Owatonna Country Club

Overview: Owatonna Country Club is a private 18-hole course in southern Minnesota whose layout combines mature trees, water, and the low-lying land around the Straight River. Joel Goldstrand designed the second nine and helped shape the current full course, which plays to par 71 and about 6,296 yards from the back tees. Narrower fairways, water on several holes, and quick, demanding greens make placement important. The course's character comes from its combination of an older club foundation and later work designed to address the site's recurring flood conditions.

History: Owatonna Country Club was established in 1919 with an original nine-hole course. The club added land and revised the layout in the 1950s, then turned to Joel Goldstrand in 1973 for the second nine that created the current 18-hole routing. Flooding led to a significant renovation in 2004, and a further eight-hole project culminated in 2010, including three holes rebuilt from tee to green.

Did You Know? The Straight River has been both an asset and a recurring engineering challenge for the club. Earlier versions of the course could close when water rose, so later renovations did more than refresh the playing surfaces: they changed holes and drainage to make the course more resilient while preserving its relationship with the river valley.