Rose Lake chosen as area’s favorite golf course
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FAIRMONT - Rose Lake Golf Course in Fairmont has been chosen by area residents through the 2026 Best Of Martin and Faribault Counties Contest as their favorite golf course.
The course started as a nine-hole, but grew into an 18-hole course in 1992. Manager Jack Von Bank said water features are a big part of the course.
"You got to go over a crick on hole three, and then once again on five," he said. "It gets a little tricky on hole six. You got a lake on your right next to the green. There’s not a lot of room up by the green. Hole six is our number one handicap hole because you got the water to the right, and then you don’t have a lot of room in the back. It’s a pretty narrow approach shot to the green."
This continues into the back nine, which starts with what Von Bank says is called the gauntlet.
"Once you get to hole 10, you got water all the way along on your left," he said. "Then you got the road out of bounds on your right. It’s pretty narrow, so you got to learn how to place your shots on that hole. The water runs all the way up to the green on hole 11 here, and then on 12, there’s a pond that sits out in front of the green. You got to lay up, and then it’s a tough push shot from about 130 yards out, depending on how your drive is. If you’re short, you’re in the water."
This is capped off by a pretty unique hole, hole 13. Von Bank said it is a par 3 that actually goes over water. Instead of a traditional tee-off, fairway, green situation, golfers must hit the ball all the way from the tee-box to the green.
When it comes to managing a varied course like this, Von Bank said it takes good people.
"No matter if it’s my greenskeepers, the guys that go out there every day take care of the course," he said. "They do a fantastic job. They keep everything all mowed right. They know what they’re doing out there. In-house here, I have a wonderful cook that takes care of a lot of our events. Our staff, with our bartenders and bev cart girls, go out and take care of our events as well out on the course. It’s a lot of balancing out here."
For the course itself, 12 different groundskeepers manage different pieces.
"You got your set of guys that do fairways, the rough, and then a few guys that take care of our greens and make sure everything’s all cut and running real nice in the greens," Von Bank said. "Then we also have guys that come out and do the fertilizing and maintaining the weeds and keeping the trees all trimmed up. Everything is always looking really nice."
Over the years he has managed Rose Lake, Von Bank said golfers have spoken about how well it’s kept and how welcoming it is.
"We’re very open to everybody, no matter if you’re a beginner or you’re a scratch golfer," he said. "They do like the layout of the course as well. They love the fact that it adds a little bit of both challenging holes and holes that are very easy to reach par."
The busiest part of the year is July, but Von Bank said the transition from July into August is boosted by an influx of events which also help keep things elevated. Year over year, Von Bank said the busy seasons have been going well.
"We had a very good turnout for this year, gaining members every year," he said. "We just need to build on that, and hopefully we keep gaining more and more members and draw more people in who love the game of golf."
While it's not as busy now with school starting up and farmers getting into the field, weather
permitting, Von Bank said everything is still humming at full speed and will be until the club closes for winter on Octo. 31st.
To be recognized as an area favorite via the Best Of contest, Von Bank said it all goes back to the course and its members.
"It is a big part of the course because the course is beautiful," he said. "Our members are the thing that makes us very unique. I know our members take a lot of pride in our facility, and they’re just good people."
For more information, visit roselakegolfclub.com/.