Superior National at Lutsen-Golf Course — Attraction in Lutsen Township

While playing, we had a very deplorable run-in with their course maintenance staff.

At around 12 noon, A mower was still out trimming the fairway/rough on the hole we were playing, and he was only 50-100 yards from the tee box. At first, he was hanging back while I attempted to get a drive in play (my first tee shot sailed out-of-bounds, almost landing in Canada). After watching my second shot land, he continued mowing the fairway with his back towards us. My playing partner still needed to hit so we tried to get his attention, but with headphones and the loud mower we couldn’t flag him down. We thought it would be best to just hit around him and continue playing. To play the safe shot, my partner opted for the hybrid over the driver to just lay up around him. We waited until he stating mowing facing towards us so he could see we were going to tee off, but he was only 50 yards from the tee box at this point. Unfortunately, an arrant drive from my partner zipped past his vicinity, but thankfully missed him and his mower. This immediately set him off in a tirade of expletives and slurs that was beyond inappropriate. He flipped us the bird and held it in the air as he drove the mower full speed towards us. He was shouting and screaming at us as we waved to apologize. His words and actions were completely disgusting and inappropriate. He stopped his mower in the way of us and continued being rude, hostile, and offensive. He wouldn’t take his headphones off to allow us to apologize and explain the situation so we just got back in the cart to move on.

When I called the pro shop to report the incident, they apologized for the inconvenience and said they would take care of it. Eventually, we were met by a club staff member out on the course to talk about what happened. He said “[we were] hitting a lot of balls” and tried to justify why the mower acted so aggressive towards us. I was completely shocked to hear the pro shop standing up for the way the maintenance staff had treated us. This confirms that the staff here will be quick to make you feel like you aren’t welcomed. They all constantly hold a negative demeanor and display how everyone is an inconvenience to them.

This was a horrible experience in what would have been a great golf trip. I will NOT be returning to this course and would advise future golfers to limit their interactions with course staff as much...

Upon entrance into the pro shop, we were greeted by a man of older age. After inquiring about the 9 hole mountain course, he informed us that it was “Very desirable and difficult for an average golfer”. This prompted our excitement but left us with a false sense of hope. To begin, our cart was drenched to say the least, however, we didn’t give much thought to it as a storm had occurred that morning. When we arrived at the first tee box, we felt a mild sprinkle but played on. Little did we know, this would turn into a frequent occurrence. By the time we were putting, the rain had progressed into a Vietnam war-esc setting with the intense rain droplets simulating bullets and other violent things of that nature. The second tee box was below average, however, I still managed to enter slottsville with a piss-missile drive that positioned itself in the middle of the fairway. When going for my second shot, I was greeted with scattered boulders that obstructed my approach and left me questioning it’s USGA approval. It was apparent by hole 3 that the course layout was similar among every hole with straight (and extremely lumpy) fairways, marsh-like settings in the center, and greens that left me questioning my existence. We decided to leave after 4 holes as the weather and course conditions were heinous for lack of a better term. We then went into the pro shop to return our cart key and spoke with the same elderly man. He gave us a scornful message stating that he wished should have continued as the rain was passing at which point I respond by telling him the course (and myself) was soaked. After asking for a rain check, he stated that they don’t give them out, demonstrating to us that he wasn’t not aware that we are stick golfers, often playing at a liquid...

The course is excellent, but the hospitality leaves much to be desired. Last Saturday we had a party of 8 play an 18-hole round between the River and Canyon courses. The individual who appeared to be the manager on duty was surprised when I asked if we could have some range balls after paying the green fee which came to $110 with tax. When he told me the charge, I declined. On hole 7, one of our carts stopped functioning. The same individual delivered us a new cart. First, he was displeased that we didn't troubleshoot the cart enough. Due to the inconvenience, we asked if they'd comp a round of beers for us to make up for it. He said no and then told us that we should be thanking him for bringing us a cart. Our group spent well over $1000 and it is safe to say that we won't be back. Had this individual done basic hospitable tasks that are commonplace at other nice courses, it is certain that our experience would have been far better. I recommend that Superior National's staff undergo the hospitality training that is becoming standard in the golf industry. If they want to recoup the $4M that they put into the course in the past few years, the least they can do is treat their...