Minnesota, USA
Tepetonka is a private destination golf club near New London, Minnesota, designed by Australian firm OCM Golf — Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Cocking and Ashley Mead. The 18-hole layout spans 228 acres of glacial moraines in Kandiyohi County, with Shakopee Creek in play on six holes.
Tepetonka is a private destination golf club near New London, Minnesota, designed by Australian firm OCM Golf — Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Cocking and Ashley Mead. The 18-hole layout spans 228 acres of glacial moraines in Kandiyohi County, with Shakopee Creek in play on six holes.
Tepetonka brings Minnesota its first dedicated destination golf club, laid out across 228 acres of glacier-formed moraines in Kandiyohi County. OCM Golf's routing crosses two land parcels divided by Shakopee Creek, with 16 of 18 holes requiring minimal earthmoving to fit the natural terrain.
The Tepetonka name derives from a former lakeside resort on Green Lake in the nearby town of Spicer, the word interpreted as meaning "big tent" in the Dakota language. Founder Mark Haugejorde, a New London native, spent three years identifying a suitable site after a visit to Sand Hills Golf Club in Nebraska prompted the question of why Minnesota lacked a comparable destination course.
Ground was broken in April 2024, with Melbourne-based OCM Golf — comprising Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Cocking and Ashley Mead — leading the design. Minnesota contractor Duininck Golf, whose relationship with the Haugejorde family dates to the construction of the Little Crow Golf Course in the late 1960s, carried out the build.
The course reached the grassing phase in 2025 and is scheduled to open for member play in Summer 2026, managed by Illinois-based KemperSports. Membership is capped at 100, with play limited to 90 rounds per day.
Tepetonka plays to 6,765 yards at par-70 across terrain shaped by glacial activity 12,000 years ago. The moraines reach 30 to 40 feet in height, producing dramatic elevation changes of up to 100 feet across the property. OCM Golf compared the undulating landforms to the dunes found south of Melbourne.
The routing begins in cedar-lined corridors, moves out onto open prairie for the middle stretch, weaves through wetland areas, and returns to the cedars.
Shakopee Creek comes into play on six holes, including the 18th, where the creek guards the left side and the green sits at the water's edge.
Fairways are layered with approximately 50,000 tonnes of imported sand to produce firm, fast playing surfaces and efficient drainage. A nine-hole short course named Hog Heaven accompanies the main layout.
Tepetonka enters Midwest golf as Minnesota's answer to the destination club model established by Sand Hills in Nebraska and Ballyneal in Colorado. The OCM Golf design makes exceptional use of terrain that required moving just 1,000 cubic yards of soil across the entire site — a figure that underscores how naturally the land lends itself to golf. With grassing complete and a Summer 2026 opening scheduled, Tepetonka represents the most significant new private golf development in the Upper Midwest in recent years.
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