troy burne

The Golf Loons podcast is not specific to Minnesota. We make a point to always mention that its aimed at golfers in Minnesota and Wisconsin. It’s even highlighted in the best part of our podcast - the intro when Kevin Falness is talking and not us. 

We are very inclusive here at Golf Loons. And not to brag, but I feel it’s pretty big of us to include our rascally neighbors to the East. 

As someone who grew up across the bridge from a Wisconsin town, I will admit that in the past, I harbored some ill feelings toward the cheeseheads. I associated the state with the Wisconsin highway patrol, Carl Gerbschmidt, the Badgers, the drivers who cruise 10 miles per hour below the limit or 100 miles per hour above it and refuse to use turn signals, Jeffrey Dahmer, Miller Lite, Packers, Packer fans, Packer fans who grew up in Wisconsin but now live in Minnesota and of course Packer fans who grew up in Minnesota, yet cheer for the Packers for no other reason other than the Vikings suck. 

Is there anything good about Wisconsin? 

It’s a fair question. But the answer is yes. There’s quite a few positives. Whistling Straits, Erin Hills, Lawsonia Links, Sand Valley, Turtleback, Big Fish, Wild Ridge…to name a few. Honorable mention would include Spotted Cow, Kwik Trip, the best fast food burger (Culvers) and Wisconsin Dells.

To name one more, and one of the best? Troy Burne in lovely Hudson, Wisconsin. 

So yes, the Loons didn’t fly far from home, but we did cross over the St. Croix river in order to play a true blue blood course. And we did it on Vikings game day.

We needed some reinforcements though so we brought our special guest, singer, songwriter, producer and podcaster, Bubba Startz. The night before, Bubba was performing live music in downtown Minneapolis for Skol Fest to rile up the Purple faithful before the home opener. He was due back at US Bank Stadium for a Tailgate party and the actual game itself, but, after a night of sleeping in his truck, he played a round with us at the Burne. 

Bubba Startz performing at SkolFest, about 10 hours before performing for the Golf Loons at Troy Burne.

Okay, first the course: Troy Burne is so amazing. I’ve been fortunate to have played here multiple times, often as a guest in a Corporate golf outing hosted by the Minnesota Wild. It was obviously a blast to have an outing on a course like that. But playing your own ball at the Burne is a blessing. How else can you personally try to play out of each of the 123 bunkers on this course? Note: that’s not an exaggeration but the actual number. 

The funny thing is, the sand traps are what make this course so fantastic, both visually and layout wise. There aren’t a ton of trees on this course, so the way they make you think is to strategically place a lot of them, but I think many are there to provide the aesthetics. 

One you get to hole 4 and the ensuing holes on the front 9, you really see this start to take shape. Then on the back, where you’ll find Lake Lehman (no idea if it’s called that but it fits), a few holes use waste bunkers that are reminiscent of actual beaches, or deserts…or both. 

I found one of these waste bunkers on 15, and my ball actually found one of the patches of roughage growing out of it. It did provide Twig with a photo opportunity, which he called a “great shot of me.” I have to agree because he did a marvelous job of capturing my belly spilling over my beltline. That always makes me happy. 

Glen found plenty of bunkers at Troy Burne, but it takes a special kind of golfer to find the crap within the bunker.

Truly, there’s not a bad hole out on the course. I don’t love number 2 because I find it so difficult. But man, this course makes taking pictures easy. So many ampitheater greens. The creek that runs through the back 9 is adorable and feeds a couple larger ponds. There’s some kind of water filtration shed (at least that’s my guess as to what it is) behind the green on 12. But they made it look like a rustic barn. Love it. 

And then despite there not being a ton of trees on the course, kudos to whoever planted the skyscraping pines that provide the backdrop for the greens on number 11 (signature hole) and 14 (could be a close second). 

You know a hole is good when Twig talks about getting a bucket of balls and just taking shot after shot at it. Hole 11 at Troy Burne qualifies.

It was a joy to play Troy Burne, and I was really happy we were able to introduce it to Bubba, who lives in South Dakota and had never played Troy Burne. 

We got to know Bubba this year through our podcast project. Like I said, he wears many hats, but his blood, sweat and tears go into The Scene Projects - a network of shows and podcasts that Bubba has built and has led to amazing events and projects. 

All of the guests that we’ve had on Golf Loons have interesting stories. That’s why we have them. But so far, I don’t think any can compare to the background of Bubba, who readily admits to going down a questionable path. He sold drugs, was a fugitive, and then eventually took accountability and served time before completely turning his life into a success story. 

In our Emergency 9 segment on the podcast (you should listen if you haven’t), Bubba made a great comparison of how in life, it’s convenient to blame other people or other conditions for our issues. We don’t look within often enough. We don’t take accountability enough. And in golf, we can’t attribute a career best round to playing really well, but playing poorly is because the greens were recently punched. 

Now 40, Bubba is a dedicated family man to his wife and three kids, writing songs, performing and creating. But what I got from him the most is he is creating relationships. And he’s doing it through positivity. We spent five hours with Bubba, but I think if you spend five minutes with him, you’re going to walk away feeling good about yourself. That’s what he does. 

As an added bonus, I don’t think there could be a better name for a golf companion than someone named Bubba. It just rolls off the tongue so elegantly. “Nice shot, Bubba,” “Give it a ride, Bubba,” “you're not clearing your hips enough, Bubba.” Way more fun than saying “Mike” or “John” or “Guh-lehn.” 

I’ve never been a fan of my name. 

But big fan of Troy Burne. And a new fan of Bubba Startz. We will continue to play golf with people we know, but I’m so happy that being a Loon has opened doors to meeting and playing with new people. Especially those named Bubba, who cheer for the Vikings. 

And to those that cheer for the Packers, like the starter at Troy Burne who was about the nicest guy you’d ever want to meet…take that sucka!