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!

[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

[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!

[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

[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.

[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

[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

[BlackmoreRulz]

Didn't Duffy Martin have a course near that area? Somewhere around 29th & Penn near Brock Park?

[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]

Didn't Duffy Martin have a course near that area? Somewhere around 29th &
Penn near Brock Park?

It's very possible. I know he had a course in Moore, OK. The course is
still there, around SW 89 and I-35. I played that course every week in the
60's.

Many of the areas, including the Brock Park you just mentioned, were golf
courses prior to1949.

I played a gig last night and he won a CD! I'm going to do some research on
Duffy. He's 96.

[Prunepicker]

Here's something I just found. Duffy Martin must have lived at 2500 SW 30th.

I'm going to look for other information. Duffy Martin is second from the
left.

[Prunepicker]

I haven't been able to find anything about Duffy Martin owning a course
around the Brock Park area. I know there wasn't a golf course during the
50's and 60's since I had relatives about a block from the park and went to
school in the same place. If there was a course in that area it had to have
been around the 20's or earlier. The neighborhood began growing in the
1930's. Like Woodson Park there could have been a 9 hole course but it
would have been very small. Maybe a par 3. I don't know.

At any rate, there were many, many golf courses in OKC prior to 1950.

[Urbanized]

It's interesting that this has come up, as I just had a conversation this past week with a friendly business acquaintance who is retiring (this week) and who will be living on farm/ranch land that he purchased from Duffy, who is a friend of his. We chatted a bit about Duffy and it reminded me of all of the great rounds of golf I've played on his courses, though I haven't been on them in years. It prompted me to do a search and I found a really interesting Gazette article from 2010 that profiles him and breaks down his various endeavors over the years.

Unrelated: isn't it crazy that newspapers used to feel compelled to list home addresses of photo subjects in cut lines? Talk about privacy concerns!

[ctchandler]

Prunepicker,
It's on the Southeast corner of 89th and Shields. It's right across the street from what used to be a drive-in theater.
C. T.

It's very possible. I know he had a course in Moore, OK. The course is
still there, around SW 89 and I-35. I played that course every week in the
60's.