Hacker's Guide Completes 283 Minnesota & Western Wisconsin Golf Course Ratings for New Review Guide

    MINNEAPOLIS, MN, January 18, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Hacker's Guide, a Minneapolis-based golf course rating organization, has recently completed 283 golf course reviews of every eighteen-hole public golf course in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. www.hackerscentralonline.com.

"In spite of the cool weather we've had last fall, it didn't stop us from reaching every public eighteen-hole golf course in Minnesota," said Hacker's Guide founder and president Bruce Stasch. "We blanketed Minnesota and western Wisconsin to build what think is the most comprehensive golf course rating guide ever published in Minnesota."

The new book, the Hacker's Guide to Minnesota & Western Wisconsin Golf Courses, has 283 golf course rated on the same 40-factor system that was introduced last year in the Hacker's Guide to Twin Cities Golf Courses. Every golf course was visited by a member of Team Hacker, a group of over sixty course raters, and put through the Hacker's Guide's proprietary ratings system.

The system is designed to rate each course on five different categories: hospitality, playability, usability, facility and value. These categories are then weighted and a final score obtained. In addition, each course receives a 400-word review that gives readers insight into each course. The upcoming book will be published in February, 2010 and will be introduced to the public at the 2010 Minnesota Golf Show and the 2010 Great LaCrosse Golf Show.

"Unlike other rating guides that only visit the most popular or most expensive courses, we visited every eighteen-hole public golf course in Minnesota," said Stasch, "When you see a review from Hacker's Guide, it comes from the perspective of a regular golfer, not a professional writer or a PGA teaching pro."

Hacker's Guide golf course ratings are a totally new rating system and are completed by regular golfers that love the game. In preparation for the second book in the rating series, Hacker's Guide to Minnesota & Western Wisconsin Golf Courses, more than 450 golfers signed up to be a part of Team Hacker. "Getting selected to join Team Hacker has become an honor because we only take about 10% of those that have shown interest," stated Stasch.

Today, many very good local courses never get the attention they deserve because they didn't receive some kind of stamp of approval from a big golf publication or aren't located in a major metropolitan area. By reviewing every public eighteen-hole golf course in the state, readers will get a fair reading of every golf course regardless of its marketing budget or location. For comparison, the two leading golf course review guides are Zagat's and Golf Digest. For the state of Minnesota, Golf Digest lists 121 courses, Zagat's only 17. Hacker's Guide: 248 courses.

According to Team Hacker member Dennis Delmont, "I read several national golf magazines and cannot relate to the $200 greens fees and $300 a night resorts that they feature. Being a retired police officer, I have the time to play now and, as a member of Team Hacker, I have the opportunity to play courses that are available, affordable and playable for someone with my limited skills and budget."

Even golf courses seem to like the Hacker's Guide. "The guide is really accurate and a good reflection of our course," said Beth Bloomquist, clubhouse manager of Viking Meadows in East Bethel, Minnesota. "It gives people access to our course so they have an idea of what they can expect when they get here. Playing for the first time is no longer intimidating."

The upcoming guide, the Hacker's Guide to Minnesota & Western Wisconsin Golf Courses, will be appearing in stores in late February, 2010 and will include 283 course reviews. As a bonus, there are 35 courses in Wisconsin as part of that total. Also found in the upcoming book will be the 2010 Hacker's Favorite Award winners and six unique Hacker's Trails that golfers can play this summer.

"We are thrilled that this second book is in the process of going to the printer. All year golfers across the state have asked when we were going to publish a statewide guide. In just a few weeks, they'll get their wish," stated Stasch.

About the Hacker's Guide
The Hacker's GuideTM is the first complete state-by-state golf course rating system since the United States Golf Association established par and slope ratings. Starting with the Twin Cities Metro area as a test market, the Hacker's Guide is being rolled out to eventually include a review of the close to 9,000 public eighteen-hole golf courses nationwide. The next guide will be the Hacker's Guide to Midwest Golf Courses and will include over 650 courses from Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa.

The Hacker's Guide to Minnesota and Western Wisconsin Golf Courses ($19.95) and the Hacker's Guide to Twin Cities Golf Courses ($14.95) are both being distributed by Adventure Publications from Cambridge, Minnesota, the region's leading distributor of local titles, and can be found at major retailers like Barnes & Noble, Borders, Nevada Bob's, Holiday Stationstores, Love from Minnesota, online at Amazon.com, area golf courses or at www.hackersguides.com and www.hackerscentralonline.com.

About Hacker's Guide Founder
Bruce Stasch, is the founder of Apex Golf Enterprises and originator of the Hacker's GuideTM a rating system which has been created to rate all eighteen-hole public golf courses in the country and eliminate the mystery of choosing a golf course appropriate for a golfer's game. In addition, he operates a blog and podcast about golf and equipment called Golf Gear News, and he is a frequent contributor to Tee Times Minnesota Golf & Living, Worldgolf.com and Minnesota Meetings & Events. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with his wife Eve and two dogs BJ and Annie.

Contact Info
Bruce Stasch
Apex Golf Enterprises
4317 Washburn Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55412
877-939-0458
www.hackersguides.com

Apex Golf Enterprises is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Apex Mountain Holdings Corporation, and publishes the Hacker's Guide, a golf course rating system, and operates websites, blogs and podcasts related to golf industry.

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