Our History
Cheboygan Golf & Country Club has a long and rich history stretching back more than a century to its beginnings in 1922; first as an idea and soon thereafter as one of the first golf courses in Northern Michigan.
Like any local endeavor, success has always been due to the dedicated efforts of hundreds of citizens of the greater Cheboygan community throughout the years. That tradition continues to this day, where our members are a vital to the operations of our club.
Fifteen volunteer community members met in January 1922 to get things started. A month later Articles of Incorporation were filed and an initial seven member Board of Directors was elected. Naturally, the first order of business was to acquire the property needed to construct a course. The decision was made to purchase Joe Allaire’s sixty acre farm located just outside of Cheboygan on Old Mackinaw Road. To help with the purchase, thirty-five members of the new club contributed $100 each.
Things moved very quickly at that point with the Board hiring F.J. Duffina from Mackinac Island to design and oversee the construction of the new nine hole course. Very quickly indeed!! Construction began on April 17, 1922, only two months after the club was legally organized. Those were the days, eh?
Operation of the new course began the following year, 1923, with an annual budget set by the Board of $2,500. In fact, that budget amount held for the next few years before needing to be increased.
The first clubhouse was actually the old farmhouse on the property. Membership for the newly established golf club grew rapidly right from the start. There were seventy-seven initial members with that number growing to over one hundred members only a few years later. Then in 1928 a membership drive was conducted resulting in another twenty-five new members added. The cost of an annual membership back then was $75.
For non-members, play began in 1926 with initial green fees of $1.50 per day, $6 per week, $20 per month and $30 for the entire season. Discounts were offered for additional family members and junior golfers.
The Great Depression
With the onset of the Great Depression in the late 1920s and early 1930s, times got financially challenging. Revenues had been rising steadily since the club began operation hitting a high of $6,000 one year. But when times got tough, that number got as low as $2,000 in 1934 and 1935. Green fees had to be cut back to $1 a day from their initial levels to gain enough revenue to maintain operations.
But even then, members were interested in expanding the course from nine to fifteen holes. A special committee advised against the expansion at that time, however, due to the struggling economy. By the late 1930s, things began to turn around with membership and revenues growing again.
The First Northern Michigan Open
In fact, things were good enough that the first Northern Michigan Open was established at the course in 1938. The tournament was suspended during the war years, but commenced again in 1950 and has been played continuously every year since.
Of note is that professional golfer Tom Watson played in the event when he was about 16 years old. Word is he shot about par his first day, but didn’t break 80 on the second day. See, there’s hope for us all!
The Clubhouse Burns Down
Tragedy struck in 1966 when the old farmhouse that had served for 44 years as the clubhouse burned down. There had been plans for many years to expand the clubhouse, so with everyone pitching in to help, a new shed was quickly constructed. That shed, which originally served as the replacement clubhouse, is now used as the cart shed located behind the current clubhouse.
The original plans to expand the course and facilities that were discussed in the 1970s were very ambitious including an additional nine holes, new clubhouse, swimming pool, tennis courts and racquet ball courts. The Board and members at that time had great visions of making CGCC a true country club. As you can see, most of those plans never materialized.
Expansion of the Course
The course remained a nine hole course until expansion was finally approved in the 1970s. In order to make things more interesting during those first fifty years, the nine holes would be re-numbered from time to time and played in different sequences.
However, the expansion of the course was approved and an additional 25 acres were secured via a leasing arrangement with the adjacent airport. With those addition holes constructed, CGCC became the eighteen hole course we enjoy today—a wonderful course, with a long history that continues today thanks in large part to the many wonderful people who make it all possible.
For a local golf course that has been a major part of our small, rural Northern Michigan community for over a century, we have a lot to be proud of, and a lot to be thankful for.
