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Course InfoStevens Point is a 72 par 18 hole course.
Opened in 1962 Larry Roberts was the course architect.
The course has a Reciprocal guest policy.
Club Type: Private.
The Stevens Point Country Club received its state charter in 1925 and the first meeting of pledge signers or stockholders was held on October 16, 1925.
In November 1925, the Club picked up land options for the Loss and Denelski properties of approximately 115 acres, together with another 25 acres adjoining old Highway 18. (This was most of the present real estate. Later other adjacent acreage was acquired to make up the present 185 acres.)
The preliminary layout of the course was made by a Mr. Jackson, who for a fee of $350 staked out the green positions, marked trees to be removed and prepared a map of locations. Mr. Jackson did no further work for the Club. The actual management of construction of the course was by Professor G.E. Culver, a retired teacher of geology at the old Stevens Point Normal School. For his work he was given a life membership in the Club.
Construction of the original course (9-holes) was done in 1926 and early 1927. The course was open for play in July of 1927, but playing conditions were really on a “grounds under construction” basis! Until the course was ready for play, pledges were slow in materializing into “cash on the barrel-head”. It was a critical financial period with “cash flow” lagging behind bills for labor, seed, machine work, etc…
The turning point in the financial picture for the club was late in 1926 when Margaret Clifford, Vice President, secured a $5,000 stock subscription from Whiting Plover Paper Company. This was also the beginning of many years of backing the Club by Whiting Plover and its executives. During those early years and into the Depression of the 1930’s, we could not have survived without the talent and service help of Whiting Plover. That company was the corporate “angel” of yesteryears as Sentry was in the 70’s and 80’s.
The prominence of Margaret Clifford as an original director and officer is worthy of special mention. In the original stock corporation women and men were corporate equals: both held shares of stock, could vote at annual meetings, and serve as directors and officers. Miss Clifford was a successful New York Life Insurance agent. She resigned as director at the 1927 meeting and died a few years later of cancer.
The club corporation was the Stevens Point Country Club (same as today) but the operating company was then known as The Whiting Country Club. Dues the first year (1928) were $40 single and $50 family with a $125 stock share prerequisite. Dues could be paid in two installments (April and July). Stock could be purchased for $5 a month for 25 months.
At one board meeting 2½ acres were allotted for golf practice, plus tennis and archery. A putting green was authorized because “half the strokes of this difficult art of golf are made with the putter”. The influence of Whiting Plover and Professor Charles Evans of the Normal School led to the decision to plant tree seedlings on the property.
About 50,000 Norway and White Pine trees were planted. Most of the seedlings were set by the Club members with some professional guidance. They were planted as windbreak and to hold the sandy soil. When planted we were advised that there would be a 20% to 30% loss or kill, but the loss turned out to be minimal, or less than 10%. This tree crop was so successful that later trimming and cutting were necessary.
Golf prospered at the Stevens Point Country Club because of the foresight to have a resident Golf Professional to run the golf business. Frank “Bobby” DeGuire was the first Pro and was hired for the first full golf year of 1928. Bobby had been a caddy in Appleton and won the State Caddy Championship. Still in his teens, he was hired as the Pro at the Bull’s Eye Country Club in Wisconsin Rapids. He taught many new golfers and managed many tournaments for men and women. He developed many young players and conducted school for caddies. (Before the pull cart or gas buggy we carried our own clubs or used caddies. The caddy-fee was 30 cents for carrying a “single” bag and 45 cents for a “double”. The strike demand was for a 5 cent pay increase after a walk off in June 1937 on a day when the temperature was an official 100 degrees!) Bobby DeGuire served until after the 1952 golf year when he became a sales representative for the Copps Corporation. He continued to serve at the Club as a director and as president in 1957.
The first Clubhouse was a converted farm house with living quarters for the golf professional on the second floor. The first floor was augmented with a large porch which served as a dining and bridge playing area. After the repeal of prohibition in 1933, liquor was served. There was a crowded room for golf supplies, storage, and club repair, etc. This make-shift Clubhouse was located where the present clubhouse is located.
The corner stone for the second Clubhouse was laid in 1953. We know it as the Pro Shop. The present Clubhouse was built and dedicated in December of 1969.
The original 1927 course was a 9-hole course. The scorecard showed 18 holes with the second “nine” a repeat of the first nine. About 1938 the first and only major change in the original nine was made. The original #6 hole was only about 220 yards, with the tee at the position of the present #9 tee and green to the left of present #15 green and near the fence at the boundary with Iverson Park. The revised #6 hole used the same tee (present #9) with the green elevated and near the present Clubhouse. During the construction of the new 18 hole course in 1965 we had a temporary or make-shift 9 hole course. With some changes in distances and tee placements, the first 18 hole course was similar to the course we now play.
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