Bent Creek Golf Club, which opened more than 50 years ago in Eden Prairie as a public course before becoming a private club in the early 1990s, is under new ownership.
In February, the club was purchased for $3.075 million by the LaMettry family, better known as the owners of a chain of auto and truck collision repair shops in the Twin Cities. The sale officially went through on March 11.
Located on Valley View Road, just north of Highway 212 and west of Interstate 494, Bent Creek is an 18-hole course that spans just over 6,500 yards and features multiple practice areas and a clubhouse.
“We have approximately 325 members,” said Joanne LaMettry, who, along with her husband, Richard, owns the land on which the course is located. All other aspects of the club are owned by the couple’s two sons, Justin and Randall.
The previous owners were Golf View Investments, owned by the Koch family.
“Our sons have been members at Bent Creek for several years and knew it was for sale,” LaMettry said.
The course opened in 1971 under the name Edenvale as a public course before transitioning to a private club in 1990.
When the club’s then-owners proposed selling the property for development in 2007, nearby residents strongly opposed the proposal.
The city council, referencing zoning and open-space agreements from the 1970s, rejected any proposals to repurpose the land away from its intended use as a golf course. It approved a change in the guide plan, reclassifying Bent Creek as a “golf course” from its previous designation of “public/quasi-public.”
While there will be some future upgrades at Bent Creek, LaMettry said there will not be any major foreseeable changes.
The Koch family, meanwhile, is out of the golf business.
“We’re done,” said Herb Koch, whose father headed a group that bought Edenvale in the late 1980s and turned it private. Herb Koch owns a convenience store in Loretto.
The club has an active junior golf program, catering service, and on-site dining for members and their guests.
Persons interested in membership can call the club at 952-937-0789 or visit its website.
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