ST. PAUL, Minn. (Sept. 20, 2016) — This fall, visitors from across the globe will “explore” Minnesota to see the biennial battle between the top golfers from the U.S. and Europe at the 2016 Ryder Cup. In addition to watching the tournament, many attendees, travelers and residents will be looking for other things to do while they’re in town, and Explore Minnesota, the state’s tourism promotion office, is their go-to resource for everything that can be found #OnlyinMN.
Explore Minnesota Welcomes Ryder Cup Attendees
The international golf tournament is expected to bring more than 250,000 people to Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska from Sept. 27 to Oct. 2. Explore Minnesota will host a welcome tent on-site along with a dozen tourism industry sponsors from across the state. Representatives will interact with Ryder Cup attendees and share their enthusiasm for all the great things to see and do only in Minnesota.
Explore Minnesota and sponsors can help visitors plan trips to some of Minnesota’s great attractions, big cities and small towns to get a taste of all that our state has to offer. Explore Minnesota will house a “round” of information about things to do, places to go and more at exploreminnesota.com/golfmn.
Fall Fore Minnesota
There are plenty of excuses for travelers to extend their trip and venture around or beyond the Twin Cities before or after the main event this fall. In addition to the state’s 500+ golf destinations, Minnesota’s harvest season and fall foliage will be in full swing, with Honeycrisp apples primed for picking, pumpkin patches popping up, and wine grapes ready for stomping. The Ryder Cup is sure to shine a spotlight on fall fun in Minnesota. Golf enthusiasts will also have a swing at stay-and-play prizes with the Fall Fore MN Sweepstakes that will run Sept. 26 to Oct. 2.
Great Golf in Minnesota
According to the Minnesota Golf Association, the state boasts more than 500 golf courses and driving ranges and 8,100 holes, encompassing 67,500 acres of green space and 4,500 acres of wetlands. Ninety percent of Minnesota golf courses are open to the public, with three of them on Golf Digest’s list of the “100 Greatest Public Courses” in America. Some Minnesota courses were designed by the nation’s top golf architects, and the season runs as long as six months out of the year. The variety of places to tee off ranges from city and suburban courses to rugged north woods, lakeside terrain and Mississippi River Valley vistas.
Explore Minnesota recently teamed up with golf pro and 2016 Ryder Cup vice captain for the U.S., Tom Lehman, to promote Minnesota’s golf and tourism riches in this state tourism TV commercial.
“Minnesota has a well-earned reputation as a golf destination and is a perfect host for the 2016 Ryder Cup,” says John Edman, director/CEO of Explore Minnesota. “The world will be watching golf in Minnesota in more than 160 countries. The event is a great opportunity to put Minnesota on the map, and visitor spending from 250,000+ Ryder Cup attendees will positively contribute to Minnesota’s $13.6 billion tourism industry,” added Edman.
Ryder Cup attendees are encouraged to share their finds with @exploreminnesota on Instagram and Facebook and @exploreminn on Twitter. Explore Minnesota regularly features user-generated photos tagged #OnlyinMN. For those seeking fall vacation ideas, Explore Minnesota experts can help by calling 888-VISITMN, or via live chat or email by visiting exploreminnesota.com.
