Meadowbrook golf course

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Master Plans

PROJECT PROFILE

Meadowbrook Golf Course is a public golf course owned by the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board. The course was originally constructed in 1924 but over time, had become overgrown with large spruce trees that line the fairways. In addition, the course has lost much of its original classic character and has become difficult and expensive to maintain. In 2011, Herfort Norby was retained to prepare a long-range master plan for future improvements. The master plan emphasized the need to remove trees, improve irrigation and to restore the character which makes it unique in the local golf market.

Over the following two years, the Club removed nearly 200 mature trees to improve turf quality and to restore the original playing corridors. In addition, we reduced on-going maintenance and total bunker square footage by nearly 40 percent by reconstructing the existing bunkers into a smaller flat sand style which was more consistent with the original character of the course. The bunker renovation project included new greenside irrigation and reshaping the entire green surrounds to reinstate a more “classic” look on five holes that had been reconstructed in the 1990s in a more modern style. This is a beautiful example of “golden-age architecture with elevated green pads and deep ribbon-style bunkering.