The Old Course on Main Street: A Century of Life and Golf on the Minnesota Prairie

“Uncommon outcomes grow from small pieces and the commitment of uncommon people,” said Steve Klick, owner of the Old Course Sauk Centre – a golf course in the small prairie town of Sauk Centre, Minnesota. When Dave Caughren, a local banker, sought treatment for stomach ulcers, his doctor recommended walking and golf as a partial remedy. That suggestion inspired Dave to gather a team of town leaders to build a nine-hole golf course on the shores of Sauk Lake in 1921. Combining inspiration with the commitment of ordinary and not-so-ordinary townspeople, what resulted was a love affair for golf in Sauk Centre that persisted through the dark days of the Great Depression and World War II, to prosperous decades and the financial struggles that followed. This is a story of community cooperation and resourcefulness in pursuit of preserving a cherished golf course. But it is also a story of the relational ties that bind for a common purpose, as discovered through the personal stories of the golfers that ultimately make the Old Course still live and breathe.