Island Lake Golf Course — Attraction in Shoreview

I've played here a number of times over the years, but went back over the weekend to play again. In my opinion, this course is about as average as it gets. I'm giving a rating of three stars because:

The course is short. I know this is a Par 3 course, and by definition all the holes are going to be short. With the exception of the 9th hole, the average distance is somewhere around 120-130 yards. Which is fine! But a couple of holes had a total distance of 80-90 yards. This is very short, and for my taste and ability level not as enjoyable.

The other golfers here are problematic. Sorry, I know it's not really fair to ding a course rating based on the players, but this needs to be mentioned. And honestly, this has no impact on my overall review - I just want to mention it for other golfers who might be looking for honest feedback. If you go here at a reasonably busy time, expect to wait. We (a twosome) kept pace with play in front of us - all of whom were in carts. Yes, people drive carts on this course. No, I don't understand it either. It got so bad when we played that we had to ask the guy in front of us to stop playing 3-4 balls every hole. There is NO respect or etiquette here. Just be warned.

The driving range is fair, and fairly priced. A small bucket of 25 balls was $5.50, which I found to be in line with other prices at other places. The grass was pretty beat up, but by this point in the season it's not unusual.

Other than that, the course was OK. Greens were fairly well maintained. Compared to other Par 3 courses in the metro area, this was about average in...

We went here for Loon’s Nest Mini Golf. This is a very nice miniature golf course that’s built to last with little or no maintenance. The holes are long, fun to play, challenging, and all par 3’s. This is a skills course without all the gimmicks and stupid brick walls. This course has the best cement side walls in the game for your putting needs. I really want to give this course 5 Stars, but I can’t. The missing star comes from… feeling like you’re playing mini golf in a very hot rock quarry, there’s no shade, no water features, and no discount on a second round. It’s an industry standard to give players that play it again a half price discount, they don’t do that here. It’s fun, I’d play it again, but only for the one...

I took my two boys, ages 2 and 3, to ride in the golf cart and have some fun learning to putt at the holes. The staff member, Ryan, was very accommodating. He shared that this golf course is for all levels of experience to encourage learning. My kids had a lot of fun seeing other more experienced players golf and trying it out for themselves.

Suggestion for management: I think a lot of parents might be interested in a more informal way to introduce their young children to golf than lessons or a league. Maybe you could think about making a weekly or monthly morning group for parents and toddlers to come check out the course.

Thanks for being open to all ages and abilities and for...