordinary tee shots and made them extraordinary with an extra bridge (#12). There are rivers and ponds, hills and valleys, gulches and peaks – all somehow linked by a defining bridge. The elevated tee shots out here put the exclamation point on an already exclamatory round; that stunning downhill par 3 over Pleasant Creek (#2) and the all or nothing carry on #10, serving as the two marquee shots. But there are so many more noteworthy holes out here that construct this powerful round.

I’ve described the Bridges many times before as a “crescendo” – where the peace and quiet gradual buildup of the front goes full throttle on the back. Stepping to the tee box of the 800 yard 11th just emphasizes my point. Okay, so I exaggerated by a hundred yards or so, but that pin appears as if it’s in a different time zone, and that pin is the summit, because it’s a downhill whip and swerve thrill ride from there. Holes 17 and 18 bring the round to a deservingly masterful close, horseshoeing around a lake, and finishing below the clubhouse.

There are more blind shots here than I usually enjoy, and far more drama than I certainly expected, but paired together it’s the kind of round I always hope to find when I go new places. With 268 national courses under my belt at this point, I’m always looking for that value round – that big surprise – and the Bridges was certainly a worthy one of those.

I don’t mind when people emphasize their greatest points with multiple exclamation points, and the same is true for golf experiences. One of the Bridges’ punctuations is their AAA “3 Diamond” Signatures Restaurant – one of my favorite southern Minnesota eateries – especially given that spectacular view. TheGrill (one word) is also open daily – with even more fantastic views – and the local flavor custom menu is always serving something new and fresh. Every facet of the operations here tells you that these people are really trying, that they really care about your business and want you back. They wouldn’t have to do all of this as greatly as they do to get me back, but the superior conditioning, food, service and environment ALL make this deal a steal.