Golfing in OKC - History

[Prunepicker]

Here's an interesting article from 1904. That's before statehood.

Some Monday Business Boomers

[Prunepicker]

Another good one from 1916. This is near the Medical Center.
I guess doctors really did golf a lot.

[Prunepicker]

From September of 1917.

[RadicalModerate]

If I'm not mistaken, I have gotten the impression that a Golf Bonanza is in the works on one o' them thar' tributaries to the Chisholm Creek branch o' the Urban Sprawl and the Flood Plain over there around Memorial and Penn. Traffic be "Dammed". Agin. =)

'ceptin' fer auto traffic it shud be gud . . .

(edited to correct: change "around" to "'round" . . .

Can I apologize for using the term "Bonanza" rather that "Extravaganza"?
(i hope so . . . =)

[ctchandler]

Since this thread is about golfing in OKC, does anybody remember the golf course that had boundaries of E. Hefner and Memorial and N. Bryant and Eastern? Now if somebody on this board claims to have played it, I want to meet them because it was closed in the 30's. I have no idea what the name of it was.
C. T.

[Prunepicker]

Since this thread is about golfing in OKC, does anybody remember the golf
course that had boundaries of E. Hefner and Memorial and N. Bryant and
Eastern? Now if somebody on this board claims to have played it, I want to
meet them because it was closed in the 30's. I have no idea what the name
of it was.
C. T.

I've searched my sources and can't find anything about the course. Maybe
it didn't advertise.

Oklahoma City, and the area, was home to many golf courses. Some were
9 hole and some were 18.

I continue to search.

[Joe Kimball]

Since this thread is about golfing in OKC, does anybody remember the golf course that had boundaries of E. Hefner and Memorial and N. Bryant and Eastern? Now if somebody on this board claims to have played it, I want to meet them because it was closed in the 30's. I have no idea what the name of it was.
C. T.

Of course you're not referring to the nine hole, par three course at Lion's Fun Park, a storied stable of wonder to me in my youth. But it's funny that it was right by there!

[ctchandler]

Joe,
It really is close, but the one I'm talking about closed long before that. I have lived near Memorial and Eastern since 1975 and I don't remember a "Lions Fun Park". I just searched the DOK archives and it is definitely there in the early 90's, but "where is there?". West of Eastern?
C. T.

Of course you're not referring to the nine hole, par three course at Lion's Fun Park, a storied stable of wonder to me in my youth. But it's funny that it was right by there!

[Prunepicker]

Here's an ad from November 15, 1921.

I believe golfing may have been a bigger casual sport than it is today. I say
that because prior to 1950 there were many, many more coursed in the city
area. I wonder how big it would have been if there had been cable TV and a
golfing station in the 20's?

[Prunepicker]

Here's an article about Duffy Martin's driving range on S Shield and
County Line road.

[ctchandler]

Prunepicker,
Where in the heck is South Shields and County Line road? Actually, this is a rhetorical question, I have never heard SW/SE 89th referred to as "County Line road", but that apparently is what the article is referring to.
C. T.

Here's an article about Duffy Martin's driving range on S Shield and
County Line road.

[Prunepicker]

Prunepicker,
Where in the heck is South Shields and County Line road? Actually, this is a
rhetorical question, I have never heard SW/SE 89th referred to as "County
Line road", but that apparently is what the article is referring to.
C. T.

Maybe it was called that as a reference point or something.

[Richard at Remax]

A lot of people don't know that OKC has had 2 golf majors in the metro. Everyone knows about the 1988 PGA Championship up at Oak Tree National, but also the 1935 PGA Championship at Twin Hills.

1935 PGA Championship Details - PGA Media Guide

First place won $1000. Times has changed

[Martin]

a 2003 article from the oklahoman says that the fun park was located at 13801 n. eastern ave. i'm curious about the other golf course in that area from the 1930's... will have to see what i can dig up. in south okc, my understanding is that the land south of capitol hill highschool was once a golf course. -M

[ctchandler]

Martin,
What timeframe for the one South of CHHS? I grew up in that area and I hadn't heard that. Of course, we still had farm land in the city limits (Reding family at 36th and Western) so a golf course could easily been in that area. The fun park was North of Memorial, that makes more sense.
C. T.

a 2003 article from the oklahoman says that the fun park was located at 13801 n. eastern ave. i'm curious about the other golf course in that area from the 1930's... will have to see what i can dig up. in south okc, my understanding is that the land south of capitol hill highschool was once a golf course. -M

[Prunepicker]

Martin,
What timeframe for the one South of CHHS?
C. T.

At least from 1932 until 1953.




Here's an article from 9/28/1953

[Eldestof4]

Some observations about the 1935 map.

