Building an Inclusive Golf Experience: ADA-Compliant Premium Putting Course for Public Minnesota Golf Club

Gem Lake Hills Golf Course, a family-owned facility in White Bear Lake in Minnesota recently partnered with Greenspan to design and construct a 19-hole premium putting course. The project addressed infrastructure challenges while creating an accessible amenity for the club’s 900+ junior golfers and broader community. The site of the putting course was previously occupied by a deteriorating cage structure, previously used for buggy storage and driving range operations that was no longer fit for purpose. General Manager Matt Greer and Operations manager Steve Nasvik, identified an opportunity to repurpose the site to better serve the facility’s diverse user base.

The primary objectives were to:

• Repurpose the space occupied by the cage structure
• Develop an amenity that would engage junior golfers and families
• Create an accessible experience for individuals with varying mobility levels
• Maintain challenge and appeal for experienced golfers
• Strengthen the club’s position as a community-focused facility

The Solution

Greenspan’s “Signature Greens” department worked directly with the club to develop a comprehensive design that balanced accessibility requirements with technical course specifications. We designed a 19 Hole layout that was influenced heavily by real golf course design and routing, 10 holes of which comply with ADA standards making it accessible to all with limited mobility, holes of noticeably varied difficulty, with no “guaranteed hole-in-ones” and a challenge 19th hole engineered to be of significantly higher difficulty.

Signature Greens 

This project perfectly exemplified what we deliver through “Signature Greens” premium putting experiences, combining technical excellence with uncompromising design standards: 

• Design Integration: Understanding artificial grass limitations from the conceptual stage, ensuring course routing and features work harmoniously with synthetic surfaces 

• Advanced Installation Techniques: Years of experience managing artificial grass on complex terrain, including proper tensioning, seaming, and substrate preparation 

• Problem-Solving Excellence: Ability to deliver dramatic visual impact while maintaining optimal playing characteristics across challenging elevation changes and ADA compliance across a minimum of 50% of the holes.

The Outcome

The completed putting course has provided Gem Lake Hills Golf Course with:

• A premium amenity that serves multiple user segments simultaneously
• Full ADA accessibility on front nine holes, removing barriers for community members with mobility limitations
• A skill development resource for junior golf programs
• Enhanced facility appeal for family and recreational users
• Transformation of non-functional space into revenue-generating amenity
• Elimination of deteriorating infrastructure that previously detracted from property value

The project demonstrates how strategic facility development can address both infrastructure challenges and programming objectives within a single initiative. For more information on how we could help you with a premium putting course project, get in touch with the Greenspan team.