The Minnetonka Country Club was organized in the autumn of 1916. A group of business men and club men purchased 47 acres of beautifully rolling land with a complete set of buildings at Manitou Forest, Lake Minnetonka. Sufficient adjoining land was purchased next to lay out a full eighteen hole course. The location was strategic, being three blocks from the car line and at the intersection of boulevards leading to the Upper Lake and the North Shore.

The original nine was designed by Scottish-born journeyman Tom Bendelow who designed over 400 courses between 1905 and 1929. His work survives to this day from coast to coast with the majority of his courses being located in the Midwest. His best known course design is Medinah in Chicago, most recently home to the 1999 PGA Championship. Construction was supervised by Robert Taylor of Minnikahda.The Club prospered in the 1920's, and like the rest of the country, just made it through the great depression of the 1930's. As World War II approached, manpower became a problem, and it was difficult to maintain the course. Shortly, the most accessible nine holes were put together for play, and the rest of the course was abandoned to the wild.



The course was sold after World War II to an investor who ran it strictly as a 9 hole public golf course. The club changed hands again in 1954, and the restoration process began to reclaim the nine holes left to the wild and bring Minnetonka Country Club back to its full-size stature. The project was completed in 1959 and the decision was made to return the club to private country club status in 1960.