
Phalen Park Course
Phalen Park Golf Course

About this course
Phalen Park Golf Course occupies land within Phalen Regional Park on the east side of St. Paul, Minnesota. Designed by Don Herfort and opened in 1916, the course represents one of the early municipal golf facilities in the Twin Cities area. The layout serves as part of the broader Phalen Park system, which includes the lake, beaches, and recreational amenities that have made this area a community gathering place for over a century. The course plays across relatively gentle terrain characteristic of the region, with mature trees lining many fairways and several holes routed near Phalen Lake. The proximity to water and parkland gives the course a natural, wooded feel despite its urban setting. As a municipal facility, Phalen Park has long provided accessible golf to St. Paul residents and visitors, maintaining its role as an entry point to the game for generations of local players. The layout offers a straightforward test suitable for golfers of varying abilities, with strategic bunkering and tree placement defining many holes. The course has undergone periodic updates and maintenance improvements over its more than century-long history while retaining its essential character as a neighborhood municipal course. Phalen Park continues to operate as part of the St. Paul Parks and Recreation system, serving both regular members and daily-fee players throughout the golf season.
Quick facts
- Location
- St. Paul, MN, USA
- Access
- Public
- Year built
- 1917
- Holes
- 18
- Designer
- Don Herfort
- Par
- 70
- Length
- 6,092 yards
- Difficulty
- 69.1/120
- Course Vaults score
- 5.7
Getting there
Most visitors arrive via Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP), a straightforward twenty-minute drive northeast into the heart of St. Paul's East Side. The route follows the Mississippi River corridor before turning inland through established residential neighborhoods, where the urban grid gives way to the wooded edges of Phalen Regional Park. The course sits tucked along the southern shore of Lake Phalen itself, a municipal gem where the city's everyday rhythm meets quiet water and rolling parkland - an arrival that feels less like a destination than a discovery hidden in plain sight.

FAQ
Common questions about Phalen Park
Ratings, design, and course details pulled from Course Vaults.
Phalen Park has a Course Vaults score of 5.7 out of 10 based on 19 logged golfers.
Phalen Park was designed by Don Herfort.
Yes. Phalen Park is listed as welcoming public or guest play on Course Vaults.
Par at Phalen Park is 70.
Phalen Park plays 6,092 yards from the back tees on Course Vaults.
The slope rating at Phalen Park is 120.




