Minnesota
Rochester & Southern Minnesota Golf Courses & Tee Times
Rochester has kept city golf going for a century. The American Legion started building Soldiers Field in 1925 with five holes and sand greens, and it still sits downtown as one of four city courses. Eastwood followed in 1968 and Northern Hills in 1976, and the nine-hole Hadley Creek is a First Tee facility. Beyond Rochester, Owatonna owns Brooktree along Maple Creek, North Links in North Mankato plays as a prairie-style public course, and Hale Irwin designed The Jewel on 800 acres of the Mississippi River valley at Lake City.
Good weekend tee times in Rochester & Southern Minnesota go fast, and the ones that come back later (cancellations, groups that shrink) aren't announced. Yoink watches the tee sheets at 19 public courses here, from Winona, Albert Lea, Rochester, Owatonna and Rushford, and tells you the moment a time you want opens up.
The longest layout here is The Jewel Golf Club at 7,050 yards.
Who runs public golf in Rochester & Southern Minnesota
Rochester Parks and Recreation runs Soldiers Field, Northern Hills, Eastwood and Hadley Creek. In 2026 an 18-hole green fee is $40, tax included, with $35 for seniors and $25 for juniors. One season pass covers all four courses ($1,260 for an adult in 2026, plus tax), and a $120 Patron Card takes 25% off green fees. We found no separate resident rate on the city's page. Owatonna's Brooktree is also city-owned; it opened for 2026 on March 30.
Public courses worth knowing in Rochester & Southern Minnesota
- Soldiers Field Memorial Golf Course: Downtown Rochester city course the American Legion started in 1925 with five holes and sand greens. Its women's association has played weekly for more than fifty years.
- Eastwood Golf Course: City course from 1968 in southeast Rochester, with pine, maple and oak, elevation changes and marshes.
- Northern Hills Golf Course: Rochester's 1976 city course, open April through November and home to tournaments and leagues.
- Brooktree Golf Course: Owatonna's city-owned course on Maple Creek by Mineral Springs Park.
- The Jewel Golf Club: Hale Irwin design in the Lake City bluffs, spread over 800 acres of river valley with five sets of tees.
- North Links Golf Course (MN): Prairie-style public course in North Mankato with tiered greens, owned by Wilson Golf Group.
Booking tee times in Rochester & Southern Minnesota: the local rules
Rochester's city courses take tee times up to five days ahead, and the day you call counts: call Tuesday for Saturday. Book online or phone the course. Foursomes get priority, so twosomes and threesomes get paired when it's busy, and fivesomes aren't allowed. Brooktree in Owatonna opens its sheet seven days ahead to everyone, and golfers who keep canceling or not showing up can lose online booking.
Yoink
Book on release day, then let Yoink watch the rest
Booking windows decide who gets first pick. After that, times come back one at a time as plans change. Yoink watches all 19 courses in Rochester & Southern Minnesota and tells you when a time that fits comes back, so you're not refreshing the page all week.
19 courses in Rochester & Southern Minnesota
Albert Lea
Janesville
Preston
Rushford
St. Charles
Other
Austin Country Club
Par 72 and 6,520 yards from the back tees: Austin Country Club is an 18-hole regulation course in Minnesota.
Dodge Country Club
One hole moves 49 feet from tee to green. The front nine plays 263 yards longer than the back.
Shoreland Country Club
One hole moves 90 feet from tee to green. The front nine plays 315 yards longer than the back.
The Jewel Golf Club
Hale Irwin's course in the Mississippi River bluffs, spread across 800 acres of valley. 7,050 yards of bentgrass, five sets of tees; opened in 2005.
Waseca Lakeside Club
Par 71 and 6,029 yards from the back tees: Waseca Lakeside Club is an 18-hole regulation course in Minnesota.
Willow Creek Golf Course
Willow Creek Golf Course, an 18-hole regulation course near Rochester, Minnesota. There's real elevation change: some holes rise or fall about 68 feet from tee to green.
