NEARLY 100 Holes of Golf Available in Edina
By Jill MacPhail

Golf is one of Edina’s favorite pastimes, and the City is home to a municipal golf course, two private country clubs and a putting course at Centennial Lakes Park.

BRAEMAR GOLF COURSES
Braemar Golf Course, Edina’s public course located at 6364 John Harris Drive, is comprised of a 27-hole regulation course and two 9-hole courses. Additionally, Braemar offers an outdoor driving range, putting and chipping practice greens and an indoor golf dome.

Braemar Park is 500 acres of beautiful rolling hills and scenic lakes surrounded by untouched oak ridges, promoting a sense of seclusion in an urban setting. Braemar has received national attention for hosting the 1969 Minnesota Classic, one of only four PGA events hosted on a public golf course that year. In 1979, Braemar hosted the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship. The local course has also hosted the Minnesota Senior Open, the Minnesota Public Links Championship and the Minnesota Women’s Amateur Public Links. Braemar is also home to more than 30 women’s and men’s leagues that play there regularly.

In 2002, Golf Digest magazine selected Braemar as one of 75 Best Public Golf Courses in the United States.
The Braemar Golf Dome practice facility is open from November through mid-April. With 46 tee areas on two levels, the dome is the largest and longest hitting in the Twin Cities area.

EDINA COUNTRY CLUB
The Edina Country Club (ECC) private golf course opened in 1923, and was originally a nine-hole course known as Thorpe Country Club. One year later, renowned architect Tom Bendelow designed the 18-hole course that exists today in the heart of the historic Country Club Neighborhood, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The course’s gently rolling terrain and wide variety of trees ensures that each round is a challenge to any golfer. The course, known as one of Minnesota’s finest, has hosted a number of state and national championships over the years, including the Men’s and Women’s Trans-Miss, the 2000 MWGA Women’s Amateur Championship and the 2001 MGA Mid-Amateur and PGA-MGA Cup Matches.

ECC’s 6,768-yard, par-73 course offers many amenities including a two-ended driving range, chipping and pitching practice green and two putting practice greens. Lessons from ECC instructors are also available. Edina Country Club is located at 5100 Wooddale Ave. S.

INTERLACHEN COUNTRY CLUB
Interlachen Country Club is a private club at 6200 Interlachen Blvd., and was established in 1909. Rich in history, Interlachen was host to the 1930 U.S. Open Championship, the 1993 Walker Cup Matches and the 2002 Solheim Cup Matches, among others. Interlachen will host the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open.

Interlachen offers the beauty and solitude of a tree-lined, 18-hole championship golf course set in an urban environment. The current par-73 course was designed by Donald Ross in 1920, and includes 14 bodies of water and 93 bunkers. More than 2,500 trees line the 6,800-yard course spread over 280 acres of club property.

Interlachen also offers an outdoor driving range and lessons from Ladies Professional Golf Association and Professional Golf Association golf professionals.

CENTENNIAL LAKES PARK PUTTING COURSE
Centennial Lakes Park’s 18 manicured bent grass greens range in length from 57 to 125 feet, and are surrounded by sand traps, ponds, boulders and planter beds. Players can only use a putter to negotiate these heavily undulated greens. The course takes approximately an hour and 45 minutes to play.

The Park also features championship-caliber croquet and lawn bowling courts for rent by the hour. Rental price includes all equipment to play either game.

The putting course and lawn games area, located at 7499 France Ave. S., are open from early May through the end of September. Please call 952-832-6792 for seasonal hours.

BEAT THE HEAT AT the Edina Aquatic Center
By Jennifer Bennerotte

Splash into summer at the recently renovated Edina Aquatic Center.

Swoosh down a twisting body slide or inner-tube flume, glide over the water on an exciting cable ride, splash and play in a zero-depth children’s area or climb in a tree house-themed dry play area. The Edina Aquatic Center, located in Rosland Park on West 66th Street, offers summer fun to water lovers of all ages.

