Golfing Comes To Muskogee

In the summer of 1902, residents in Muskogee started talking about establishing a country club. This led to the organization of a club near Fort Gibson named the Town and Country Club. Tams Bixby, a newspaper publisher, served as the first president. J. Fentress Wisdom was the club secretary. Within five years, however, use of a site on the east side of the Arkansas River drew opposition.

During the first month of 1907, organizers formed the Muskogee Golf Association. Their purpose was to establish a club closer to Muskogee. In addition, it was the new club's intention to absorb the Town and Country Club in Fort Gibson.

The golf club, limited to 100 members, paid $160 an acre to purchase a hundred acre tract from a Mr. Garland. This land northeast of town had been a cotton farm. The new location was near Hyde Park and was accessible by trolley. It was located three miles outside of the Muskogee city limits. While being more convenient, it was still far enough away from the noise and dust of town life.

The new location already contained a large house that could serve as a temporary clubhouse. Having a connection to the city water line was a bonus. The organizers planned to spend $25,000 more for new buildings and landscaping.

Just after Independence Day, the club sold the property at Fort Gibson to Frank J. Boudinot. This property included the barrack building and other structures used by officers stationed at the post decades earlier. With funds in hand, planning began.

The club brought in a specialist from St. Louis to help with the landscaping. George E. Kessler had previously been in charge of city parks for both St. Louis and Kansas City. He also landscaped the 1,200-acre property used for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Kessler, a German, was a pioneering American landscape architect.

Kessler envisioned a fountain, immense flowerbeds, shady walks and vine-covered pergolas. He also thought a vegetable garden should accompany the wide stretch of lawns. He drew plans for tennis courts, too.

Construction of the new clubhouse began almost immediately. The new building cost $6-7,000. About the same time, the club built a golf course. Underbrush, weeds and old cotton plants made way for the first nine holes. This was the second nine-hole golf course built in Oklahoma.

J. F. Darby, president in 1908, promoted the expansion of membership. By the end of April that year, there were a hundred and thirty-five members, a third more than the old limit allowed.

On May 23, 1908, the club hosted its first handicap golf tournament. The grass barely covered the golf course. A dance followed the game that evening. The club's first golf pro arrived two weeks later.

William Nichols arrived in June, having learned the game in his native country of Scotland. Besides giving golfing lessons, he would win the first Oklahoma Open Golf Tournament in 1910. He followed this with another win the next year. He also won in 1914 and 1920. Muskogee's golf pro was truly Oklahoma's master golfer. Many local residents learned to play golf from his tutoring.