Des Moines Golf and Country Club is a private

country club A country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offe ...

West Des Moines, Iowa West Des Moines is a city in Polk, Dallas, Warren, and Madison counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. A majority of the city is located in Polk County, a minority of the city is located in Dallas County, and small portions extend into Warren and M ...

, located few minutes west of Des Moines. Its golf courses have consistently been ranked in the top ten golf courses in the state of Iowa. Established in 1899, it established its current site in 1970. In late September 1897, the foundation of the Des Moines Golf and Country Club was established. Newspaper accounts have the details: “A forty-acre field owned by Mr. J. S. Polk just north of the station at the end of Ingersoll Line will be fitted up for the grounds. Mr. Polk has consented to rent the ground to the club and become a member himself.” An organizational meeting on October 7 ratified articles of incorporation. N. T. Guernsey was elected as the first president of the new club. The incorporation papers were filed in

Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk: * Polk County, Arkansas * Polk County, Florida * Polk County, Georgia * Polk County, Iowa * Polk Count ...

on October 11, 1897. In 1906,

Joe Roseman Joseph Aloysius Roseman, Sr. (June 15, 1888 – February 29, 1944) was an American golf professional, golf course architect, and inventor of golf course mowing equipment. He designed at least 50 golf courses and made alterations on over 100 more. ...

was appointed as head professional and greens superintendent. In 1923, the Ashworth estate in West Des Moines was purchased and a new 18-hole golf course was designed. Following a devastating fire in 1946, a new clubhouse was built and membership rose to 365. In 1966, the new east-west freeway (now Interstate 235) cut through the heart of the golf course and members voted to move and build a new facility, featuring two golf courses, doubling the size of the clubhouse as well as membership. The club relocated to

Dallas County Dallas County may refer to: Places in the USA: * Dallas County, Alabama, founded in 1818, the first county in the United States by that name * Dallas County, Arkansas * Dallas County, Iowa * Dallas County, Missouri * Dallas County, Texas, the nin ...

in 1970, opening a new course on a hillside overlooking a valley in West Des Moines. Its tri-level clubhouse is the hub of all activities, including 12 tennis courts, an

Olympic-size swimming pool An Olympic-size swimming pool conforms to regulated dimensions that are large enough for international competition. This type of swimming pool is used in the Olympic Games, where the race course is in length, typically referred to as "long cour ...

, and the Pool and Tennis Pavilion. The club hosted the

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U.S. Senior Open The U.S. Senior Open is one of the five major championships in senior golf, introduced in 1980. It is administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and is recognized as a major championship by both the PGA Tour Champions and the Eu ...

, with a record 200,000 fans showing up for the four-day event, won by

Dave Eichelberger Martin Davis Eichelberger, Jr. (born September 3, 1943) is an American professional golfer who has won several tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour levels. Eichelberger was born in Waco, Texas. He started in the game at the age of ...

. It hosted the

Solheim Cup The Solheim Cup is a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States. It is named after the Norwegian- American golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim, who was a driving force b ...

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Golf courses

Location #1 – Located at the intersection of Ingersoll Avenue and Polk Boulevard, the first golf course was a haphazard 18 holes with no definition. It was later changed to a 9-hole course by designer Warren Dickinson. A "new" 9 was created with a "modern look" with fairways, trees, bunkers, and a few traps. The first Iowa Golf Association Championship was held on the grounds on August 28, 1900. Location #2 – In 1903, Warren Dickinson, then club president, announced on October 2 that the current golf links would be turned back over to Mr. Polk and the club had secured a 20-year lease on owned by the Gilchrest family near Waveland Golf Course. Thomas Bendelow, an employee of the Spalding Company, came to Des Moines on December 4 to design the new golf course. Bendelow designed over 600 courses in the United States. Location #3 – In 1921, as the lease on the land for Location #2 was set to expire, the club made plans to move to 147 acres bought from the Ashworth family just off White Pole Road, later named Ashworth Road (current site of

Dowling Catholic High School Dowling Catholic High School is a Catholic secondary school in the central United States, in West Des Moines, Iowa, within the Diocese of Des Moines. As of the 2013-14 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,431 students and 94.6 classroom ...

). At this time a faction of golfers led by the Hubbells and Denmans split off to build their own golf course on the south side of Des Moines called Wakonda Club. The new club on Ashworth was designed by the landscape architecture firm Pearse, Robinson, and Sprague. Warren Dickinson was also very prominent in the design of the new club. Upon moving to Location #4, 55 acres were sold to the

Catholic Diocese As of October 5, 2021, the Catholic Church in its entirety comprises 3,171 ecclesiastical jurisdictions, including over 652 Diocese#Archdiocese, archdioceses and 2,248 dioceses, as well as apostolic vicariates, apostolic exarchates, apostolic ad ...

for $320,000 and were sold for a commercial plaza, residential and apartment housing for $650,000. Location #4 (current site) – In 1957, the members learned of the planned east-west freeway ( I-235) and planning was put into place to find an alternative site. In 1966, the members purchased in West Des Moines, and the first 18 holes were dedicated in the spring of 1968.

References

External links

* {{Solheim Cup venues, state=collapsed Golf clubs and courses in Iowa Solheim Cup venues Sports in Des Moines, Iowa Sports venues in Greater Des Moines 1897 establishments in Iowa