Let's face it—golf is hard. It's so hard that maybe one in 20 golfers really does the game justice. So for most of us the best golf course is one that's pretty to play but still allows us to bring our egos and a few golf balls back to the clubhouse. Meadowbrook is often cited as the loveliest of the local public courses, and it is. In fact, if we were having a picnic on a golf course, that's where we'd go. But golf is no picnic, and Meadowbrook's preponderance of water and uphill, blind approach shots can spoil a good walk. For our money Hiawatha offers the best compromise between natural beauty and playable greens. This long par 73 course still has Hiawatha Lake, Minnehaha Creek, and an orchard of mature trees for eye candy, but the flatter terrain and more open fairways are more forgiving. Meadowbrook can wait till next year; hopefully we'll have conquered the game by then.