Oak Marsh Golf Course Cracks Hacker's Guide Top Five

The annual guide breaks down courses by playability, popularity and value.

Oak Marsh Golf Course in Oakdale has cracked the Hacker's Guide Top Ten Course in the Twin Cities area.  The course came in at No. 5 on the list, earning a score of 923 out of 1,000. Rush Creek of Maple Grove took the Twin Cities area's top spot.  The guide uses percentages and measures on five criteira: hospitality, playability, facilities, conditions and value.  Oak Marsh announced Tuesday it was now accepting tee times for the week. Golfers will likely be out in full force this weekend, after several snowstorms in late March and April have prolonged the start of the season. Temperatures this Saturday, however, are expected to climb into the 70s.  For more on the Hacker's List, check out the site, which ranks courses throughout the Upper…

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Kris Janisch

10:33 am on Thursday, April 25, 2013

Just got word from Oak Marsh. Golfers will be out on the course today at 2 p.m.   more ›

Oak Marsh Golf Course in Oakdale to Open This Weekend

It's the latest the course has opened in five years.

Oak Marsh Golf Course in Oakdale is opening for the season on Sunday. Already, more than 200 people have signed up for tee times, said Steve Whillock, general manager and director of golf. Oak Marsh is typically one of the first courses in the area to open each year, Whillock said. Yet the long winter weather delayed the opening a bit, and 2013 is the latest the course has opened in five years, he said. The course typically opens in mid-March, Whillock said. The range at Oak Marsh opened Thursday, and people were taking advantage, Whillock said, even though golfers sometimes had to walk over snow banks. Also, new this year at the Oakdale course is happy hour on Friday nights, starting April 26. Oak Marsh Golf Course is located at 526 …

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Kris Janisch

1:16 pm on Saturday, April 6, 2013

Just got word, up to 250 people signed up.   more ›

PREVIEW: Special City Council Meeting Set for Day Care Discussion

The Oakdale City Council will have a special city council meeting regarding a new day care center site plan approval.

Two weeks ago the Oakdale city council tabled a site plan approval for a new day care center due to safety concerns.  Little Minds Learning Center sought approval on Oct. 23 to build a 7,700 square foot building directly south of Novation Credit Union on the northerly portion of Outlot A Oak Marsh Commercial 2nd Addition. Related: Children Safety Concerns Cause Pause for City Council on New Day Care Center Approval The proposed site is in close proximity to the Oak Marsh Golf Course, which raised concerns about stray golf balls landing on the site's outdoor play area for the children.  The council asked that Little Minds return to the city council with a plan in place to overcome safety concerns.  The day care center recently provided the …

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Children Safety Concerns Cause Pause for City Council on New Day Care Center Approval

The applicant must provide a documented plan that addresses safety concerns for its site plan at the Nov. 13 city council meeting.

Safety concerns put a temporary hault to city council approval for a new day care center's site plan. A site plan for a Little Minds Learning Center — a preschool that also has similar attributes of a day care center —was brought before the city council for approval Tuesday night. Little Minds currently has three Wisconsin locations in Hudson, River Falls and Onalaska. Oakdale would be its first Minnesota location. The Oakdale site provided convenience to the interstate system, housing proximity and a feeling of "comfort, safety and control for children," said Todd Barnhardt, the owner of Little Minds Learning Center. In its site plan and subdivision request, Little Minds sought approval for a 7,700 square foot building directly south of …

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At Oak Marsh, While the Snow's Away, the Golfers Will Play

The Oakdale golf course is one of the few in the metro area that's still open. The extra revenue is welcome during what has been a tough period for the golf industry.

Oak Marsh Golf Club General Manager Steve Whillock has been getting more handshakes and expressions of thanks than usual lately as golfers leave the course for the day. It’s one of the few courses in the area that’s still open, Whillock said, and golfers are still showing up to play daily. There were 80 players out on Wednesday, and the course is already fully booked with 120 golfers for New Year’s Eve, when the weather is supposed to be in the mid-40s. It’s been eight to 10 years since the weather has allowed the course to stay open this late in the year, but it’s a welcome change in what has been a tough period for the golfing industry, he said. “Golf’s taken a real slide,” he said. “Part of it’s the economy and part of it’s the weather…

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Agreement to Move Forward with Oak Marsh Hotel Gets Council Support

Some terms of the lease, including cost, are laid out in the agreement.

