1899 A group of 14 university professors and local businessmen form the South Willamette Golf Club – the second golf club founded in the state of Oregon – on College Hill. “In its young and struggling years the club was a small and exclusive affair with a nine-hole golf course spread out over the east slope of College Hill.” – The Story of Eugene
1905 A 1905 University of Oregon publication reads, “Every sport at its introduction into a community must bear a certain amount of ridicule and the performance of the sponsor must be looked upon with a certain amount of distrust and disgust by the uninitiated before it succeeds. So it is not surprising that Director Burden’s patience was sorely tried when he attempted to teach the student body and subsequently the Eugene public to loft the elusive gutta-percha about the green.”
A 1905 University of Oregon publication reads, “Every sport at its introduction into a community must bear a certain amount of ridicule and the performance of the sponsor must be looked upon with a certain amount of distrust and disgust by the uninitiated before it succeeds. So it is not surprising that Director Burden’s patience was sorely tried when he attempted to teach the student body and subsequently the Eugene public to loft the elusive gutta-percha about the green.”
1912 The Club is incorporated on Christmas Eve when it acquires its first clubhouse (2598 South Willamette Street) next to the Club’s first golf course, a nine-hole layout with sand greens.
1921 Membership dues are $1 a month, plus war tax.
Membership dues are $1 a month, plus war tax.
1923 The Club purchases 146-acers of farmland from the Young, Ford, and McAlister families on the north side of the Willamette River. H. Chandler Egan, U.S. Amateur Champion in 1904 and 1905, is engaged to design an 18-hole course. Egan’s original design was never completed, likely due to financial constraints during the Great Depression and World War II. Very few of the fairway bunkers he planned were constructed and some modifications to his plans were made when the second nine were built in the late 1920s.
1926 The full 18 holes officially opens.
The full 18 holes officially opens.
1930 The Oregon Open is held at Eugene Country Club.
1965-1967 Robert Trent Jones is commissioned to make design changes with significantly larger greens as one of the key goals. In a unique remodeling of a golf course, Jones reverses the original Egan routing, placing the first tee near Egan’s 18th green, and so on. Routing of just two holes is altered from the Egan design.
Robert Trent Jones is commissioned to make design changes with significantly larger greens as one of the key goals. In a unique remodeling of a golf course, Jones reverses the original Egan routing, placing the first tee near Egan’s 18th green, and so on. Routing of just two holes is altered from the Egan design.
1969 The first Hit & Giggle debuts to rave reviews.
197? Arnold Palmer visits Eugene Country Club.
Arnold Palmer visits Eugene Country Club.
1978 Eugene Country Club hosts the NCAA Men’s Championship. WINNER Oklahoma State (team) / David Edwards (individual)
2011/2012 Eugene Country Club is rated #85 in America’s Top 100 Golf Courses by Golf Digest.
Eugene Country Club is rated #85 in America’s Top 100 Golf Courses by Golf Digest.
2012 Eugene Country Club is rated #67 Best Modern Golf Course by Golf Week.
2017 A club-wide renovation project combining history and modernity is completed. The Club undergoes a re-brand.
A club-wide renovation project combining history and modernity is completed. The Club undergoes a re-brand.
2018 Eugene Country Club hosts the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship.
2019 Eugene Country Club to host the U.S. Girls Junior Championship.
Eugene Country Club to host the U.S. Girls Junior Championship.