The Minikahda Club is a private

country club A country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offe ...

in southwest

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. The club is located just west of

Bde Maka Ska Bde Maka Ska (, previously named Lake Calhoun, its former official designation) is the largest lake in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, and part of the city's Chain of Lakes. Surrounded by city park land and circled by bike and walking ...

and is the oldest country club west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. The clubhouse, which is situated on a high hill, overlooks the lake and has expansive views of the surrounding area and the Minneapolis skyline. Established in 1898 by a group of wealthy Minneapolis families, the club’s golf course, named one of the top 100 classic golf courses in the United States by

Golfweek ''Golfweek'' is a golf magazine and digital media outlet based in Orlando, Florida, United States. It is part of Gannett's USA Today Network. History and profile The magazine was founded in 1975 by Charley Stine and was originally named ''Flori ...

, has been host to several golf tournaments including the U.S. Open in

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * J ...

, the

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

in 1927, and the

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

in 1957.

History

Minikahda was founded in 1898 on the hills above the west shore of Bde Maka Ska, the land, purchased from the Oglala Lakota Chief "Swift Dog" who owned the land in which the golf course stands to this day. At the time, there were no roads around the lake, so the property extended to the lake, with a boathouse for sailing and other aquatic activities. The name Minikahda comes from the

Lakota Lakota may refer to: * Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: * Lakota, Iowa * Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County * La ...

, a combination of two

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

words meaning 'by the side of the water'. The club logo is a Native American shield, similar to the original artifact which is framed in the clubhouse, the shield belonging to Swift Dog himself.

Golf

Minikahda owns an 18-hole golf course extending to the south and west of the clubhouse with holes on either side of Excelsior Boulevard that is open to members at any time during the golf season. Included on the grounds are a putting green, a chipping green, a driving range, and an iron range as practice areas. Amateur

Chick Evans Charles E. "Chick" Evans Jr. (July 18, 1890 – November 6, 1979) was an American amateur golfer of the 1910s and 1920s. Evans, who won the 1910 Western Open, became the first amateur to win both the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in one year, a ...

won the U.S. Open at Minikahda in 1916 and then won the

later that year at

Merion Golf Club Merion Golf Club is a private golf club located in Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, a township bordering Philadelphia to the northwest along the historic Main Line. The club has two courses: the East Course, and the West Cours ...

to become the first to win both titles in the same season. In addition to the 1916 U.S. Open, the club has also held the U.S. Amateur in 1927, the

in 1957, the U.S. Women's Amateur in 1988, the

Curtis Cup The Curtis Cup is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers, awarded in the biennial Curtis Cup Match. It is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and The R&A and is contested by teams representing the United States and ...

in 1998, and the U.S. Senior Amateur in 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Minikahda Club Golf clubs and courses in Minnesota Walker Cup venues Curtis Cup venues Sports venues in Minneapolis Organizations based in Minneapolis