Why tee times in Rochester & Southern Minnesota are hard to get
The season in Rochester & Southern Minnesota is short, running roughly from late spring into fall, so every good weekend in that window is contested. The first warm Saturdays of the year are the hardest tee times to get.
Each course releases its tee times on its own schedule, commonly a week or two out, with residents of town and county courses often booking first. Leagues, outings and members claim chunks of the sheet in advance, and whatever prime weekend times are left tend to go on release day.
When tee time cancellations happen
A full tee sheet rarely stays full. Many courses let you cancel without a fee up to 24 or 48 hours before your time, so spots tend to reappear in the last couple of days. A bad forecast shakes more loose, and a foursome that drops to three opens a single. None of it is announced. The time just shows up again on the booking page, and whoever looks first gets it.
How to get a tee time in Rochester & Southern Minnesota
Yoink
All 19 courses in Rochester & Southern Minnesota, watched for you around the clock
Yoink checks all 19 courses in Rochester & Southern Minnesota every few minutes, so every open time is in one place and you're the first to know when one that fits your day, window and group appears, cancellations included.
Doing it by hand? Here's what works.
- Know the booking window. Find out how many days ahead each course releases times, and whether residents get an earlier window. Be ready the morning it opens.
- Look again 24 to 48 hours out. That's when most cancellation deadlines pass and spots come back.
- Be flexible on group size. Singles and twosomes fit into gaps a foursome can't.
- Try twilight and weekday afternoons. They're the last to fill and often cheaper.
- Widen the map. If your first choice is full, check the next town over. Winona has 2 courses on Yoink and Albert Lea has 2.
Read the full guide to getting a tee time when everything's booked
Tee times in Rochester & Southern Minnesota: questions
How do I get notified when a tee time opens up in Rochester & Southern Minnesota?
Set a watch in Yoink for the courses you want, the days you can play, a time window and the number of players. Yoink checks those tee sheets every few minutes and sends a notification as soon as a matching time appears, cancellations included. You book it directly with the course.
When do tee time cancellations usually show up?
Mostly in the 24 to 48 hours before the tee time, as golfers cancel ahead of the course's cancellation deadline, and whenever the weather forecast changes. They appear without notice and tend to be rebooked quickly.
How far in advance can you book a tee time in Rochester & Southern Minnesota?
It depends on the course. Many public courses open bookings 7 to 14 days ahead, and town or county courses often give residents an earlier window. Each course's own booking page has its policy.
When is golf busiest in Rochester & Southern Minnesota?
Demand is highest from late spring through early fall. Weekend mornings are always the hardest tee times to get.
Does Yoink book the tee time for me?
No. Yoink tells you when a time opens; you book it with the course on its own booking page, at the course's price, with no extra fee.
More golf in Minnesota
- Minneapolis–St Paul · 91 courses
- Brainerd Lakes · 27 courses
- Minnesota Lakes Country · 26 courses
- St. Cloud & Central Minnesota · 16 courses
- Eau Claire & La Crosse · 2 courses
- More Minnesota · 6 courses
- More Minnesota · 1 courses
Just across the state line
Markets with courses within 25 miles of a course here.
- Eau Claire & La Crosse, WI · 31 courses
- Waterloo & Northeast Iowa, IA · 11 courses
- Minneapolis–St Paul, WI · 14 courses
Sources
Facts on this page come from these pages, checked 2026-09-28. Rates and booking rules change, so confirm with the course.
- rochestermn.gov · official
- rochestermn.gov · official
- rochestermn.gov · official
- rochestermn.gov · official
- rochestermn.gov · official
- owatonna.gov · official
- northlinksgolf.com · official
- visitlakecity.org · tourism
Tee times in Rochester & Southern Minnesota, without the refreshing
Watch as many courses as you like. When a time opens that fits your day, window and group, Yoink tells you first.