Oakdale City Council members said they support entering into a pre-development agreement, in a workshop meeting Tuesday, with the Kansas-based company that wants to put a hotel on city property at Oak Marsh Golf Course. “I hope the hotel does succeed; I hope it does improve the golf course,” said Oakdale City Council member Kent Dotas. “It’s just a terrific amenity.” The council is scheduled to vote on the agreement at their meeting Jan. 10. The agreement isn’t an approval of the project, but just an official document saying that both parties agree to work together in good faith to prepare a formal development proposal, said Community Development Director Bob Streetar. “This is like going on a date,” Streetar said. “You’re not getting …

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Christopher Campbell

1:53 pm on Thursday, January 5, 2012

The other important thing to remember is that a hotel doesn't drive demand, the market does. The market is showing us today and for the last 3-4 years that the occupancy isn't there. Adding 100 new rooms to the market, regardless of where they're located certainly won't help the market do better, it will in fact bring the market down as it's one more entity trying to get their piece of the pie. …   more ›

Economic Development Commission Favors Moving Ahead With Oak Marsh Hotel

Oakdale's next step is entering into a pre-development agreement.

Oakdale’s Economic Development Commission approved plans Wednesday to enter into a pre-development agreement with Fairway Suites, a company that wants to build a hotel on city-owned land at Oak Marsh Golf Course. The Oakdale City Council is set to discuss the agreement at its meeting Tuesday, Dec. 13, said commission chair Mark Landis. The agreement would protect the city by ensuring it is compensated for costs like legal and financial consulting fees if the development doesn’t go through, said assistant to the city administrator Dave Schaps. It would also give both sides an option to get out, he said. Commission member Frank Orsello said he questions whether a hotel at the site would be successful—although he said he expects that the …

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EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

Editor’s Notebook: Surprises Dug Up at Oakdale Mall Site; Golf Course Hotel Negotiations Under Way

City and hotel developers have been going back-and-forth, as the city seeks a market-rate deal on land for a hotel at Oak Marsh Golf Course.

Workers Found ‘Hidden Treasure’ While Digging at Tartan Crossing: Grading and site work is under way at the site of the former Oakdale Mall, now called Tartan Crossing, Community Development Director Bob Streetar told the Oakdale City Council at their meeting Monday, Nov. 7. Crews digging recently near Hadley Avenue, where a holding pond is planned, unearthed more than just dirt, he said. They found car doors, some batteries and some household garbage, he said. “I’m anticipating when they dig the stormwater pond, they may find some additional items in there,” he said. City in Negotiations With Developer of Proposed Hotel at Golf Course: Negotiations are ongoing between the city of Oakdale and a developer who wants to build a hotel on the …

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Oak Marsh Hotel Construction Unlikely to Start Before Spring

Neighboring hotel management says there isn't enough demand to build another hotel in the area, hotel developer says he's not fazed by the concerns

Construction on a proposed hotel on city property at Oak Marsh Golf Course most likely won’t start until the spring, its developer said. Fairway Suites President and CEO Joe Ross previously said he hoped to start some foundation work this fall, but because the company must still negotiate a lease agreement with the city for the land, and get building plans approved, he said there likely won’t be time this year to break ground before the frost. Just down the road from the site of the proposed hotel, the management at the Hilton Garden Inn is questioning whether a new hotel should be built at all. The market is tough enough for Oakdale and Woodbury-area hotels, which averaged 52 percent occupancy at an average daily rate of $84 in the past …

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City Will Lease, Not Sell, Land for Oak Marsh Hotel

The Oakdale City Council opted to pursue a long-term lease at a closed meeting Tuesday.

The City of Oakdale will pursue a long-term lease agreement for city land at Oak Marsh Golf Course where developers propose a hotel, the Oakdale City Council decided in a closed meeting Tuesday, according to the city administrator. The council had an extensive discussion on the ramifications of selling the property to developers, but chose the lease option instead, said City Administrator Craig Waldron. “We’ll negotiate a lease that will basically have the same elements of a land purchase, but will just be a long-term lease,” Waldron said. The council also gave the city staff some general guidelines for negotiations, which Waldron said can’t be shared until the city has an agreement. The council was able to legally close the meeting …

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