Giants Ridge Golf & Ski Resort

The Quarry at Giants Ridge Golf & Ski Resort opened in 2003, designed by Texas-based architect Jeff Brauer. The course takes its name from the site's history as an abandoned iron ore mining operation in Minnesota's Mesabi Iron Range. Brauer routed the layout through and around the remnants of this industrial past, incorporating massive rock outcroppings, steep-walled pits, and dramatic elevation changes left behind by decades of mining activity. The result is a golf course with terrain unlike most traditional woodland layouts in the Upper Midwest, featuring bold topographical movement and exposed rock faces that frame several holes. The routing makes extensive use of the property's natural and man-made features. Several holes play along ridgelines with views across the surrounding forest and mining landscape, while others descend into former quarry floors or navigate around water-filled pits. The rock walls and ledges create both visual drama and strategic interest, particularly on approach shots where players must account for steep drop-offs and uneven lies. The course plays through dense northern Minnesota forest of pine, birch, and aspen, providing a strong sense of isolation despite the resort setting. The Quarry complements Giants Ridge's original course, The Legend, which was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and opened in 1997. Together, the two layouts have helped establish Giants Ridge as a notable public golf destination in northeastern Minnesota, drawing players to a region better known historically for mining and winter recreation than golf.