Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012 - 30

Lake Calhoun/The Minikahda Club
The Minikahda Club
in three, " the Journal reported. Jaffray
evened the match by winning the 29th
hole, then Bend fell behind for the fi rst
time three holes later " by driving into the
tall grass and foozling his approach. On
the 34th hole Jaffray did the best work
of the day, holing out in four strokes,
two better than bogey. The reach is 600
yards and had proved Jaffray's hoodoo in
the fi rst three rounds. He made a beautiful
drive and accurate approach and
downed his ball with a six-foot putt.
Bend rimmed the hole on his fourth shot
and holed out in fi ve. "
Jaffray won the next hole to close out
Bend 3 and 1.
In the fall of 1906, Jaffray and head pro
Robert Taylor laid out nine additional
holes at Minikahda. The 18-hole course
opened on July 4, 1907. Prolifi c Chicago
golf course architect Tom Bendelow was
hired the following year to make improvements
to the course, but Jaffray deserves
co-designer credit.
Jaffray then turned his attention to
teaching the game to his son, Clive Palmer
Jaffray. His fellow club members enjoyed
the spectacle.
" When Palmer ... would foozle a shot,
that more young players-and they are
all young in a sense at The Minikahda
Club-have not availed themselves of
Mr. Watson's guidance. It is noteworthy
that the best players of the club are those
who have had the benefi t of his advice
and are receiving daily instruction from
him. Among them is C.T. Jaffray, who. . .
put in the hour from 5 to 6 p.m. yesterday
making the round with the Instructor
and devoting himself assiduously to
every point of the game. "
Jaffray was a medalist in the third Minnesota
State Amateur in 1903, shooting
an 84 at Town & Country, but was elimi28
MINNESOTA
GOLFER Fall 2012
nated in an early round. The following
year, he made it to the fi nals but lost to
Town & Country's Harold Bend when,
on the fi rst extra hole, a dog ran out in
front of him just as he was teeing off. In
their rematch at Minikahda in the 1906
fi nals, Jaffray found himself three down
with 11 to go. At that point, the Minneapolis
Journal reported, " The Minikahda
enthusiasts conceded victory to Bend. "
Not this time. Jaffray won the next two
holes, the second one with a birdie.
" On the 27th hole Jaffray made the
prettiest strokes of the day, skimming the
bunker on his approach and holing out
his redoubtable pater would shout and
storm so vigorously that the lecture
would echo all over the links, " Walter A.
Raschick wrote in Amateur Golfer magazine.
" But Palmer, rather than wilting,
thrived under fi re and soon showed suffi
cient skill with the sticks to challenge
his father. Then the elder Jaffray was appeased
and father and son become one of
the most expert teams in the Northwest. "
In fact, one of C.T. Jaffray's last runs
at the state championship came in 1915,
when he defeated Palmer in the second
round of the Minnesota State Amateur at
Minikahda. Palmer reached the fi nals of
the Minnesota State Amateur twice. He
also cofounded the brokerage fi rm Piper,
Jaffray, along with fellow Minikahda
member and Yale classmate Harry Piper.
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Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2012

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