When Crystal Lake Golf Club opened in 1995, the golfing summer was dominated by names like Daly, Elkington, Pavin, Crenshaw, and Norman. In 2023, golfers flocking to Lakeville, will learn the names of Orlando, Maize, and Temple. This talented Crystal Lake trio will be doing their darndest to ensure you an amazing golf experience.

Jim Orlando is Crystal Lake’s General Manager, Sheryl Maize their Director of Instruction, and Jim Temple is the course Superintendent. These long-time Crystal Lake fixtures own impressive bios and deliver a saucy recipe of experience that keeps this thriving south Twin Cities golf destination humming like a finely tuned watch.

For those who have never made the trek to Lakeville, there are key reasons for adding this course to your 2023 golf summer to remember. Whether your motivation is a captivating 18-hole round, upping your game with exceptional instruction, or seeing what make this 6,300-yard layout an environmental masterpiece, Crystal Lake has something for everyone. Let’s look at why Crystal Lake should be on your must-play list for July, August, and September.

Glides Like A Swan, Paddles Like A Duck

The person who coined the saying, “Calm on the surface, but paddling like the dickens underneath,” may have been thinking about Jim Orlando. The Crystal Lake GM keeps the plates spinning for tee times, a stacked tournament schedule, weddings, meeting rooms, and a well-stocked pro shop.

Crystal Lake’s tournament schedule compares to any course in the Twin Cities and organizers can field up to 144 golfers. What’s nice is the course offers a bevy of amenities that accompany each tournament. Crystal Lakes’s expanded practice facility includes a sizable driving range, a practice bunker, and pristine short game area.

Crystal Lake is well aware that tournament golf troops get hungry and thirsty. The course’s delicious banquet menu reads like the final episode of Top Chef competition. Golfers can also get primed before or after their event at The Pub Bar & Grill. Tournament Sales Manager Wendy Land will tie a ribbon on your tourney so that no stone, or golf ball, is left unturned.

Bettering Your Game This Summer

Director of Instruction Sheryl Maize’s resume is suitable for framing. For those looking to improve their golf game, consider Maize’s ever-growing skill set and list of accolades.

She’s garnered LPGA Teacher of the Year, Golf Digest Best Teacher in the State, LPGA Junior Leader of the Year, and U.S. Kids Top 50 Instructor awards. If you’re wondering if Maize’s approach is right for you, realize that her goal is to create or enhance a swing that is perfect for each individual, not necessarily a search for the ‘perfect swing’.

Like her co-workers, Maize’s journey leading to Crystal Lake makes for a good story. When asked about her favorite golf destinations, how many golf professionals talk about teaching, and playing midnight golf, in Iceland?

Crystal Lake’s Renaissance Man

Crystal Lake’s Superintendent Jim Temple likes all words that start with the letter “b.” When he’s not tending to Crystal Lake’s immaculate fairways and greens, Temple is a bird taxidermist and beekeeper.

For someone who loves all things nature, working at a course honored with an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Certification is like plying one’s trade on Minnesota’s version of heaven on earth. Amidst the course’s 160-acres, stately pines, and seven ponds, you’ll find deer, egrets, and an occasional white Labrador.

Temple’s main claim to fame is keeping Crystal Lake’s conditions in tip-top shape. This former Zamboni driver and graduate of Penn State’s Turf Program takes pride in hearing that Crystal Lake’s conditions play a key role in golfers returning a second and a third time to this William Gill-design.

The Course Of Course

Course management and risk reward are word combos you’d be wise to consider when playing Crystal Lake Golf Course. The course’s placement of bunkers and their seven ponds are strategically subtle, yet their positioning can make the difference between scoring low and shooting bogies.

You’ll find gently rolling terrain throughout and elevation changes that offer Instagram moments and beautiful vistas. The Crystal Lake greens are fairly large and undulating, but you’ll soon discover the green velvet delivers the nicest of true rolls.

If you’re looking for the ultimate capper to your Crystal Lake experience, stop and hunker down for a cool beverage on their elevated patio. From this sweeping vantage point, you can see why Crystal Lake steals the hearts of brides and is one of the top wedding venues in Minnesota.

Take a sip, indulge in the amazing views, and share a laugh while bantering over your round. This setting seals the deal for making a return engagement at Crystal Lake Golf Club and for making 2023 a golf summer to remember.