Countryside Golf Course

Shafer sits in Chisago County, in the St. Croix River Valley region of eastern Minnesota — lake-dotted, heavily wooded, and shaped by glacial activity that left behind rolling terrain and elevation changes that translate naturally into interesting golf. The area sits roughly an hour north of the Twin Cities, close enough to draw weekend golfers out of the metro but far enough to feel genuinely rural and unhurried.

Without knowing Countryside's specific design history, what's reliable is the character implied by a course of this type in this setting: tree-lined fairways, likely some water in play, and the kind of layout where course management matters more than raw power. Minnesota's short but intense golf season — running from snowmelt through October — tends to produce well-maintained turf by midsummer and spectacular fall rounds when the hardwoods turn.

A public course in a small town like Shafer serves its community as much as it serves travelers, which usually means a relaxed atmosphere, modest pace of play, and golf that rewards regulars who learn its contours.