Vandalia Country Club To Celebrate 50th Anniversary
The Vandalia Country Club is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
Plans are being made for a special week, Aug. 3-9 ending with an open house on
Saturday, Aug. 9. Refreshments will be served on Saturday, Aug. 9, 10 a.m.-?.
All past, present and future members are encouraged to attend. Everyone is encouraged
to come out and see the newly redecorated club house and take tours of the golf course
throughout the day.
Further details will be published in the coming weeks or for more information contact
Shirley Forgy, 594-2958.
The following is a short history of the country club submitted by Joe Bahr for the Vandalia
History Book, Volume I.
The Vandalia Country Club was established May 7, 1958 under the original name of “The
Vandalia Recreational Development Company.”
A group of Vandalia businessmen who were avid golfers and members of the Pike County
Country Club became aware of a parcel of land consisting of 80 acres located five miles
east of Vandalia that might be a possible sight for a golf course and country club. It was o
the north side of Highway 54 just east of what was known as the “Five Mile Curve.”
These 10 men - Roz Morris, president of Vandalia State Bank; Rual Morris, vice president
of Vandalia State Bank; Ray Morris, vice president of Vandalia State Bank; Aubrey Bland,
co-owner of Mac’s Appliance; Hal Clinton, owner of Clinton Drugs; Claude Collier, owner of
Western Auto; J.R. Doughtery DO, local doctor; Ed T. Harvey, plant manager of Harbison-
Walker Refractories; Vernon Weiser, owner Weiser Drugs and Steve Whisler, local
dentist, applied for and were granted a charter as a not-for-profit corporation from the
State of Missouri for the purpose of developing the club.
The land was purchased from Ellen Calhoun and plans were underway for developing the
club. Applications for membership were accepted from residents. Those accepted as
members during the first year were classified as charter members. There were 80 such
members.
A company that operated a plant nursery in the St. Louis area and was also a golf course
designer was contracted to lay out the course and to help in the construction as an
advisor. Much of the preparation and actual labor was done by volunteers who were now
members. It was decided to build nine sand greens instead of grass greets which would
greatly reduce the initial costs.l Sand greens were somewhat popular in the area at the
time. There was a statewide organization, the Missouri State Sand Green Association, to
which the club become a member. The remainder of 1958 was spent on the development
of the golf course as the land became available when crops were harvested.
An organizational general membership meeting was held on Feb. 26, 1959, for the
purpose of elected a board of directors. The following were elected to this board: Wade
Belts, Roy Uhey, Harold Fuller, Claude Collier, J.R. Doughtery, William George, Henry
Harp, Rual Morris and J.W. Mitchell. Wade Belts was elected as the board’s first president.
Work progressed through the spring of 1959, allowed for golf later in the spring and for
the construction of the club swimming pool. The first official round of golf was celebrated
with a grand opening May 17, 1959. The grand opening of the pool was held May 25,
1959. The pool was open a total of 75 days that summer with 3,388 swimmers registering
at the pool that first year. Many felt that because of the country club pool, the need for a
city pool became eminent.
Improvements at the club, particularly the clubhouse, were made in the next few years and
by the end of 1964 the clubhouse, as it is today, was complete. Donations and volunteer
help from the membership made it happen.
In 1964 the Vandalia Recreational Development Corporation, the original owners,
released their holdings thereby giving ownership to the members. By the end of 1964
there was growing interest in converting the sand greens to grass. The main component
would be the need for a water supply. A lake was formed on the property with additional
donations from members. The same people who helped lay out the golf course were again
contracted. Even though this was to be a major project, the golf season of 1967 started
with grass greens.
In the mid-’60s the Van-Far School Board initiated high school golf as a spring sport. The
Vandalia Country Club became the home of the Van-Far golf program. It remains so today.
In the late ‘90s finances were such that the club opened the course to non-members for
open play. Several other types of memberships have also been introduced to help meet
the needs of the community.
From the very start the Vandalia Country Club has been a community project. The area
brick plants, the local lumber yards, the hardware suppliers, the area banks, the City of
Vandalia and the schools have all contributed to the success of the club and its members
have enjoyed for almost half a century.
A junior golf program was organized by Sunny Morris. They played every Tuesday
morning in June, July and August of 1962-1964. Golfers ages 10-18 were included. There
were 18-20 young golfers every week. She enjoyed helping the young golfers because
they were so interested in the game. On the last Tuesday in Many, Sunny and Father
Kaiser held a clinic to teach them how to grip the clubs and how to swing. Possibly even
more important was the lesson on golf etiquette. Several tournaments were held
throughout the summer and plaques were purchased by Mrs. Morris to record the
accomplishments of the champions of the tournaments. Junior Golfers in 1962 were Buddy
Schwab, Mike Bahr, Susan Grafe, Patty Howell, Kathy Schwab, Barbara Mitchell, Neal
Carter, Pat Fitzgerald, Bill Howell, Mike Howell, Cary Morris, Johnny Weiser, Mike
Fitzgerald, Louis Kurz, Danny Forgy and Timmy Fuller.
There have been quite a few hole-in-ones at the local country club. Mrs. Morris purchased
a plaque to record the names. It is on display at the club.
A 40th anniversary celebration was held Nov. 7, 1998 with several original land
purchasers attending, namely, Jackie Doughtery, Ray Morris, Marie Whisler, Rual Morris
and Delphia Phillips.
Joe Bahr
Weekly activities at the course include the Tuesday Night Scramble, Wednesday Night
Ladies Golf, Thursday Night League and what has become a most popular activity, the
Friday Night Couples League which averages over 20 couples per week.
Many new revisions have taken place in the club house over the past couple of years due
to many hours of volunteer help and donations such as each room being newly painted,
the former cooking area was turned into a sitting room for golfers to cool off and have
refreshments from the extended menu in the pro shop, wallpaper was hung in various
rooms and the addition of a pool table for members has proved to be a positive addition
after many hours of enjoyment for those playing.