Because it’s my nature, I have a few questions running through my mind. First off, can Scottish golfer Robert MacIntyre pull off a come-from-behind victory to be the first Scotsman to win the Scottish Open since Colin Montgomerie in 1999? Will Rory McIlroy continue his 10-year slump in the majors, or will Royal Troon provide him the setting for victory and avenge his disastrous finish at Pinehurst? Is it ever going to stop raining long enough for me to get my basement dried out?

By the time you read this, you’ll probably have the answers to the first two questions. Whatever the results are for the Scottish Open and the Open Championship, I hope we do get a stretch of dry weather, both to save me from any more time with the wet/dry shop vac, and so we can get in more golf than has been possible for the past couple months. I don’t know about you, but I’ve lost two full rounds because of thunderstorms and rain.

Recently, my buddy Danny and I found a rain-free day to get in a round, so we headed up to The Links at Northfork. Just north on Highway 10 in Ramsey, The Links at Northfork is a unique golf venue in Minnesota. Just like the name suggests, it is predominantly a links style course with rolling fairways and plenty of sand in the form of regular bunkers (identified by the rakes along the edge) and waste areas you don’t have to rake. The opening nine is bookended by par fives at numbers 1 and 9, and a particularly challenging hole is the par four 5^th. Not particularly long, #5 is a sharp dogleg right that goes significantly uphill after the turn. Several bunkers guard the right side of the fairway, so be careful with your tee shot. The safe play is to hit a hybrid or fairway wood and keep your tee shot in the fairway. Trying to cut the corner will often earn you a short visit to one of those aforementioned bunkers.

The links style of golf continues for the entire front nine and part of the back nine; the first tree on the course is on the 13^th hole. Here, the natural landscape changes, and so does the golf course. Holes 14 through 16 head into and out of the trees before returning to the links style for the final two holes. After the par five 14^th, the 15th is a quirky par four, and #16 (also a par four) is a personal favorite of mine. It provides two routes to the green: the right fairway keeps you on the same level as the green, but long hitters will run out of fairway. The left fairway lets you hit away, but your drive drops significantly from the tee, so you’ll have an uphill shot to the green. After a couple near misses, a good wedge to the green led me to my first birdie of the day.

Head golf professional Josh Breen, who has been at Northfork for 16 years, emphasizes the high quality of the course – indeed, the bent grass fairways and greens were in great condition, especially for a course that is as busy as NorthFork. Breen says there are many days where they’ll have over 300 players, so book your tee times early. Another point of emphasis that Breen mentioned is that Northfork isn’t just 18 holes; they have an additional 3-hole loop you can play to get yourself warmed up. Arrive early enough to take advantage of these extra holes as they are included with your green fee. Besides this 3-hole bonus golf, NorthFork has an extra-large driving range to hone your game.

The green fee is a reasonably priced $51, and a cart will cost you an additional $22. Tee times can be booked a week in advance, and, like many courses today, NorthFork also has internet specials, so be sure to check their website (www.golfthelinks.com) for discounted pricing. A recent check showed same day tee times available at $68.99 including a cart. The senior rate of $28 and the junior rate of $22 are a steal if that’s where your age falls. If you’re looking for a place to play regularly, Breen suggests you join the 100+ members and join the yearly ticket program. $2,099 will get you unlimited golf for the year! Members also get an extra day in advance to book their tee time as well as use of the private practice tee at the back of the driving range.

It had been a while since I played The Links at NorthFork, so it was fun to get back out there. I’ve always enjoyed the layout, and it was good to see that NorthFork is as good as it always has been. I almost forgot how nice it is to have our own version of Scotland in our backyard!