Private

Lafayette Course

Lafayette Club

Minnetonka Beach, MN, USA
#2112World
#1890USA
#42MN
fordnick
wtt
EthanMN
MNVillan
Powerfade
+5

About this course

The Lafayette Club in Minnetonka Beach occupies a wooded site along the shores of Lake Minnetonka, approximately fifteen miles west of Minneapolis. Tom Bendelow designed the course in the early twentieth century, during his prolific period as a traveling architect for the A.G. Spalding sporting goods company. Bendelow laid out hundreds of courses across the Midwest and beyond, typically working with modest budgets and natural terrain to create straightforward, playable designs that introduced golf to communities throughout the region. The routing moves through mature hardwood forests and rolling terrain characteristic of Minnesota's glacial landscape. The property's elevation changes and tree-lined corridors create definition and variety across the eighteen holes. Lake Minnetonka itself provides scenic backdrop and influences the microclimate, though the course does not play directly along the water's edge for most of its length. The Lafayette Club operates as a private facility serving the western Minneapolis suburbs. Over the decades since Bendelow's original work, the course has likely seen modifications and updates to accommodate modern equipment and maintenance practices, as is common with designs from this era. The club maintains a year-round presence in the community despite Minnesota's seasonal climate, with golf available from spring through fall. The setting offers members a wooded, relatively secluded golf experience within the Twin Cities metropolitan area, reflecting the early country club movement's emphasis on retreat from urban life while remaining accessible to city professionals and families.

Quick facts

Location
Minnetonka Beach, MN, USA
Access
Private
Year built
1915
Holes
9
Designer
Tom Bendelow
Par
31
Length
2,148 yards
Difficulty
32.5/108
Course Vaults score
7.5

Getting there

The Lafayette Club lies just west of Minneapolis, a discreet twenty-minute drive from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport through the leafy suburbs that fringe Lake Minnetonka's northern shore. The route traces the gentle contours of Minnesota's most storied lake country, where the urban grid softens into tree-lined residential lanes and glimpses of water appear between the homes. For members arriving by private aircraft, Flying Cloud Airport offers a closer alternative, shaving the journey to mere minutes and preserving the quiet arrival befitting one of the Twin Cities' most historically guarded retreats. The final turn onto the club grounds feels less like an entrance than a disappearance - into old-growth hardwoods, manicured calm, and a century of Twin Cities tradition.

FAQ

Common questions about Lafayette

Ratings, design, and course details pulled from Course Vaults.

Lafayette has a Course Vaults score of 7.5 out of 10 based on 10 logged golfers.

Lafayette was designed by Tom Bendelow.

Lafayette is listed as private on Course Vaults; guest access is typically restricted.

Par at Lafayette is 31.

Lafayette plays 2,148 yards from the back tees on Course Vaults.

The slope rating at Lafayette is 108.

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