The Bridges Golf Club

Overview: The Bridges Golf Club in Winona is a public course in Pleasant Valley, framed by Mississippi River bluff country and Pleasant Creek. The layout combines historic holes with later additions, so the course's identity is partly an architectural record of how a small local club grew into a full championship facility. Tree lines, creek crossings, elevation changes and valley views give the routing a strong sense of place. Its parkland character is shaped less by decorative features than by the way the land and water separate the holes.

History: The course opened in 1920 as a nine-hole Winona Country Club layout designed and built by the first professional, Ben Knight. In the 1960s, members explored an expansion with Robert Trent Jones, who flew over the property and sketched a rough plan while designing nearby Hazeltine National. The course became 18 holes through later land acquisition and construction; Joel Goldstrand designed the current 18th hole as part of the 1994 expansion. Seven of the original holes remain in the present routing, preserving a direct link to the 1920 course.

Did You Know? The name The Bridges reflects more than branding: Pleasant Creek comes into play on nine of the eighteen holes. The creek is a recurring architectural feature that helps define the course's rhythm through the valley.