Perham Lakeside Golf Club marks 80 years as community anchor

Perham Lakeside’s unusual scale in a small city

Perham Lakeside Golf Club has grown into one of rural Minnesota’s rare 27-hole public golf properties, and in Perham it now serves as much more than a place to tee off. Just north of town, the club combines championship golf, a premier practice facility, a restaurant, a patio and an event center in one destination, which gives it a reach that stretches well beyond golfers alone.

That matters in a city of 3,512 people, according to the 2020 census. In a place that size, a single recreation property with food service, weddings, banquets, youth programming and three full nine-hole layouts becomes part of the local economy as well as the summer routine. It helps explain why Perham Lakeside is often described as a community anchor rather than just a course.

From nine holes to 27: how the club evolved

The club says it was founded in 1946, when it began as a nine-hole course on relatively flat land with very few trees. It stayed that way for 42 years, long enough for the course to become familiar terrain for generations of local players before growth in the game forced a bigger vision.

That expansion came in the mid-1980s, when the club hired Minnesota architect Joel Goldstrand to expand the property from nine to 18 holes. Goldstrand, a PGA Tour player who is said to have designed nearly 100 golf courses in the Midwest, brought a design pedigree that gave the project regional weight. The additional holes opened in 1988, and the course later evolved again into today’s 27-hole facility.

The current layout is divided into three nine-hole courses: Maple, Oak and Pine. That structure is unusual for a rural Minnesota town because it gives the club more flexibility for daily play, league nights, tournaments and events, while also allowing the property to serve a broader mix of golfers at different skill levels.

What makes the property a regional draw

Lakeside’s appeal starts with golf, but its footprint is broader than the scorecard. The club describes itself as featuring 27 holes of championship golf, scenic courses and a first-class practice facility, with both a full-service clubhouse and an on-site event center. Otter Tail Lakes Country Association and Explore Minnesota both describe the course as public and open to golfers of all ability levels, which helps explain why it attracts a wider audience than a private club might.

For families, the most important feature may be the way the property lowers the barrier to entry. The junior golf page says the club aims to make the course a favorite summer destination for families and offers affordable junior rates because cost can keep young golfers from participating regularly. That kind of access is important in a recreation economy, where a first round or a junior lesson can create repeat visits for years.

The club’s location also helps. It sits just north of Perham, and county tourism materials describe it as one mile north of town. That places it in the path of travelers moving through Otter Tail County’s summer network of lakes, resorts, restaurants and events, where a golf stop can turn into a full day of spending.

Why the business side matters

Perham Lakeside is not just a place where people play 18 or 27 holes and leave. The property is designed to keep visitors on site longer, and that has direct implications for local business activity. Golfers can practice, eat, sit on the patio, attend an event or plan a family gathering without moving to another venue, which keeps recreation dollars circulating in the Perham area.

The event center is a major part of that model. The club says its indoor venue can seat up to 400 guests and includes an outdoor wedding site, a full-service bar and a full audio and visual system on a more than 200-inch screen. Otter Tail Lakes Country Association describes the space as capable of serving up to 450 guests, underscoring how the property can function as a banquet hall and wedding destination as much as a golf course.

That multipurpose role matters for nearby restaurants and lodging. A tournament weekend, wedding reception or family reunion at Lakeside can generate traffic before and after the main event, especially in a county where summer travel patterns are tied closely to recreation spending. In practical terms, the club helps support the same business web that sustains other Perham-area visitor stops.

A summer destination built for more than golfers

What makes Perham Lakeside distinctive is not just its age or acreage, but the way it has adapted to changing local needs. The course still serves serious golfers, but it also offers a practice facility, junior rates, food, event space and a setting that works for visitors who may never play a full round. That mix is rare in a town of Perham’s size and gives the property an outsized role in the county’s summer economy.

The club’s 80-year run shows how a single recreation site can become part of a region’s identity through steady expansion rather than one big reinvention. From a nine-hole course on open land to a 27-hole destination with Maple, Oak and Pine, Perham Lakeside has become a year-round-style summer hub for golf, gatherings and local spending. For Otter Tail County, that makes it both a sports landmark and a durable business asset.