History

Time has wrought many changes over the land that now comprises Flushing Valley Golf and Country Club. According to local Indian history, much of which is unauthenticated because of the lack of eye-witness accounts by the Indians themselves, it probably first belonged to the Sauks who lost it in warfare to the Chippewa. The land was included in the Treaty of 1819, considered by some to be the most pertinent single event in the history of the state, whereby the United States purchased some six million acres from the Chippewa.

The property which comprised the beginnings of our golf club was bounded on the south and west by the Flint River, on the north by Main Street and on the east by a line drawn through the present hole number twelve from Main Street to the river. It was first deeded to Waterman Neff in 1835. It changed hands numerous times and, just prior to its beginnings as a site of recreation, was farmed by the William Davie family.

It was around 1928 that a group of men from Detroit expressed an interest in the property and began developing the original golf course. According to the abstract, it was not until 1930 that the property was deeded to, interestingly enough, Flushing Valley Golf Club, Inc. Although an eighteen hole course was on the drawing board, only nine holes were developed. Teams of horses were used for the earth moving operations. Sod was brought in for the greens, which reportedly were quite good even by today's standards. The Davie farmhouse, located just to the west of the present entrance to the club, was used as a clubhouse. The golf club at that time was operated as a semi-private organization with Charles Gordon as pro-manager.

The group known as Flushing Valley Golf Club, Inc. was unable to meet their mortgage obligations during the depression and in 1931 the property reverted to Gertrude Davie and Walter and Mildred Heenan, the latter being a daughter of Mrs. Davie. Walter Heenan operated the club as a public course and the clubhouse as a social club during the thirties and early forties. A large stone fireplace was added to the clubhouse, making it a cozy meeting place for Flushing couples. In 1935, two years after the repeal of prohibition, Mr. Heenan acquired a license to serve 3.2 beer in his establishment. During the last two or three years that Mr. Heenan owned the property he leased the golf course to Delbert Frechette and Arthur Gibbs who ran it with Heenan's assistance. During World War II it became increasingly difficult to obtain machinery, parts and gasoline. For a while interested golfers contributed their time and equipment to help maintain the course but the shortages finally enveloped their staunchest efforts and the club closed in 1943.

On May 24, 1944, the property was purchased by Dr. N.A.C. Andrews, Dr. William Braamse, Ed Dalton, Fred Russell, Paul Shepard and Gerald Wheeler, all of Flushing. The clubhouse was torn down in late 1944 or early 1945 and these men held the property dormant for fourteen years. They frequently discussed what might be done with it, including turning it into home sites, a gravel pit or a racetrack, but could never come to agreement, partly due to the fact that Mr. Russell and Mr. Shepard both held the opinion that one day it would again be used as a golf course.

In 1958 a group of 35 people began to consider the possibility of purchasing the long defunct golf course in order to provide Flushing residents their own golf club. They came to an agreement with the owners and entered into a land contract with them. The six men who were selling the property to this new group known as Flushing Valley Golf and Country Club, Inc. did not include in the sale any of the Main Street frontage except for the lot just to the east of the current driveway.

Fifteen years after the course was abandoned, weeds were in abundance, the grass was waist high on the greens and trees up to six inches in diameter had grown in the fairways. The course was restored through the considerable effort of Bob Mains, who cautiously entered into a contract with the club. He had the phrase "if we have rain" included repeatedly in the document in order to protect himself. After the reactivation of the course, a watering system for the tees and greens was installed. Originally the course had had a minimal watering system with the pipes laid atop the ground, but this was disassembled during the war and the pipes sold, as scrap steel was bringing a good price.

Although the facilities were limited and somewhat primitive, the first years of the present club were filled with enthusiasm and memorable times. The clubhouse, a little green shanty which was later demoted to a storage shed along number 14 green before being torn down, was the center of activity when it sat on the site of the present number 10 men's tee, serving as a mini pro shop and snack bar. It was on the hill in 1960 that Doug and Jean Carmichael instigated, with a grill, hotdogs, beer and a group of friends, the couples' nights which are still enjoyed by members today.

Dreams of a modern clubhouse came into reality in 1961 with Dick McNally as Building Committee Chairman. The site in the valley was selected and on August 4, 1961, a ground breaking ceremony, with President Lou Anderson turning the first shovel full of dirt, was held. Work on the new clubhouse progressed rapidly and it was formally opened on December 2, 1961, with the President's Ball. The original clubhouse included a dining room ,a small kitchen, locker rooms and a small pro shop. With the placement of the clubhouse in the valley, some minor course revision was necessary. At this time, and until 1968, William Brasher was greens superintendent.

