Keith Jorde

Keith Jorde grew up on a farm just a short distance from the Thief River Falls Golf Course.  When he was young, he spent most of his time at the course earning extra money as a caddy.  Golf became very important to young Jorde.  In addition to caddying, he spent his time playing and practicing.  Jorde began beating the best local golfers, and it was not long before he became the club champion with the course record.  Jorde’s talent, as well as his love for the game, only grew over time.  

Jorde was a well-rounded student throughout high school.  He was a member of the Athletic Scholarship Society, which required above average grades, good sportsmanship, and good citizenship.  Jorde played varsity basketball, sang in Boys’ Octet, and received honors as a tenor soloist.

Keith Jorde’s obvious specialty, however, was golf.  In his junior year of high school, Jorde won the Minnesota Junior State Championship, along with the Region 8 High School Championship.  In the same year, he competed in the National Junior Golf Tournament in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  During his senior year, Jorde won the 1949 Minnesota High School Championship.  The University of Minnesota recruited Jorde, and he went on to play as the top golfer on the U of M team. He lettered in golf for three years and took 3rd in the Big Ten tournament of 1953.

While attending the University, Jorde was married and started a business.  Over time, his potato brokerage business grew, enabling him to purchase several tracts of farmland in various states, including Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Jorde returns to Minnesota every summer to participate in the Birchmont and Alexandria Resorters tournaments.  Jorde won the Birchmont Super Seniors award in 1998, and he still enjoys four rounds of golf a day.