Latest news with #JohnFought
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Highly ranked Minnesota golf club adds second course with a nod to classic architecture
Windsong Farm Golf Club – now the only private club in Minnesota with two full 18-hole courses – this month officially opened its second layout, the North Course. The new course was designed by former PGA Tour player and architect John Fought, who also designed the club's South Course in partnership with Tom Lehman. The North Course in Independence, Minnesota – about a 30-minute drive west of Minneapolis – was built with an emphasis on fun shots and with views of nearby Fox Lake and surrounding horse pastures. While the club's South Course stretches to more than 7,500 yards, the North tops out just shy of 6,500 yards with a par of 70. The new course sits on a tidy 125 acres versus the South's 220. The South is ranked by Golfweek's Best as the No. 6 private course in Minnesota, and it ties for No. 149 among all modern courses in the United States. The new North features fresh takes on several classic template holes such as an Eden green, a Biarritz, a Dell, a Redan and a Cape. Most of the bunkers are rectangular with grass faces, and fairways are wide as they play past wispy fescue. With greens placed close to the following tees, it's a very walkable course. 'You wouldn't know the same person designed both of these courses,' Fought said in a media release announcing the North's opening. 'The North looks like a golf course that came from the early 1900s. It's on a very small piece of land, and I wanted to prove to people that length isn't the only way to add drama to a golf course. 'This course is going to force you to think. You can't just get up and hammer it. You'll have to think, 'Do I want to hit driver here?' Some of the greens are tiny, and others are huge. The Biarritz green at No. 4 is 17,000 square feet, where a normal green is 6,000. And I think golfers will use every club on the par 3s. We configured it to create the most diversity you can get on a golf course.'
Forbes
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Windsong Farm Makes Minnesota Golf History With New Course Opening
Windsong Farm has opened its second 18-hole course from John Fought, becoming the first private club ... More in Minnesota with two championship courses. Windsong Farm becomes the first private golf club in Minnesota to offer two 18-hole courses with the official opening of its North Course, a modern expansion that harkens to the game's Golden Age of architecture more than a century ago. The North Course debut is the culmination of a vision that began years earlier when club owner David Meyer challenged golf architect John Fought to create a second course that would be as good and as fun as the existing South Course, but markedly different. Members of the club, located on a former horse farm about 25 miles west of Minneapolis, now have two very distinct golf experiences that Fought says most golfers would be surprised to learn were designed by the same architect. Windsong Farm's South Course – opened in 2003 -- is draped across 220 acres, stretches to 7,500 yards, and features large greens with subtle undulations and collection areas inspired by the work of Hall of Famer Donald Ross, who from 1912 to 1948 was widely considered the best-known and most active architect in America. The new North Course, meanwhile, is a more intimate layout, a 6,500-yard par 70 routing on 125 acres, that pays homage to several Golden Age architects, most notably Seth Raynor. As such, the course features strategic challenges, broad fairways framed by wispy fescue grass, and Fought's take on a number of classic template holes, including an Eden green (2), Biarritz green (4), a Dell hole (8), a Redan green (17) and a Cape hole to close the round at the 18th hole. The 13th and 16th holes share a boomerang-shaped double green and most of the bunkers are rectangular in shape with grass faces. The shared green at the 13th and 16th holes of Windsong's new North Course. 'The North looks like a golf course that came from the early 1900's,' says Fought. 'It's on a very small piece of land and I wanted to prove to people that length isn't the only way to add drama to a golf course.' Fought notes the North is the most diverse course he's ever built, with six par 3 holes, four par 5s, and no repetition of holes by par until Hole 14, which is the first of three straight par 4s. The layout boasts views of Fox Lake and surrounding horse pastures, and is eminently walkable, with a Golden Age design nod that allows golfers to step off one green and virtually onto the next tee. The North Course at Windsong Farm has a much different footprint than its predecessor, intimately ... More fitting within a 125-acre site. Fought says he wanted to build a course that would force golfers to think. The massive Biarritz-style green with its signature trench in the middle does just that early in the round, as the green at the fourth hole spans nearly 17,000 feet – almost three times the size of a typical green – and challenges golfers to navigate its dramatic contours. The intent, Fought says, was for golfers to use a wide variety of clubs on the par 3s and think hard about strategy on the other tee boxes. 'You can't just get up and hammer it. You'll have to think, 'Do I want to hit driver here?'' said Fought. 'Some of the greens are tiny, and others are huge. 'We configured it to create the most diversity you can get on a golf course.' Approximately 90% of Minnesota's golf courses are public, one of the highest proportions in the ... More nation. Windsong Farm stands out as particularly unusual, with two 18-hole private courses.
USA Today
05-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Popular California municipal course to start renovation March 5
Popular California municipal course to start renovation March 5 Indian Wells Golf Resort in California's Coachella Valley will begin a renovation of its Players Course starting March 5. The project will be led by architect John Fought, who originally designed the layout that opened in 2007 and is owned by the city of Indian Wells. Fought plans to reroute several holes, most notably Nos. 9, 17 and 18. The total par will be reduced from 72 to 71 with two new finishing holes. The current Nos. 17 and 18 currently play on the opposite side of Whitewater Wash, which runs through the property, and they will be moved to the same side of the waterway as the bulk of the golf course. Plans also include a 'refresh' of the bunkers, tee boxes and greens throughout the course. The project is expected to be completed this fall. 'We are looking forward to enhancing one of the great municipal golf courses in the U.S.,' Fought said in a media release announcing the start of the renovation. 'The Players Course will become a true championship layout that will test the best players in the game as well as provide a wonderful experience for golfers of all skill levels.' The Players Course was the site of the 2024 Epson Tour Championship, won by Heather Lin. This year's Epson Tour Championship will be Oct. 2-5 on Indian Wells' Celebrity Course.