1) The course/hole numbering is nothing like the modern-day course. Now, five holes (10-14) are south of NW 63rd and west of Pennsylvania in that unmarked area surrounding the Belle Isle Lake Add. and Belle Isle Heights Add. (The modern-day order of those five holes was once--before my time--10-14-13-11-12.) Could there have been a land swap of the 9-hole course east of Penn for the Holes 10-14 area?

2) The modern-day street layout adjacent to OCG&CC as shown in 1935 has changed significantly. The part of Sherwood Lane running from Penn SW to 63rd is now part of Huntington Ave. As far as I can tell, nothing of Oxford Drive remains today. However, Pennington Ave has been extended across Penn to Hillcrest.

My family has lived on Hillcrest for 50 years in May, and between my sister and our grandparents, 75 years on Huntington Ave (more over towards Western.)

[Prunepicker]

Here is some information from Wikipedia. I haven't golfed in decades but
I still enjoy the history.

From Wikipedia
Early golf clubs were all made of wood. They were hand-crafted, often by
the players themselves, and had no standard shape or form. As the sport of
golf developed, a standard set of clubs began to take shape, with different
clubs being fashioned to perform different tasks and hit various types of shot.
Later, as more malleable iron became widely used for shorter range clubs, an
even wider variety of clubs became available.

The woods were:

Play Club: Driver Brassie:
2-Wood Spoon:
Higher-Lofted Wood
Baffing Spoon: Approach Wood

These were made of wood and were used until being replaced by the
numbered system used today.

The irons were:

Driving Iron: 1 Iron
Cleek: 2 Iron
Mid Mashie: 3 Iron
Mashie Iron: 4 Iron
Mashie: 5 Iron
Spade Mashie: 6 Iron
Mashie Niblick: 7
Iron Pitching Niblick: 8 Iron
Niblick: 9 Iron
Jigger: Very low lofted iron, shortened shaft

The Mashie Niblick was not a wedge.

The traditional set of irons was invented by Archibald Barrie and were used
from 1903 up until about the 1940s. The introduction of the standardized
numbered iron set produced by the Spalding Sporting Goods Company
in the early 1930s caused the traditional set of irons to gradually give
way to numbered convention.

The traditional irons varied greatly in loft (+/- 5 degrees). The shape of the
head determined some of the playing characteristics of the club; most
traditional heads were roughly egg-shaped. Sabbath sticks

Sunday or Sabbath sticks were the golf enthusiasts' answer to the Church of
Scotland's discouraging golfing on Sundays.

Clubs were disguised as walking sticks, the club head comfortably fitting in
the palm of the golfer's hand, until feeling unobserved, the stick was reversed
and a few strokes were played.

[s00nr1]

Lion's Fun Park did indeed build a fun 9-hole course in its latter days and I spent quite a bit of time out there as a junior golfer. Was disappointed to see the facility went out of business after we moved from Edmond to the Dallas area in '94.

[Prunepicker]

I attended several Quail Creek Opens in the 60's. Some of the participants
were Arnold Palmer, Jack Nichlaus, Chi Chi Rodriguez. Miller Barber and
many others. I believe Sam Snead may have attended.

I'd follow Chi Chi because he was so much fun. Miller Barber was just too
much common sense and not very interesting. He was a great golfer.

My brother was almost hit by a bad fairway shot by Jack Nicklaus. Lil Bro
was standing against a tree and Jack's ball hit about 2 inches above his head.
The ball rebounded onto the fairway. I think it was 1966.

[Martin]

What timeframe for the one South of CHHS?

i don't know when it went in but if i had to guess, i'd say it was removed in the mid 1940's to early 1950's. -M

[Martin]

i ran across this while looking for info. it's a section of a 1935 okc map showing nichols hills. it shows an additional 9 hole course east of penn that no longer exists. -M

here's a link to a large version of the graphic

[Martin]

i found that there was an 'edgemere golf course' at nw 36th and walker where the christian church and its related grounds are currently located. an article from 1935 talks about public outcry as the developers who bought it planned to turn it into a subdivision. -M

[Martin]

finally found info on the 'capitol hill golf course'... an article from 1937 discusses the sale of the course located at 501 southwest 44th to a mr. & mrs. w.m. cooper and states that the course would remain open. the article also states that the buyers previously sold a 'fairview golf course' near nw 23rd and eastern. -M

[ctchandler]

Martin,
It was on the North side of 44th and that makes sense to me. The school on the South side was built before 1935 and when you mentioned a golf course, I incorrectly thought South, that's why I had trouble figuring out how their could have been one there. I do remember that it didn't have any homes but I'm not sure I knew what golf was in the 40's, so of course (pun intended), I don't remember it.
C. T.

finally found info on the 'capitol hill golf course'... an article from 1937 discusses the sale of the course located at 501 southwest 44th to a mr. & mrs. w.m. cooper and states that the course would remain open. the article also states that the buyers previously sold a 'fairview golf course' near nw 23rd and eastern. -M