Course of the Week: Cragun’s Resort undergoing Minnesota’s largest golf construction project

Duininck Golf is finishing renovating Cragun’s Resort, the largest golf construction project in Minnesota to date. The 45-hole project has renovated 27 holes while completing nine new ones so far.

Photo: Duininck Golf

“We wanted to dramatically improve playability along with building something completely new,” Jack Wawro, director of golf at Cragun’s Resort, said.

Some of that expansion came from clearing trees to widen fairways, but a lot of it was just a matter of yardages off tees and changing the landing areas on holes.

“There were so many teeing areas that made for better green complexes,” Eric Peterson, general manager of Cragun’s Resort, said.  “And vice versa. The playing corridors feel so much more expansive now on most of the renovated holes. It’s the same beautiful land, just used so very differently.”

Photo: Duininck Golf

Tom Lehman designed the newly renovated course. “Tom likes to focus on keeping his key features off parallel lines. He’ll go to the turning point on a hole and make sure all visual lines are broken up both ways, so the overall appearance is more natural,” Jacob Cooper, project superintendent for Duininck Golf, said.

The historic project is currently 80% completed, with the new Lehman 18 opening September 1.

Cragun’s Resort will be also hosting the CRMC Championship Golf Tournament in September of 2022—the first ever event on their tour held outside of Canada.