The first impression of the course may conjure ideas of a links course because of the lack of trees and the prevailing southwest winds, but that description doesn’t quite fit, according to head golf pro and course superintendent Donnie Teeter.

“Lots of people look out there and call it a links course,” Teeter said. “Most links courses that I know of don’t have all the water that we have. It’s kind of the modern design.”

The back nine of the 18-hole course is slated to open Saturday, and golfers will find rolling fairways, plenty of bunkers, 56 to be exact, and quite a bit of water.

The course has 14 ponds, and a pond on nearly every hole. Five of the back nine holes have some kind of water while the front nine also has five where water might come into play.

“Those ponds serve multiple purposes,” said Wedgewood Cove co-owner Paul Field. “The ponds are all interconnected, all of the streets and course drain into the ponds and then use that captured water to irrigate the course. For the average player a lot of it is not in the way.”

The course was designed by Garrett Gill of Gill Design Inc., located in River Falls, Wis. The company has designed some of the premier golf courses in Minnesota, including Legends Golf Club in Prior Lake, which was named to the Top 10 New Courses in 2002 by Golf Digest, Willinger’s Golf Club, in Northfield, that is considered one of the top courses in Minnesota, and the Meadows at Mystic Lake, which was a Top 10 New Course in 2007 by Golf Digest. Field said the course is similar to the other course Gill has designed.

Wedgewood Cove may not have the tree lines that one would expect on a course, but instead utilizes many of the existing wetlands and native grasses as hazards.

“I think it’s different than what’s around here locally,” Teeter said. “It’s a little bit longer. It’s got certainly a different feel which you can see driving around because there aren’t tree-lined fairways every where. It’s not the same thing you would see in most courses in the area.”

The course is far lengthier than area courses and totals 7,009 yards from the back tees, 6,609 yards from the blue tees and 6,276 yards from the white tees. There are two par 5s and par 3s a side on the par-72 course.

The fairways were seeded with low-cut bluegrass while the first cut of rough will be bent grass and bluegrass. Farther into the rough will be fescue and native grasses.

On the back nine there will be very little elevation changes, mostly rolling fairways that will hardly yield a flat lie.

Each hole is separated from the next and players might feel as though there is no one else on the course.

The back nine opens with the par-4 10th. It’s a straight forward hole of 384 yards from the black tees, which are the longest tees. A bunker comes into play on the right for tee shots and a bunker sits on the left side of the green.

No. 11 is a 342-yard par 4 which features a bunker in the middle of the fairway and bunkers on either side of the fairway.

The par-3 14th is a picturesque hole which will have Pickerel Lake as the backdrop. The hole plays 191 yards and plays over a pond.

The final hole has the No. 2 handicap and is a 572-yard par 5, surrounded by bunkers throughout. The fairway narrows where tee shots would fall and is flanked by bunkers. The green has bunkers to the right, left and back.

The greens are moderately sized and were built to USGA specifications with a sand base, which will make the greens firm.

Each hole is spread out from the other and can give the impression that a group of golfers are playing the course by themselves, Teeter said.

When the front nine opens near the end of the summer golfers will be treated to some unusual design work early on. The par-4, 392-yard, second hole has a cluster of trees in the middle of the fairway which will affect approach shots. The trees were kept when the course was being designed. The green is protected by two bunkers in the front.

The par-5, 506-yard fourth hole features four different ponds that could affect players. Water lines the left side at the tee and is on the right and left side of the fairway where players’ tee shots would be expected to land. To the left of the green is another pond and two bunkers. With the hole playing at 506 from the back tees and 487 from the blue tees, players can take a high-risk, high-reward approach.

No. 9 will be the No.1 handicap hole. It’s a 456-yard par-4 which dog legs left. Bunkers flank the fairway in the landing zone of tee shots and two bunkers are located on the right of the green while water is on the left side.

The front nine open should open by Labor Day, say the course’s developers.