National Sports Center Blog

Irondale H.S. girls' golf

By Greg Hutton, NSC Media Intern

Since its opening in 2004, Victory Links has undoubtedly had a positive impact on many golfers in the area. Among the benefactors of the only public PGA Tour-designed course in Minnesota are several area high school golf programs. Victory Links serves as the home course for the boys' and girls' golf teams from Fridley and Spring Lake Park High Schools as well as the boys' team from Columbia Heights High School and the girls' team from Irondale High School.

For the Irondale girls' golf team, the course's impact comes in the form of an appearance in the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) State Tournament - the first in the program's history. The "Knights" of New Brighton, Minn., have reached the tournament by virtue of their Section 4AA championship on May 24. The Knights shot a 348 as a team, eight strokes ahead of second-place Mounds View.

Emily Kvidera and Jon Anderson of Spring Lake Park H.S. will also participate in the state tournament as individuals.

The MSHSL AA State Tournament will be played on Tuesday, June 5 and Wednesday, June 6 at Bunker Hills Golf Course in neighboring Coon Rapids. The competition will be stiff for the youthful Knights' team, as fellow contenders Red Wing (eighth appearance), Burnsville (eighth appearance) and Alexandria (14th appearance) are all frequent returners to the state tournament.

IHS girls' golf coach Jim Olson strongly believes that moving to Victory Links three years ago has had a substantial positive impact on his team. He cites the ability to group players by skill using the different tee stands and the "unlimited balls" policy as some of the course's greatest benefits. This allows the players to gradually move back as they progress while also providing for many repetitions. Irondale called a local Par 3 course home prior to their arrival at Victory Links.

"I believe it's a top-notch course," Olson said of Victory Links. "The greens, approach and aprons are well-cut, well-manicured and the staff is very helpful. It's a true challenge regardless of which tee you use. You really have to work to earn your score."

The Knights also make frequent use of the putting course, which Olson says is a huge asset in helping the players with their all-important short game.

The six-member Irondale squad consists of: eighth grader Laura Anderson; ninth graders Lindsey Brown, Allison Kraft and Michelle Kleckner; and 11th graders Vanessa Kleckner and Katie Bolling.

Bolling is the only Knights golfer with state tournament experience. This year marks her third trip to the tournament; the junior placed 19th and 17th in her previous two appearances.

Players will have a chance to advance in the state tournament as individuals even if the team's effort falls short. The best four scores from the squad are used to determine the team's success, but each member still has a chance to compete individually. Regardless of the outcome, the young Irondale team has shown promise to continue its success at Victory Links Golf Course in future years.

Follow Irondale's progress in the state tournament by clicking here.

High School players lead the way at Women's Public Links qualifier

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

On May 30, the National Sports Center's Victory Links golf course hosted the sectional qualifying tournament for the 2007 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship. The leader board was short, but packed with quality players.

The U.S. Public Links Championship is one of the most prestigious U.S. Golf Association championships. Michelle Wie is a former winner, in 2003. The field draws many of the best amateur players in the world. All ages play, but this year's Victory Links qualifier was dominated by high school players.

When the dust had cleared the winner was Minnehaha Academy senior Katie Detlefsen of Eagan, Minn., who shot an impressive 74 in windy conditions to beat fellow high schooler Lindsay Danielson, of Osceola, Wis., by three shots. Both players qualified for the U.S. Public Links Championships, which will be held at the Kearney Hills Golf Links in Lexington, Ky., June 18-23.

Above: Katie Detlefsen putts out on the 18th green at Victory Links, to win the sectional qualifier.

Detlefsen, who has been called "the best high school golfer in Minnesota State history," has won three straight state high school championships for Minnehaha Academy, and June 5-6 will be shooting for an unprecedented fourth straight title. In the last three state high school championships, her victory margin has been nine, 12, and 10 strokes, so her three stroke win at the NSC was a comparative nail-biter.

Above: the leader board.

Runner-up Danielson has an impressive high school record as well. She is the two-time Wisconsin state champion.

"It was a very challenging course," said Detlefsen, "especially with the wind up like it was today. You have to be careful about tee shot placement so you're coming into the green from the right way.

"I thought it was in excellent condition today; you can really tell they care about the course."

Above: Katie Detlefsen receives her winner's medal from Randy Glasmann of the U.S. Golf Association.

Hosting prestigious tournaments with quality players like this just proves how uniquely versatile Victory Links is. With six tee boxes on every hole, and playing as long as 7,100 yards, or as short as 2,800 yards, the course can be successfully played by children and teenagers, or by PGA pros.  The course hosted the Monday qualifying tournament for the 2006 3M Championship Champions PGA Tour event -- where the winning score was a 69.

Below: Victory Links pro Scott Roth receives a plaque from Randy Glasmann, in honor of being selected to host the Women's Public Links sectional qualifying tournament.

A POSTSCRIPT (June 8, 2007) -- Katie Detlefson won her fourth straight Minnesota State HS 1A Championship June 7, by a record-tying 12 strokes. She is the first and only Minnesota high school goler to win four championships. Read the story in the Star Tribune.

All ages and abilities at Victory Links

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer

It was a beautiful spring evening yesterday -- 75 degrees, sunny and no wind -- a perfect evening to join with a friend to play nine holes of after-work golf at the NSC's Victory Links golf course.

We weren't the only ones.

The course was buzzing with activity, as I'm sure many Twin Cities courses were yesterday. But I was struck by the diverse customer mix that has become business-as-usual for Victory Links, an age and gender diversity that is definitely not seen at many golf courses.

Six different high schools were on the course for either meets or practices. The Fridley boys' team faced off against Benilde-St. Margaret's in one meet. In another, Spring Lake Park and Chisago Lakes boys' and girls' were locked in battle. Also on the course were Irondale and Columbia Heights, holding practice sessions.

Sandwiched between the youth players were adults from the Medtronic women's league and the NSC's own Pinehurst men's league. And there were plenty of independent golfers on the course too, like us.

The design of the National Youth Golf Center facilitates this unique mixing of kids and adults. On the 18-hole Victory Links course, there are six tee boxes on every hole, allowing the course to play at 2,800 kid-friendly yards from the shortest tees up to a challenging 7,000 yards from the iron tees. The course is designed so families can play together, and at Victory Links you see it all the time.

Kids ages 18 and under pay their age for nine holes, and season passes for kids are priced at a maximum of $210, a steal for the regular youth player.

As we approached the tee at hole #9, there was a brief back-up, giving us a moment to look around at our fellow players. A foursome of teenage girls was up ahead, walking up to the green. Waiting on the tee were three adult players. We were later joined by a boys' foursome, I'm guessing about 12-14 years old, but big hitters apparently, because they headed back to the gold tee box. And in the parking lot, one last school bus waited to transport the last of the high school teams.

"Business as usual," said Victory Links pro Scott Roth when I called him this morning to find out the names of the high school teams we saw. "What you saw last night is what we're all about. We're a pretty diverse course."