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The Country Club
was organized on October 2, 1899. It was located on thirty acres of ground near
10th South and 11th East in Salt Lake City, Utah. The course consisted of nine
holes with sand greens on all but the ninth hole.
In 1906, The Country Club was relocated to what is now Forest Dale Golf Course
on 900 East and approximately 2400 South. The clubhouse at that location still
remains and the city has completely renovated that structure. The Country Club
remained at that location until 1920 when it relocated to its present location
at the mouth of Parley's Canyon. The golf course that was constructed in 1920
was designed by Willie Watson and Harold Lamb. Mr. Watson was a notable
architect who also designed numerous championship golf courses including the
Olympic Club, Interlachen,and Harding Park. Mr. Lamb was a local golf champion
and was a member of The Country Club. The original Clubhouse at the current
location was completed in July, 1923.
Notable players that have played golf at The Country Club include two U.S.
Presidents, Warren Harding and William Howard Taft, as well as Bobby Jones,
Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Lloyd Mangrum, Frank Stranaham, Cary
Middlecoff, Chick Evans, Clayton Heafner, Ed Oliver, Jimmy Demaret, George Von
Elm, Ralph Guldahl, Ray Mangrum, Harold McSpaden, Tee Branca, Bob Hope, Bing
Crosby, Tommy Armour, Al Espinosa, Olin Dutra, Harry Cooper, Babe Ruth, Horton
Smith, Lawson Little, Bobby Locke, Jimmy Thompson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus,
Mark O' Meara, Tom Kite, Mike Weir, Mike Reid, Peter Jacobsen, Nancy Lopez and,
of course, Johnny Miller.
The Country Club has hosted many prestigious golf tournaments during its
100-plus years of operation including the 1947 Western Open. The Country Club
has hosted the Utah State Amateur Championship 39 times including every year
from 1899 to 1919.
In 2000, The Country Club began an 18-month clubhouse renovation project that
updated the building and restored the original clubhouse design.
In 2006, The Country Club began an 18-month golf course renovation. The project
encompassed new bunkers, teeing grounds, and greens. John Harbottle, the golf
course architect, made other design changes that updated the course, created new
challenges, but also preserved the history of the golf course design. |
