The Wilds Golf Club

Overview: The Wilds Golf Club in Prior Lake is a public Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish design built through a large natural setting of pines, hardwoods, wetlands and wildlife habitat. The routing uses substantial elevation changes and wide fairway corridors to create a course that can look generous from the tee while still demanding disciplined decisions near the greens. Water appears as a recurring strategic element, and the changing elevation gives the holes a stronger sense of movement than the suburban location might suggest. The result is a modern Minnesota course with a distinctly northwoods visual character.

History: The Wilds opened in 1995 after Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish shaped the course on the Prior Lake property. Their partnership was known for using natural landforms and creating holes with clear individual identities, and The Wilds follows that approach through woodland, wetland and open-ground sections. The facility developed into a public golf destination with a clubhouse and event operation, while the original Weiskopf–Morrish design remained the principal draw. Its long-running Minnesota reputation rests on the combination of playable width, demanding greens and pronounced terrain.

Did You Know? The course has roughly 150 feet of elevation change, and water comes into play on nearly half of the holes according to the club's own presentation. Those two figures explain why the round has a more dramatic profile than many courses in the Twin Cities region.