Somerby Golf Club and Community
Byron, Olmsted County, Minnesota · Rochester golf market
- Access
- mixed
- Holes
- 18
- Architect(s)
- Tom Lehman, John Fought
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Somerby Golf Club and Community sits on the north side of Byron, Minnesota, a few miles west of Rochester and the Mayo Clinic, and is Minnesota's most thoroughly documented example of a golf course built from the start as the organizing spine of a residential development outside the Twin Cities metro. Construction on both the course and the surrounding community began in May 2002 and finished in April 2004, developed by Golden Tee Development LLC, a joint venture between Minnesota-based Ames Construction, Inc. and Wensmann Homes, Inc. On November 11, 2008, Ames Construction announced it had acquired Wensmann's interest in the venture, becoming the club and community's sole developer-owner. The Tom Lehman/John Fought-designed championship course (par 72, 7,209 yards from the back tees) drew immediate national attention, ranking 8th in Golf Digest's 2005 list of the best new private courses in the country, and hosting the Nationwide Tour's Showdown at Somerby event in both 2006 and 2007.
The residential side of Somerby grew from an initial handful of families to more than 130 households within its first several years, and today spans more than a dozen named neighborhoods with distinct housing types and price points -- from the association-maintained townhomes of Belvoir at Somerby to on-course and off-course custom-home sites in neighborhoods like Southwell and Somerby West 1. In February 2026, Evergreen Partners, a private-club management and acquisition group, purchased the golf club following a member town hall and a 96% approval vote -- coverage of the deal specifically noted that the choice of long-term owner mattered because "the club experience directly impacts real estate sales" within the still-active community, underscoring that Somerby's golf and residential sides remain functionally linked even as the club itself changes hands. Buyers should treat the acquisition as a real, current-tense ownership change worth asking about directly, since this session found no official source addressing whether it altered any neighborhood's existing membership-bundling terms.
Golf & Course
Somerby's 18-hole championship course, designed by Tom Lehman and John Fought and opened in 2004, plays to a par 72 across 7,209 yards from the back tees (course rating 75.0, slope 147) on bentgrass. It has hosted numerous Minnesota Golf Association and USGA competitions and was the site of the Nationwide Tour's Showdown at Somerby in 2006 and 2007, giving it a competitive pedigree unusual for a residential-community course of its type.
Membership & Access
Does buying a home here include club membership?
Access to Somerby's golf course is not uniform across the community. In Belvoir at Somerby, an association-maintained townhome neighborhood, all owners are reported to be social members of the golf club as part of their HOA fee, with access to the clubhouse, swimming facilities, and tennis courts included. Elsewhere in the community -- including custom-home neighborhoods like Southwell, which the club's own marketing describes as offering both on-course and off-course home sites -- golf membership is purchased and applied for separately from the home itself, following the more conventional private-club model. Buyers should confirm, neighborhood by neighborhood, whether a specific HOA bundles any level of club access before assuming either model applies.
Living in Somerby Golf Club and Community
Somerby grew from its original 2002-2004 build-out to more than 130 families within its first several years and now spans more than a dozen distinct neighborhoods -- including Belvoir at Somerby (association-maintained townhomes), Southwell (a mix of on-course and off-course custom lots on a private cul-de-sac), Somerby West 1 (lots open to outside builders), and the Epperstone Enclave -- each with its own character and, in at least Belvoir's case, a different relationship to club membership than the community's custom-home neighborhoods.
Lifestyle & Amenities
The 35,000-square-foot clubhouse includes men's and women's locker rooms, a golf shop, fine dining, and a grille room. Neighborhood-level amenities reported for at least the Belvoir at Somerby association include swimming facilities and tennis courts, bundled into that neighborhood's HOA fee alongside social club membership.
Location & Surrounding Area
Somerby sits on the north side of Byron, Olmsted County, a short drive west of Rochester and the Mayo Clinic -- Minnesota's third-largest metro and its dominant regional economic engine -- making it a genuine bedroom-community golf address for the broader Rochester labor market rather than an isolated resort development.
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What Buyers Should Verify
- Confirm current initiation fees, dues, and membership category structure directly with the club -- not publicly published.
- Confirm, neighborhood by neighborhood, whether club membership is bundled into HOA fees (as reported for Belvoir at Somerby) or sold separately (as appears to be the case for custom-home neighborhoods like Southwell) before assuming either model for a specific property.
- Confirm what, if anything, Evergreen Partners' February 2026 acquisition of the golf club changed about existing neighborhood-level membership arrangements, HOA relationships, or the community's ongoing real-estate development -- no official statement addressing this was found this session.
- Confirm current gated status and full current neighborhood list directly with the community; this session's list of named neighborhoods (Belvoir, Southwell, Somerby West 1, Epperstone Enclave) is likely incomplete.
Notable
- Ranked 8th nationally among best new private golf courses by Golf Digest in 2005.
- Hosted the Nationwide Tour's Showdown at Somerby in both 2006 and 2007.
- Developed 2002-2004 by Golden Tee Development LLC, a joint venture of Ames Construction and Wensmann Homes; Ames acquired full ownership in November 2008.
- Evergreen Partners acquired the golf club in February 2026 following a December 2025 member town hall and a 96% member approval vote.
- Has its own dedicated Wikipedia page, unusual among Minnesota's developer-built golf communities outside the Twin Cities metro.
Considering a Move to Somerby Golf Club and Community?
Whether you're comparing Somerby Golf Club and Community with another Rochester golf community or you're ready to start looking at homes, US Golf Living can connect you with a local real-estate specialist.
US Golf Living provides independent real-estate research and can connect consumers with real-estate professionals. Golf membership, availability, fees and approval are determined independently by the applicable club.