Wayzata

The origin story of the Wayzata Country Club is a tribute to the power of the “do-it-yourself” ethos. An owner of one of the five dairy farms in the Wayzata area agreed to allow a “yet unknown group of public spirited Wayzatans” build the country club on the property, and these members largely built the first golf course by themselves as an accompaniment to the then more popular equestrian activities.

Eventually, however, membership decided to allow someone else handle the work, bringing in Robert Bruce Earle to create a proper routing. Although the blue-collar atmosphere remains, the club hired John Fought to conduct renovations to the tee boxes and bunkers during the 2000s.

The modern course stretches past 7,100 yards from the tips, and challenges players further with a combination of tight, tree-lined fairways and strategically-placed bunkers to challenge those who might challenge its doglegs. The last hole is an intimidating par four that doglegs right before making a daunting climb back up the clubhouse.

The other dairy farms in the area have since become more suburban so that members no longer feel “way out in Wayzata.”