A waterslide tower featuring a 207-foot body slide and 300-foot inner tube slide (with single and double tubes) is easily seen from Minnesota Highway 62. Both slides are fully enclosed at the top and open one-third the way down, emptying into a plunge pool separate from the Aquatic Center’s main body of water.

A themed cable ride is another prominent feature of the Aquatic Center. Daring young swimmers can fly across the water on the cable ride. Riders climb aboard a 10-foot platform (built by Themescapes to look like a ship’s bow), and grasp a bar to glide over the pool. The ride ends with a splash into the water.

When it’s time for a break, swimmers can relax in lounge chairs, take shelter under large shade umbrellas or exercise their imaginations at a themed dry playground. The focal point of the dry play area is a large tree with a climb-through center and lookout tower. The tree features two platforms with slides, as well as a bridge to a second tree. Monkey bars - with a hippopotamus and alligator waiting below – are attached to a third tree. The play area also features a crawl-through log, toddler slide and spider web.

The always-popular children’s pool features spiral and tunnel slides, a tire swing, sprays, fountains and other water-in-motion amenities. For easy entry, water depth begins at zero and increases to 18 inches. A full-service concessions area, located near the children’s pool, offers light meals and snacks.

The Aquatic Center is tentatively scheduled to open for the 2004 season June 12.

EDINBOROUGH PARK IS Home to the Midwest’s Largest Indoor Playground

With more than 6,000 trees, plants and flowers, Edina’s Edinborough Park is Minnesota’s most unique indoor park environment. Opened in 1987, the innovative public park at 7700 York Ave. S. has delighted multitudes of area residents with its mix of aesthetics, entertainment and recreation.

At the heart of the park is the lush plantscape, carefully designed to resemble a Northwoods forest instead of the tropical look of most interior landscaping. The park features more than 100 trees, some reaching heights of 40 feet or more, scattered throughout the interior. Stone pathways traverse the park and lead to a grotto area complete with a pond and small waterfalls.

Music, dance, theater and visual art performances take place in a 250-seat Greek-style amphitheater. The Sunday night concert series and noon children’s programs are longtime favorites of park patrons. Because of its romantic setting, the park and amphitheater also host more than 70 wedding ceremonies and receptions per year. The park and amphitheater are available for rental on Friday evenings.

The recreational aspect of the park has drawn people of all ages to the park for many years. The park has a small track and exercise area, plus a junior Olympic-sized swimming pool to provide both fun and fitness. A multi-purpose area is used for Edina Athletic Association basketball and volleyball leagues. At other times, this same area is filled with children playing with the balls, scooters, games and jumpers set out especially for them.

On the far end of the park lies Adventure Peak, the Midwest’s largest indoor playground. Towering more than 36 feet tall, the “Peak” is a 44-by-44-foot seven level Northwoods adventure. Climb into the 30-foot tall oak tree, slide down one of the four giant tube slides or wash down the triple wave slide. Glide across the canyon on the trolley glide or swing across the swamp. If you dare, venture to the top of Adventure Peak for an eagle’s eye view of the park.

There are also many great areas for the toddlers to explore. The tot area includes tubes, play panels and an air bounce for the little ones, and a separate play area has swings and slides geared just for tots. All of these activities add up to hours of energetic fun for kids and parents alike.

Edinborough Park is closely related to Centennial Lakes Park. Both are multi-use developments with public and private components. A four-story office tower, Edina Park Plaza (for senior living) and Marriott Residence Inn (Edina’s only hotel) are all attached to Edinborough Park.

At the Residence Inn Edina, the extended-stay experience has been perfected by combining all the comforts of home, making every guest feel welcome. The hotel’s 133 suites offer separate living and sleeping areas, plenty of space for relaxing, entertaining or conducting business – with high-speed Internet available in most suites. A fully equipped kitchen, refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker are all included to make a guest’s stay feel like home.

For more information on Edinborough Park, visit www.EdinboroughPark.com or call 952-832-6790.

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