Metro Tour: Part NOTE: This is the installment in a three-part series on the golf courses of the Twin Cities metro area. In this installment, Minnesota Golfer explores the history of private golf courses and their role as the earliest golf clubs in Minnesota. By Chuck Lennon Perhaps the best kept secret about Twin Cities private clubs is that they laid the foundation for golf in Minnesota. the turn of the 20th century, there were four private country clubs in the metro area. The was conceived when several groups connected to the St. Paul Winter particular, the their social and recreational pursuits year round and named their alliance the Town Country Club. In February 1888, that new club had 170 members, including railroad baron James J. Hill and Lucius B. Ordway. The members leased an entire hotel on Lake Como and had tennis but no golf. In late 1889, they relocated to the current site and commissioned architect Cass Gilbert (who built the Minnesota Capitol building) to construct a clubhouse. Hill was among the dozen people who played the course during its season; he hosted a group of German investors for golf on a Sunday as he was his Great Northern Railway. Ordway, Hill and Gilbert were also members of the White Bear Yacht Club (WBYC), where golf eclipsed sailing by the 1930s, because it was very expensive and golf was more says Brian Seim, an executive at WBYC. OF CHAMPIONS The Minikahda Club has played host to several notable events won by noteworthy champions. In 1927 Bobby Jones took the third of his U.S. Amateur Championships there, and in 1957 the United States topped Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup. In 1988 Minikahda hosted the U.S. Amateur, and 10 years later it was home to the 30th Curtis Cup matches. In 2007, Jim Lehman lost in the of the Trans-Mississippi after 20 holes to Trent Brown of Scottsdale, Ariz. But most notable was the 1916 U.S. Open Championship, which was won by amateur Charles Evans, who famously donated his winnings to fund what is today known as The Evans Scholarship. After Evans won with just seven clubs in his bag, the members hired Donald Ross to ramp up the golf course! Pictured left: Bobby Jones and Charles Evans MINNESOTAGOLFER Summer 2010 www.mngolf.org