Visalia Country Club

About Visalia Country Club

”The Visalia Country Club is a golf only club in Visalia, California.It is a relatively flat course with medium-sized greens. The greens are traditionally known for being real smooth and fast. The oak and pine trees form tree-lines along the fairways. There are grass and sand bunkers around the greens and on the fairways. There are about four to five bunkers per hole. Water hazards (three ponds) come into play on six holes. The signature hole is #16, a 150-yard, par 3, requiring a tee shot over water to a green that is surrounded by trees and bunkers.HistoryOn January 27, 1922 a meeting was held in the Visalia Municipal Auditorium for the purposes of organizing a golf club. Mr. Harvey V.E. Gilmer spearheaded the effort. The lack of awareness of the sport at that time made it somewhat of a challenge to arrange the initial subscriptions, but upon collecting twenty-five hundred dollars, property was leased from Dick Hyde. The first membership sold for fifty dollars, and the dues were five dollars per month.The Visalia Golf Club began with three holes, still existing today as numbers 11, 12 and 13. "Greens" were oiled sand, which needed smoothing before every putt. The tee areas were asphalt slabs. In 1926, six more holes were added and the sand greens were replaced with grass greens. Two years later the original clubhouse was erected. Later in the year, a clubhouse building committee was formed; plans were drawn up & accepted. W.R. Spalding (whose house still stands today in downtown and serves as one of Visalia’s two B&B’s) donated lumber for the new clubhouse. Members were asked to provide additional donations, and were enthusiastically willing – even non-members donated. The original clubhouse and greens had been constructed for a cost of $6400. The original clubhouse measured 16 feet by 24 feet, and burned to the ground in 1927. It was re-built the same year. Read more

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