Jim Nantz To Help Design Short Course At New Destination Golf Club In Minnesota

Jim Nantz has said one of his dream jobs as a kid was golf course architecture. The renowned CBS golf broadcaster even built a replica of Pebble Beach’s par 3 seventh hole in the backyard of his home on California’s Monterey Peninsula.

Now, Nantz is getting the opportunity to collaborate on the design of a short course at a new private club in Minnesota — Tepetonka — that was founded by one of his college golf teammates at the University of Houston.

Nantz, whose PGA Tour work with CBS stretches to the mid-1980s, will team with Tepetonka’s design firm OCM Golf on the creation of The Prox, a 9-hole Par 3 course that will be integrated into the club’s practice facility. OCM was founded by Geoff Ogilvy (the 2006 U.S. Open champion), Mike Cocking and Ashley Mead. Tepetonka, meanwhile, is the vision of native Minnesotan Mark Haugejorde, and is the state’s first entry in the high-end private, destination-golf niche.

“I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Mark Haugejorde for over 40 years and Tepetonka is his life’s calling,” said Nantz, a member of the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. “After visiting with Mark and the OCM Golf team nearly a year ago, it became apparent that they were on the brink of building something that will be legendary.”

Nantz is one of the founding members at Tepetonka, which has a unique operational model different than that of a traditional private golf club. It’s expected to open in 2025.

Nantz and Haugejorde were college teammates on a Houston team that also included Fred Couples and, briefly, Nick Faldo.

“After meeting with my old friend a few times, Jim said he wanted to become a member and I asked if he might be interested in a deeper involvement,” said Haugejorde, who won a Minnesota state championship in 1973 at a high school just minutes from Tepetonka’s 228-acre property.

“Jim personifies the three guiding principles of Tepetonka: camaraderie, community, and charity. And given the decades he’s spent calling tournaments at courses that include some of the world’s best par 3s, and the level of attention to detail he brings in all things he does, we know he’ll add his experience onsite with OCM.”

In August, Nantz, OCM and the architecture firm of Douglas Fredrikson Architects will present the full master plan for golf, lodging, and supper club to Tepetonka members in Minneapolis. The founding memberships have been completed, with invitation-only memberships open for a club that will join the ranks of private destination properties like Sand Hills (Nebraska), Ballyneal (Colorado), the new Lido Club (Wisconsin), the Harvester Club (Iowa) and Sutton Bay (South Dakota).

“Having had the opportunity to spend some time with Jim recently, it became apparent that he has a keen interest in golf course design and specifically in short courses,” said OCM’s Cocking. “We’re looking forward to working with Jim on the design. His input and experience will be invaluable in what we’re creating.”

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