As George Harrison penned: "Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter." The quiet Beatle obviously wasn't a Minnesotan, but his words mirror the pain of every Minnesota golfer. So it's with the return of the sun that we can collectively clean off the sticks and prove why our home claims more golfers per capita than any state in the union. And few public tracks can offer a golf fix like the challenging grounds of the Chaska Town Course. Recognized by Golfweek as the nation's 37th "Best Municipal," and the reigning Minnesota Golf Association "Course of the Year," this lone Minnesota design of lauded course architect Arthur Hills presents a beautiful beast of a round. Playing at 6,800 yards from the tips over a tee-to-green bent grass surface, Chaska's sprawling grounds are impressively maintained and affordably priced ($37 to walk during the week; $42 on weekends). The daunting combination of length, elevation, and marshlands (water plays a factor on a dozen holes) will test the most refined players. Should you keep your game together, the back side is especially engaging. Hole 14 is a peach of a par-3 over water, and is followed by the par-5 No. 15, offering water mid-fairway and to the left of the green. A short par-4 ensues on No. 16 before your round closes with over 900 yards of work coming home on the par-4 17th and the wholly intimidating par-5 No. 18, which sports water along the entire left side of the fairway.