The Mission of Davenport Country Club

The Davenport Country Club is a Quad City based private organization operating for the recreational and social objectives of its members and their families. Included in our recreational facilities is the premier golf course in the area as well as excellent dining, swimming, and tennis facilities.

The Davenport Country Club's mission is to provide superior services and providing quality facilities while maintaining fiscal responsibility. The Club is committed to providing a good working environment for its personnel.

The Davenport Country Club can accomplish its mission through representative board leadership, professional management and properly trained staff, while maintaining appropriate membership levels.

A Golf History of The Davenport Country Club

During 1924, the newly opened Davenport Country Club saw its first golf rounds. The facility itself catered not only to golf and family recreation but also housed extensive stables in what was later to become the "Old Barn" clubhouse. At first, the clubhouse was located on the riverside of the highway that now fronts our club. It commanded a magnificent river view.

The Club founders searched the ranks of the then-available golf architects, forgoing the numerous Scottish golf architects of the day, and settling on the then famous firm of Colt and Alison. H.S. Colt and Charles Hugh Alison were the Pete Dye and Robert Trent Jones, their reputations taking a back seat to no one. They built some of the most famous and recognizable golf courses around the world. Ron Whitten, the architectural editor of Golf Digest, co-author of The Golf Course, and a die-hard Alison fan, indicates our course was build under the auspices of Colt and Alison, but the design and construction was overseen exclusively by Charles Hugh Alison.

From the opening day, the reputation of our course grew, and by 1936 we were the host for the first of two Western Opens. During this time period, the Western Open was considered a major tournament and not until replaced by the Masters did it fall from that status. An interesting footnote is that only once in the history of American major tournaments has a player won a major tournament in three consecutive years. This feat was accomplished by golf professional Ralph Guldahl in the 1936, 1937 and 1938 Western Opens - the first of the three was held at the Davenport Country Club. In 1937, Guldahl also captured the United States Open title, his second, along with the 1937 Western Open title, thus giving him, effectively, three Majors in a twelve-month period; not the Grand Slam, but an amazing accomplishment nevertheless.

During the 1930's when slot machines were present at the Davenport Country Club, our course also saw many of the legends of golf try their luck. In 1934, Gene Sarazen shot a 64, the lowest round at that point in his professional career. This established a new course record, which stood untied until Ralph Guldahl shot 64 in the 1936 Western Open. Guldahl and Sarazen's records remained until broken in the 1951 Western Open by George Fazio, who shot a splendid 63; this record was later tied by amateur member Dave Gross in the early 1960's. Another famous golfer to play our course was Walter Hagen. In 1926 he shot a 68 on the then par 70 course. In 1934 DCC got the upper hand on Mr. Hagen when he shot a one over par 71.

In the 1951 Western Open, the fame of our sixteenth hole, often included in the national ratings as an All-American hole, grew when Sam Sneed tried to "play it safe" by teeing off with an iron in the final round, only to shoot himself into trouble and out of contention.

For over a quarter of a century, our head professional was Pete Pelcher, nationally famous in his own right and a close associate of all the golfing great's of the first half of this century. Pete's death from cancer in 1968 coincided with the total destruction of our clubhouse by fire. Pete's reputation as a teacher was vast and stories still abound about his style and his students, not the least famous of which was Dick Smith, a Davenport Country Club Member, whose feats at the Club and elsewhere are the source of many of our club's traditions and history. Dick was so promising that he was voted captain of the North Texas State University golf team as a sophomore during a period when NTSU was a golfing powerhouse. Dick remains a story in his own right.

During the 1960's, E.G. Lockie and Associates remodeled the course, changing our second hole from a par four to its present par five and realigning the third hole to bring the water into play. After the redesigning of these holes, the only verifiable course records are 65's held by B.C. Open winner and former Richie Karl, former DCC Professional Craig Bunker and DCC member Mike Rock. Pat McGowan, PGA Tour veteran shot the course record 64 from the blue (championship) tees during the Hardee's Pro Am held here at DCC on September 15, 1992. Other scores that may be noteworthy: Dave Rueter shot a 62 from the white tees the summer of 1994 and Curt Schnell shot a 59 from the white tees October 19, 1994. The Davenport Country Club Women's record held by Mrs. H.R. Staats was set in 1941 with a 73 and was held until Kelley Brooke broke the record in the late 1980's with a 72.

DCC is traditionally ranked as one of the best five courses in the state of Iowa. The recent course changes will serve only to enhance this standing. The Davenport Country Club has played host to two Western Opens, four Women's State Amateur Championships, two Men's State Amateur Championships, three Iowa Opens, and numerous section Championships. These professionals and amateurs learned what every golfing member at DCC knows; Charles Alison designed a truly beautiful and challenging golf course.

Michael E. Rock, a DCC member and Club Historian wrote, "A Golf History of Davenport Country Club." The membership is sincerely grateful for his assistance.