Alec's 9 with a new look at Ruttger's

DEERWOOD — Another par 3 golf course in the lakes area has Scott Hoffman’s fingerprints on it.

Ruttger’s Bay Lake Resorts is reopening Alec’s 9 as a par 3 course in May. The longest hole is set to be 119 yards with the shortest being 70 yards. The reopening of Alec’s 9 will give Ruttger’s 27 holes on its property along with Jack’s 18.

BY CONRAD ENGSTROM Brainerd Dispatch

“The vision was really kind of the par 3 course at Augusta,” Hoffman said. “Just pretty holes working away back and forth around the pond. We had about a half acre wetland to start with, which we turned into about a three acre lake, so we had about 15 acres to work with. We decided to do more of a wedge style short course and something that would be very aesthetically good looking and be fun to play for all different categories of golfers.”

Ruttger’s head professional Dave Sadlowsky is excited about having the addition of Alec’s 9, especially after a recent trip he took with his family to Pebble Beach in California.

“We played The Hay, which is the short course at Pebble Beach,” Sadlowsky said. “I had never played a short course before, believe it or not, and it was so dang fun. It took a casual hour to play with just a few wedges and a putter. So I’m very excited about the Alec 9 being opened especially with it being shut down for two years for reconstruction. It’ll be nice to have it back.”

Sadlovsky hopes the new Alec’s 9 can be a gem to the resort. He added having Hoffman’s name on the project will help.

“The previous version of the course was 100 years old and had seen numerous revisions throughout the years, but it was just kind of tiring,” Sadlovsky said. “The motivation behind it was to make it kind of a gem of the resort. Having Scott, who is well-known for his designs in the area and an expert locally and regionally, was nice to have.”

Playability was a huge goal for Sadlovsky with the new Alec’s 9. He wants it to be friendly for all ages and skill levels.

“It’s going to be great for families and kids, but I really want it to be enticing to better players as well,” Sadlovsky said. “We’ve got bent grass and white sand bunkers and every hole except for No. 5 is wrapped in and around or alongside a large water feature. It’s going to have that visual appeal for every golfer from beginner to expert.

“Some other cool features include having top notch wooden flag sticks and we’re going to have drink holders on the tees and the greens. We also have bronze tee markers and things of that nature.”

A twist with Alec’s 9 is the tees and fairways will all be mowed to where someone could use a putter for the entire round.

“When Scott designed the place other than one hole it can literally be played with a putter,” Sadlovsky said. “A lot of the holes are downhill and so it will be very playable.”

Hoffman added: “It’s all going to be tightly mowed, so if you want to play a hole with a putter, more power to you.”

It’s not the first par 3 golf course Hoffman has designed this decade. Hoffman architected the Gravel Pits Golf Course on Gull River Road, which is a 13-hole par 3 course. The Alec’s 9 course at Ruttger’s will be much different from the Gravel Pits.

“I love the Gravel Pit and it’s the coolest thing I’ve seen, but our course will be more playable,” Sadlovsky said.

Hoffman added: “What the directors wanted was something that the whole family could play. We wanted to create enough interest for the better player, but also, Grandma and Grandpa could get out there with the grandkids. It’s a walking course only and you can play it in probably an hour or hour and a half. It’s a nice addition to Jack’s 18.”

CONRAD ENGSTROM may be reached at 218-855-5861 or conrad. engstrom@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/the_rad34.