
Tipsinah Mounds Course
Tipsinah Mounds Golf Course

About this course
Tipsinah Mounds Golf Course sits in Elbow Lake, a small community in west-central Minnesota's Grant County. Designed by Joel Goldstrand, a Minnesota-based architect known for his work on public and daily-fee courses throughout the Upper Midwest, the layout takes its name from the distinctive glacial landforms that characterize this region of the state. The course occupies rolling prairie terrain shaped by ancient ice movement, with natural mounds and ridges providing elevation changes uncommon in much of Minnesota's flatter agricultural landscape. The routing works across this undulating ground, incorporating the existing topography into hole strategy rather than imposing extensive earthmoving. Fairways move through native grasses and scattered tree lines typical of the transition zone between Minnesota's eastern forests and western prairies. The design reflects Goldstrand's practical approach to public golf, balancing playability for local members with enough variety in hole lengths and angles to maintain interest across multiple rounds. Elbow Lake serves as the Grant County seat, and the course functions as a community amenity in a region where golf facilities are spread across considerable distances. The setting offers views across open farmland and the glacial lake country that defines this part of Minnesota, providing a straightforward golf experience shaped by the land's natural features rather than elaborate construction.
Quick facts
- Location
- Elbow Lake, MN, USA
- Access
- Public
- Year built
- 1982
- Designer
- Joel Goldstrand
- Holes
- 18
- Par
- 70
- Length
- 6,219 yards
- Difficulty
- 69.4/115
Getting there
The journey to Tipsinah Mounds Golf Course unfolds across the quiet agricultural heartland of west-central Minnesota, most readily accessed via Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP), roughly two hours and forty minutes to the south. From there, the drive northwest carries you through rolling prairie and farmland, past small towns and grain elevators, before arriving at the modest but welcoming grounds near Elbow Lake - a landscape that speaks to the course's deep roots in the region's golf heritage and its understated, authentic character. For those seeking a more intimate arrival, regional airstrips near Alexandria or Fergus Falls provide closer alternatives, though the overland approach itself becomes part of the experience, a gradual transition from urban Minnesota into the open, windswept terrain where Tipsinah Mounds has quietly commanded respect among serious golfers for generations.

FAQ
Common questions about Tipsinah Mounds
Ratings, design, and course details pulled from Course Vaults.
Tipsinah Mounds was designed by Joel Goldstrand.
Yes. Tipsinah Mounds is listed as welcoming public or guest play on Course Vaults.
Par at Tipsinah Mounds is 70.
Tipsinah Mounds plays 6,219 yards from the back tees on Course Vaults.
The slope rating at Tipsinah Mounds is 115.
Tipsinah Mounds is a 18-hole course.



