Want to take a swing at a truly classic game of golf – the ideal game as Scottish and British linksmen envisioned it hundreds of years ago? Then tee up at The Meadows – the course that puts a touch of the “moor” in Moorhead.
“The Meadows is a classic links course. It’s not like any other in the region,” says Corey Herlickson, who’s in his 12th year as its golf professional there. Most courses defend themselves against charges of “too easy” with forests, hills and other shady niceties, he explains. The Meadows, on the other hand, is notable for its intentionally treeless, mounded vistas, where the challenge lies not just in the landscape but in Nature itself.
The wind makes all the difference. “It’s always windy,” he says – an understatement. “From day to day, the course plays entirely differently.” In that respect, it harks back to the game’s beginnings in the British Isles 500 years ago, when the original links were relegated to land on the margins between fields and the sea.
While the younger of Moorhead’s two municipal golf courses lacks the ocean view, Corey notes that it’s rich in all the other classic essentials: mounding, tall prairie grasses, wildflowers, bunkers, a hidden creek and those headstrong prevailing winds that define its character. Designed by Joel Goldstrand, Minnesota’s premier golf-course architect, the acreage in east Moorhead is as rich in variety as it’s short of shade, with every hole distinctly.
“On a windy day, there’s not a more challenging course anywhere. And,” he adds, “bring plenty of sunscreen.”
Another feature sets it apart as well. Instead of the two nine-hole segments common to most 18-hole layouts, it’s fashioned in three six-hole loops. As the traditional four-hour game becomes harder to fit into working adults’ time-pressed schedules, the design offers a third, quicker option. “And we can see most of it from the clubhouse, so we have more flexibility with walk-ins, who can start at various points around the course,” he adds.
A native of Grand Forks, Corey started playing golf along with his father at the age of 8. They played together throughout his teenage years at another Goldstrand course, River’s Edge in Manvel, N.D. He salutes the game for the lifelong bond it has created between them. “The teenage years can get pretty tough, but Dad and I always had golf to maintain our connection,” he muses.
He never played competitive golf in high school – “I wasn’t good enough to make the team” – or college, where instead hewas absorbed in leadership of the University of North Dakota’s Sigma Chi fraternity. Nor did it occur to him to pursue it as a career. Far from it! As a history and secondary education major with minors in middle school education and meteorology, he first planned to teach. But, after moving to Las Vegas in 2000, life pulled him in a different direction. He went into sales of office equipment.
Then came 9/11. “The economy in Las Vegas absolutely tanked. No one wanted to fly after that, and tourism is the lifeblood of the city,” he observes.
A lifelong friend who then worked at The Meadows, David Newman, suggested that, since Corey was pretty good at golf, he look for a spot with one of the Vegas area’s many golf courses. He was persuasive. Next thing Corey knew, he was cold-calling every course in the area, asking to speak to “whoever hires your golf pros.” A course manager for the extensive Del Webb Senior Living Communities saw something in the young North Dakotan; he soon was checking in golfers, learning to teach lessons, repairing clubs and supporting the outside staff at the Highland Falls Golf Course in Henderson and two others, Palm Valley and Eagle Crest. Eventually he become the assistant pro at another course, Legacy.
That’s where friend David’s next hint reached him. He tipped Corey off when the Meadows position opened up. “I wanted to get back up north, where all my family lives. I missed the winters,” he confesses.
A non-golfer might imagine golf professionals spending their days roaming the links, helping duffers improve their swing and keeping up their own mastery of the sport. The non-golfer would be very wrong: “The head golf pro needs a passion for working with customers, organizing, merchandising the pro shop and organizing stuff,” he says. “Being pretty good at golf helps, but it’s secondary.” He does occasionally teach lessons. He also fits golf clubs – a high-tech endeavor using his launch monitor, which calculates the speed and carry distance of the golfer’s swing. As for his own time on the course, it’s hit or miss. He estimates he played no more than 24 times last summer, about once a week during the season.
Instead, he heads a staff of nine inside workers, with a course superintendent guiding the dozen outdoor employees. Corey and his wife Stacey also have the contract to run the two food operations at Moorhead courses, Lockwood’s at The Meadows and Scobey’s at Village Green (named after two founders of Sigma Chi). That entails another 24 employees who serve quick-order lunches to fast-moving golfers, along with guests at the banquet facility in The Meadows’ lower level.
While many golf courses around the country are facing declining membership and course usage, Corey says Moorhead’s courses are stable. He estimates that revenue generated by about 240 season pass holders is roughly matched by walk-up golfers who pay greens fees. The course hosts about 80 tournaments this summer.
Moorhead High’s and Horizon Middle School’s golf teams play The Meadows, along with fellow students in phy ed units. “We want to encourage youth to come here to practice and play,” he notes. “Our goal is pretty simple. We want them to fall in love with the game and play it for the rest of their lives.”
That’s the spirit of Li’l Linkers, The Meadows’ unique learning program for 4- to 6-year-olds. “It’s the most popular youth program we’ve got,” he says. Four groups of 20 youngsters take over at 8, 9, 10 and 11 a.m. every Tuesday, each with four instructors on hand. “The kids love it. So do their folks. Golf is something that keeps them connected.”
The Herlicksons’ children, 7-year-old Isaac and 5-year-old Abigail, both are already Li’l Linkers alums. “My entire family dynamic is based around this place,” their dad observes. “It’s where I met my wife, and now we work here together. Not only that – I’ve developed great relationships with the people on my team.
“Everyone needs to figure out his own ‘why,’” he continues. “I boiled mine down to this: I love people who golf. They’re doing something they truly want to be doing. My team and I are giving them a few hours of genuine escape from the day-to-day grind. They really want to be here.
“When I wake up in the morning, I never think to myself, ‘I’ve got to go to work.’ I’m happy because I get to go. This is a dream job. I can’t narrow it down to any other career I could enjoy as much as I do this one.”
To book tee times, call 218-299-PUTT or go to themeadows.ezlinks.com. The new downloadable smartphone app accommodates reservations, along with an interactive scorecard and GPS, tournament schedule, restaurant menus and – coming soon – a drone’s eye view of the course. To download the free app, search “The Meadows GC” for Android and iPhone.
