Applewood Hills Public Golf Course

The rolling prairie terrain northwest of the Twin Cities creates natural amphitheaters for golf, and this daily-fee gem maximizes every elevation change with strategic bunkering that punishes wayward drives while rewarding precise iron play. The back nine climbs through mature hardwoods where October rounds become a spectacle of color, but it's the risk-reward par-5 finishing hole—with water guarding the left side of a two-tiered green—that separates hopeful from realistic scoring. At under $50 for weekend play, you'd be foolish to chase the flashier courses an hour south when this kind of honest, thoughtful design sits in your backyard.