I know a guy who calls himself “The Walking Eagle.” He’s quite a character and a lot of fun to play golf with. He’s earned the name, he says, because he’s so full of crap that he can’t fly. All joking aside, if you’re looking for a golf course with a lot of character that’s fun to play, then cross the border into Wisconsin and play White Eagle Golf Club.

White Eagle is located a few miles north of Hudson. It was designed by Garrett Gill; who has created over 200 courses including The Legends Club in Prior Lake and The Meadows at Mystic Lake. If you’ve played either of those, you’ll get a feel for what White Eagle is like; challenging and fun. Generally speaking, the course has a nice variety of holes in its par 72 layout. In my opinion, here are four reasons to play White Eagle.

Great Greens
The greens at any golf course really make the course; if they’re in bad shape, a great layout can be ruined. Simply put, the greens at White Eagle are fantastic. I played after a particularly rainy week in June, and they still were fairly firm which is a testament to their solid construction. There isn’t a lot of slope to the greens, but there are plenty of subtle breaks to make long putts a challenge. More importantly, though, is how true the short putts rolled. If you made a solid stroke, the ball would stay on line.

Multiple Tees With Great Views
White Eagle has five sets of tees that offer an appropriate yardage for any golfer. The forward (red) tees measure about 5,000 yards, while the championship (black) tees push the distance to nearly 7,200! Play the tees that are right for you. My playing partner and dad, Jim, maintains a single digit handicap, but can’t hit as far as he used to. We each played the tees that were the right ones for us. Scott Landin, General Manager of White Eagle, says, “You definitely can find a tee to fit your game here.” The five sets of tees is one of the best reasons to play the course, but another bonus is the great view from the holes which have elevated tees. There are plenty of ups and downs from tee to green.

Wide Fairways
Because of the recent rains, we got zero roll on our drives, but I have to say the fairways were very generous. There weren’t any tricky tee shots at all. The second hole is the only one with a lengthy forced carry tee shot; the good news is that you can choose how much of the hole to bite off. Shorter hitters have room to the right, which does leave a longer second shot. In general, the fairways provided ample space to hit your drive.

Northwoods Feel
For any golfer, and especially for Metro area golfers, it’s nice to get away from the courses lined with homes. White Eagle, says Landin, “has a distinctive Northwoods feel to it.” Their website (www.whiteeaglegolf.com) says this about the location: “White Eagle was created from an amazing 350 acres into a golf community filled with an abundance of natural beauty, wetlands, and wildlife. The privacy felt by the golfer on any of the 18 championship holes is like none other in the metro area.” I have to agree. Although it’s just a few miles from Hudson, it definitely doesn’t feel like a metropolitan golf course; I saw just a few homes on the course, and, while they had golf course views, they weren’t hovering next to the fairways like you see in some places.

Speaking of houses, there are lots available for those interested in relocating. Landin says all lots are a minimum of 3 acres, so there won’t ever be rows of houses surrounding the course.

The rates at White Eagle are quite reasonable, and all prices include a GPS-equipped cart. The early bird and twilight specials for $49 are particularly good deals. White Eagle does offer memberships for an awesome price: $1,950 for unlimited golf, cart and range. Right now they have 85 members and Landin says they’ll cap the memberships at 100, so act fast if you’re thinking about it.

As I was thinking of the one thing the course is missing, Landin beat me to it: a new clubhouse. He says that the plan is to have a new one as soon as the new Stillwater bridge is completed. Nevertheless, White Eagle has plenty of room to host your event now that they have a corporate tent-like Event Center next to the clubhouse. Only 20 minutes from the Twin Cities, White Eagle is worth the trip.