FIRST LOCATION: Petition circulated in 1923 for a 9-hole course to be put where the football stadium is located now. The stadium is approximately where hole #2 was located. It was nothing but rocks. Approximately 90 men signed up to join and pay $10.00 membership fee with a monthly dues to be decided at a later date.
SECOND LOCATION: In 1926 or 1928 the course was re-located to where the Knutson Elevators are presently located.
THIRD LOCATION: Was down by the river. Shady Lawn was on one side and Shady Beach on the other. Swimming and picnic areas were on Shady Beach and the golf course was on Shady Lawn.
FOURTH LOCATION: What is now the parking lot of United Grocery Store was the east side of the course.
FIFTH AND PRESENT LOCATION: In 1948 fifty-three men got together and donated money and labor to build 9 holes at our present location. The City of Guymon had acquired one section of land through the Cooys Estate which had the stipulation that the land be used by the City and not sold, or used, for private industry. It took until about 1956 when the first grass greens were constructed. It was about this time the course was turned over to the City of Guymon to operate and fund. As funding was practically non-existent in those days it wasn’t until the early 60’s all nine holes were grass. In 1963 Roy and Farrell Carter were hired to operate the course for the City of Guymon. Hole #1 was located over by the airport and the Carters’ had a very small office in one of the buildings there.
Now we have 8 full time employees and 4 part time seasonal workers with two additional helpers to work the grounds during the summer.
During those early days no funds were available and everything was donated by various members and townspeople. Trees came from people’s yards (the large spruce by the clubhouse was from the Bob and Jean Maupin yard). The rock wall that surrounds the putting green came from the Wright ranch, donated by Dorothy Wright. Equipment for digging and planting the trees was all donated by various contractors and the labor supplied by members.
In 1976 construction started on an additional 9 holes, design work done by Cliff White and Steve Braley, once again done with volunteer labor and through donations. Construction the clubhouse began in 1976 with funds made available from men paying for a five year membership in advance and additional land donated by the Elks Lodge.
Carts were first made available in much the same way. Business men in Guymon were contacted and signed a note at the bank for $1,000.00 each. Revenues from cart rentals were put into a special cart fund and applied to pay off the note. The cart fund remains in effect today, separated from the general fund, and is used for SHGC – History.
Funding cart maintenance; cart paths; pros salary; mechanic salary; salary for person responsible for getting out carts and putting carts up each day and for the purchase of new carts. The general funds are funds used to manage the course; payroll and buildings.
The first carts were all electric carts and we have gradually gone to all gas carts – we presently have a total of 55 carts in service.
We have a budget for operating expenses which cover all of the above. The golf pro, grounds sup. and business manager all work together with the City Treasurer in preparing this yearly budget. For the past several years we have managed to come in under budget while continuing to make many improvements on the course as well as purchasing new equipment.
It is the hope that the golf course can become self-supporting within the near future. The city had previously funded approximately $30,000 to $35,000.00 toward the course but within the next year or two we can see that figure being reduced. While some think the thirty to thirty-five thousand figure is a lot for the city to contribute it is far less than the amount applied toward our city parks. It is sometimes difficult to stay within the budget with golf gaining so much in popularity which in turn increases our operating expenses. Our membership increases each year. Right now we have about 400 members and more will be joining in July for semiannual; Jr. Golf and College golf. We average about 80,000 rounds of golf each year – many of those being daily green fee players. What all of this means to Guymon is money generated as sales taxes. Not only tax collected at the course but out of town players spend the night, eat, and fill up with gas. During tournaments men often bring wives who shop while husbands play golf. Many times, during the summer months, we have people traveling through that stop to stretch for nine holes, end up enjoying the course so much they spend the night and come back the next day for more golfing. We have been told that the RV Center is usually asked about the golf course as is the airport and motels. We are open 363 days out of the year, closing only on Thanksgiving and Christmas day.
Golf is a game for all ages. We had one gentleman, R. M. Ford, that celebrated his 92nd birthday on the course. He had played in Guymon for 63 years. We encourage the youth to play with a Jr. Golf program conducted each summer. The program consist of lesson once a week for six weeks; green fees during the weekdays and a Jr. Golf Tournament held at the end of the lessons. This program is open to youth 7 years of age through 17 years, beginning when school is out until the day school starts in the fall. We also offer a special rate to college students for the summer months. Their membership is from May 15th to Sept. 15th and includes green fees for every day. The Sr. Citizens also receive a discount on membership fees but not on daily green fees.
In closing I would just like to say we are very proud of our golf course and Guymon has every right to be proud too. We bring a lot of people from the surrounding areas into Guymon and they are constantly praising our course. We would like to invite you out to look around, try out the game and maybe you will just decide to join in with the millions that find this game so fascinating.
GUYMON GOLF COURSE
The Guymon Golf Club was started in 1923. The first location was northeast of town about where Knutson elevator is located. This was on a quarter of land owned by Jack Curtis, Connie Curtis’ dad. Later the course was at Shady Beach, a swimming hole on the Beaver River, about seven miles east of Guymon. Bud Perkins played on this course. Later the course was located south of town but was moved north of town to make room for an airport runway. This course was north of 15th Street. Otto and George Frittz were caddies on this course at 10¢ a round. Dr. Johnnie Blue would pay Otto a nickel more, but he would have to watch where the ball went plus which direction the club went. Some of the golfers who played on this course were Gus Rockaway, Dr. Blue, Joe Sullivan, Ivan Perkins, Charlie Boston, Bolo Valdez, Homer Dixon Sr. and Tom Metcalf of Hooker, Oklahoma, probably the best of the lot.
After the war, the golf course was moved to its present location and again it was sand greens. J. K. Sproles introduced a game played with bow and arrow against the golfers. The grass greens for nine holes were done in 1954. The second nine holes greens were finished in 1975. Cliff White was instrumental course design and mixed the existing nine in with the new making it an 18-hole course. Many people were responsible including much help from the county and city, with both and equipment, and the local banks.
Many years ago Guymon was without a golf course. Research has shown that as many as five golf courses exited in Guymon including the current Sunset Hills. At one point a group of residents joined forces and 90 people contributed $10 each to fund a golf course in town. Below are the signatures of the people who made a contribution and the amount.
Roy was manager of our Guymon Golf Course for many years, one of the best. Henry Wacker and I owned a ranch southwest of Trinidad, Colorado, with thousands of pinon trees all over. On one of our trips to Trinidad, Roy suggested we dig up some of those trees, re-plant them on the Guymon course. So with volunteer help, Melvin Campbell, with his backhoe, and several others taking their pickups and U-Hauls, we dug, bagged, and brought to Guymon a hundred or more trees. Roy had them planted all over our course. They all lived, and now a quarter century later beautify our course. I still marvel how we get things done in our No Man’s Land community with Laborers, Laymen, and Professional men all donating their time at no cost, to our beautiful 18-hole Guymon, golf course.