The Brainerd Golf Trail consists of eight proprieties and 18 golf courses all within a 45-minute drive of one another.

By JEREMY MILLSOP
Sports Writer

The year 2000 marked the 50th anniversary of a golf publication and a new identity for the Brainerd lakes area.

In its September 2000 issue, Golf Digest ranked the top 50 golf destinations in the world. Among the list that included historic golf locales like Monterey, Calif., St. Andrews, Scotland, and Pinehurst, N.C., was the Brainerd lakes area.

Golf Digest said this about the lakes area, which is ranked 41st:

"This up-and-coming destination features Breezy Point Resort, the Classic at Madden's Resort, Cuyuna, Grand View Lodge Resort, the Legacy Courses at Cragun's, The Preserve and Whitefish."

Three years later, eight properties consisting of 18 golf courses have combined their resources and developed the Brainerd Golf Trail.

It's a promotional tool that utilizes the close proximity and variety of all courses, lodging facilities and other accommodations available.

Included in the venture are Breezy Point Resort, Cragun's Resort, Golden Eagle Golf Club, Grand View Lodge, Madden's Resort, Pine Meadows Golf Course, Ruttger's Bay Lake Lodge and Whitefish Golf Club, along with the Brainerd/Baxter Lodging Association.

"Our goal in doing this was to have a better identity for what golf amenities we have to offer in the Brainerd lakes area," said Bruce McIntosh, owner of Golden Eagle Golf Club. "We needed a better way of telling people what we are. It's more of an identity to convey what we have to offer here."

The group's other goal is improving the area's position in the top 50 ranking.

The idea is not unique as the Brainerd Golf Trail emulates other trails like the Bear Trace, a trail made up of five Jack Nicklaus designed courses in Tennessee, and the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama.

Proximity is the biggest difference between the Brainerd Golf Trail and the others. The longest distance between any two lakes area courses is 45 minutes.

"The key factor that separates us from other trails, such as the Robert Trent Jones Trail, is that golf locations are much closer so you can stay at one location and play a number of the properties," said Bill Crumley, marketing and communications director at Madden's. "The other thing would be the price. Compared to the other destinations in the Golf Digest top 50, the Brainerd Golf Trail is very affordable."

Despite the Golf Digest recognition, continued awards won by the Classic at Madden's, The Pines at Grand View and the name recognition of Arnold Palmer's Deacon's Lodge and Robert Trent Jones Jr.'s Legacy Courses at Cragun's, the Brainerd area is still a relative unknown when it comes to golf.

"As a seasonal destination we face the challenge of getting information about the Brainerd Golf Trail out to the consumer on a regular basis," Crumley said. "That's what makes the Brainerd Golf Trail logistically successful because it allows us to pool our resources so that we can have more of an impact in our advertising efforts. This effort will have a big impact on the Brainerd area.

"Being ranked in the top 50 in the world, that is definitely something worth bragging about."

By pooling its resources the group generated for 2003 a combined advertising budget of $125,000 in cash and trade. This investment not only brings people to the area to golf, but small shops, gas stations and other lakes area amenities also benefit from the increased business.

For more information on the Brainerd Golf Trail, and information on each participating course, a Web site was designed at www.brainerdgolftrail.com. Included on the site is a map of the trail, contests and news concerning the trail.

"We'll come up with some new ideas to help promote the trail," said McIntosh. "Mostly this is a cooperative effort for marketing. This is giving our area a more concise identity."