3 minute read
Area golf/Mountain bike the trails at Brophy Park
For winter weary Minnesotans, warm weather offers freedom from the confines of their homes and one of the first places they head to are the golf courses.
The Alexandria area certainly doesn’t lack for green fairways, with more than 15 courses available for those hungry for the challenge.
Minnesota consistently ranks at or near the top in golfer participation. In fact, in 2005, it has the highest number of golfers per capita of any state in the U.S., according to the National Golf Foundation.
Many think Minnesota’s golf season is short, but most years there are six full months of golf opportunities on courses that are lush and full.
Whether a beginner at the game or a scratch golfer, the Alexandria area holds the perfect course for you. From small, 9-hole courses to 27-hole masterpieces, this area’s courses are beautifully designed and well kept; perfect for a long afternoon of outdoor entertainment with friends.
ALEXANDRIA AREA golfing
GOLF ECONOMICS
The sport of golf’s economic output (direct, indirect and induced) contributed $2.4 billion to the economy. The Land of 10,000 Lakes has 508 golf courses and employs more than 34,000 people.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Alexandria native and golf pro Tom Lehman is the only golfer to win Player of the Year honors on the PGA Tour, Champions tour and Web.com tour.
GOOD HOSTS
Minnesota is the only state to have hosted all USGA national championships, the Walker Cup, Curtis Cup and the men’s and women’s state team championships as well as the Ryder Cup in 2016. It hosted the PGA Championships in 1932, 1954, 1959, 2002, 2008 and 2009. Beginning in 2019, it will host the PGA Tour’s 3M Open.
MOUNTAIN BIKE
Area bikers have even more options with the addition of mountain biking trails at Lake Brophy County Park, with the Runestone Off Road Cyclists Club playing an integral role trails at Brophy The trails are on a rolling hills setting, and have jumps and banked corners. “You can actually get parallel to the ground on some of them,” he said, while bikers can soar by helping secure federal matching grants.
The results are a wonder to behold.
“We’re really happy with the way they turned out,” biker and club member Jeff Brand said. “It’s difficult. It’s unique.”
It also prompted a veteran mountain biker to call the trails “amazing.”
Brand explained that most trails in Minnesota are cross-country oriented, weaving through wooded areas. These, Brand said, feature “rocks, rollers and burns … and a fair amount of elevation in a relatively short space.”
Todd Emmons, another dedicated bicyclist, has spent a lot of time on the mountain bike trails at Lake Brophy County Park, and has been quite impressed. several feet into the air on the jumps. The biking term “mandatory air” most definitely applies.
DRAWING CARD
Another Douglas County Park, Kensington Rune Stone Park, has fairly-new dedicated mountain bike trails that include a 3.5-mile loop and several shorter ones. When you add those to others, including ones being built in Glenwood, the area will be able to claim 35-40 miles of trails, Brand said. The Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Trails in Ironton are often mentioned as a big regional draw for bikers, and trails in Duluth and the Twin Cities also bring bikers from outside the area. The Brophy trails could fit the same bill, with Brand calling this a tremendous opportunity to bring bikers from all over into the Douglas County area.
