Skitty Golf

Courses · Minnesota

North Branch Golf Course

North Branch, Minnesota · 9 holes · par 35 · Public. Opened 1929.

A caddie's yardage book for every hole: plays-like distance from USGS lidar elevation, reach and carry numbers for every bunker and water hazard, green front, middle and back, which way each green falls, and the lay-up zone on par 5s. Distances are from the back tees along the mapped hole; for a shorter tee, take off the scorecard difference.

Course profile

Altitude890 ftCarries about 1% farther
Bunkers15
Holes with water0 of 9
Average fairway width27 yds
Typical green3,400 sq ft
Sloped greens6 of 9Tilt 2% or more
  • At about 890 ft the ball carries about 1% farther than at sea level, so a 150-yard shot plays like about 148. Golfers visiting from low elevation should expect to club down.
  • Biggest climb: hole 9, where the green sits 12 ft above the tee and plays about 4 yards longer.
  • Biggest drop: hole 1, where the green sits 13 ft below the tee and plays about 4 yards shorter.
  • Driving-zone hazards sit on the right on 3 holes and on the left on 1: a tee shot missed right costs more here.
  • 6 greens tilt 2% or more. Each hole below says which side of the hole leaves an uphill putt.

Maps: tee at the bottom, green at the top. The dashed line is the mapped hole; the gold band is the lay-up zone; the arrow on the green points downhill.

Scorecard

HoleParHcpBlueWhiteRed
153477467454
235186164145
341339305300
444334326321
546313305295
632193177155
747365353285
848301275257
949440432383

Tees

TeeYardsRatingSlope
BlueMale2948129
WhiteMale2804126
RedFemale2595124

Hole 1 · Par 5

Lay-up zone

477 (Blue) · 467 (White) · 454 (Red) yards · Handicap 3

Plays like
473-13 ft
Green · Blue tee
466 · 477 · 488front · middle · back
Green size
23 × 22yards deep × wide
Fairway
30 ydswide at 231

In play

  • Bunker right of the green
  • Bunker back of the green

Playing notes

  • Plays about 4 yards shorter: the green sits 13 ft below the tee.
  • No hazards mapped in the driving zone (180 to 300 yards).
  • The fairway is about 30 yards wide at 231.
  • Best lay-up: 70 to 170 yards from the green, where the fairway is about 25 yards wide with no bunkers or water within 16 yards.
  • The green is guarded on the right by bunkers; miss left.

Hole 2 · Par 3

Green falls this way

186 (Blue) · 164 (White) · 145 (Red) yards · Handicap 5

Plays like
187+4 ft
Green · Blue tee
175 · 186 · 196front · middle · back
Green size
22 × 23yards deep × wide
Green slope
2.5%falls to the front

In play

  • Bunker front-right of the green
  • Bunker left of the green

Playing notes

  • Hazards guard both sides of the green; aim for the middle.
  • The green falls from back to front, about 2.5%. Finish on the front side of the hole for an uphill putt.

Hole 3 · Par 4

Green falls this way

339 (Blue) · 305 (White) · 300 (Red) yards · Handicap 1

Plays like
341+6 ft
Green · Blue tee
327 · 339 · 350front · middle · back
Green size
24 × 20yards deep × wide
Fairway
26 ydswide at 214
Green slope
3.5%falls to the front-right

In play

  • Bunker right: 216 to reach, 237 to carry
  • Bunker across the hole in front of the green: 324 to carry
  • Bunker front-right of the green
  • Bunker back-right of the green

Playing notes

  • Plays about 2 yards longer: the green sits 6 ft above the tee.
  • Dogleg right at about 167 yards.
  • Fairway bunkers on the right: 216 to reach, 237 to carry. Drives that finish short of 216 stay clear; otherwise the left side is the safer line off the tee.
  • The fairway is about 26 yards wide at 214.
  • The green is guarded on the right by bunkers; miss left.
  • Bunkers short of the green; take enough club to carry it.
  • The green falls from back-left to front-right, about 3.5%. Finish on the front-right side of the hole for an uphill putt.

Holes 4 to 9

4 · Par 45 · Par 46 · Par 37 · Par 48 · Par 49 · Par 4

The rest of this guide has the same caddie detail for every hole:

  • 6 plays-like yardages
  • 7 hazards with reach and carry
  • 5 green slope reads

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Hole maps, hazards and playing notes come from mapped course data and USGS 3DEP elevation (public domain), not a visit. Plays-like numbers use the Skitty caddie's rule of one yard per 3 ft of rise, from the longest tee; altitude uses 1.16% of carry per 1,000 ft. Tees, hazards and conditions change; check with the course before you play. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0) via OpenGolfAPI. Scorecard yardages and ratings as published. See a mistake? Email [email protected].

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