In May, 1962, with its new facility in full operation, the club hired its first pro- manager, Robert Burns. He was followed in July, 1963 by Larry Laur, a member of the PGA, who resigned at the end of the season to accept a position at Warwick Hills. Next came Tom Donlan in March, 1964, followed by Al Edwards, another PGA member, in March, 1966. In 1967 the club changed from a pro- manager concept to a club manager only, employing George Dent until 1970. He was succeeded by Jerry Thomas for the 1970 season and Nick Harrish was hired in 1971 and filled the position until 1975. The club hired its first " pro-only" pro, Bill Baldwin, in 1975. The establishment of this position permitted the expansion of golf oriented services provided at the club. Lance Van Natto was hired that same year to fill the position of club manager.

The position of house manager was deleted in 1983 and a management agreement was entered into with a private restaurant firm for bar and food operations. This arrangement continued for two years and in 1985 the club resumed an in- house management system. Fred Shuring was hired to fill the resurrected position of house manager. Tim Foster came on board as golf pro in 1986. He served in a dual role as house manager and golf pro for 1988. In 1989 house management was assumed by the board of Directors with Theresa Allen as food service manager.

Thoughts of expanding the golf course to eighteen holes date back to its beginnings. The first concrete step toward its realization occurred in 1965 when the property on the south side of the river was purchased from Donald Cameron. In 1966 the club acquired additional acreage to the east by purchasing, from several businesses and individuals along Main Street and Flushing Road, the rear portion of their holdings which extended to the river. With these acquisitions tentative designs for the eventual expanded layout began to be drawn. Ron Cobb, grounds superintendent, came to the club in 1968. He was invaluable to the club in the design, layout, construction and maintenance of the course, including the expansion to 18 holes.

In 1970 the expansion of the course began in earnest. The three holes on the south side of the river were constructed and our landmark "Little Mac" bridge was built, with George Bowman directing the latter. The suspension bridge with wooden planking is 285 feet long with 35 foot towers. At the time of the bridge's completion in 1971 the club found itself to be $3,000.00 short of meeting the construction cost. During the ensuing discussions Len Klosterman and Jack Kippleman introduced the idea of selling planks to the membership at twenty dollars each, including with each purchase a chance in a lottery drawing. This novel idea proved to be quite successful.

The three new holes were playable in 1971 and in the fall of that year construction began on the final phase of the golf course. On July 29, 1973, Flushing Valley Golf and Country Club held a formal opening of the completed 18 hole course with President Ken Johnson officiating and nearly all of the past presidents in attendance. One significant feature of the entire expansion project was that there was no time when less than nine holes were open to play.

Upon Ron Cobb's resignation in 1978, Pat O'Brien was hired to fill the post of grounds superintendent and continued to provide the membership with quality playing facilities. Ron Wisniewski assumed the grounds superintendent position in October 1985, a position he still holds. He has been instrumental in providing continued improvements to the golf course. During his tenure there has been ongoing tree planting, sand trap renovation, paving of cart paths and considerable improvements in the course drainage system, along with quality everyday course maintenance and beautification and a dual line sprinkler system was installed in 1998 based on Ron’s direction.

In 1968 another major expansion project was completed while the course was still nine holes. Under the direction of Tom McNally, the construction of the first swimming pool and bath house addition began. The facilities were opened on Memorial Day, 1969. The pool was constructed with money invested by 21 individuals and was self-liquidating, with the pool reverting to the club in 1979 when the notes were paid off. It was located adjacent to the old Club House in approximately the area currently used by the cart storage area.

With the expanded recreational facilities and an expanding membership it soon became apparent that the club house needed to be enlarged. Jim Straley headed the committee and ground was broken on January l5, 1974. The dining room was doubled in size, with a fireplace, foyer, coat room, expanded kitchen and locker rooms and pro shop being built. The expansion was completed by July 1974, and was formally opened with a dinner dance on July 27th with President Jim Black presiding. This event was greeted with much enthusiasm by the members who struggled through numerous days of cold sandwiches, warm beer, falling plaster and unusable plumbing.

Although each step in the growth of our club seems to be the last essential one as it's being contemplated, other convenient and necessary changes soon became apparent. Thus, in the fall of 1974 our parking lot was expanded and the parking lot and driveway paved. Construction of the halfway house came in 1975. In 1976, with the county sewer project, which passed through the golf course completed, the riverfront area was improved, new men's tees on numbers 5 and 14 were built and hole number 8 was constructed.

In 1977 a committee was established to study the feasibility of adding tennis courts to the complex. Four tennis courts became playable on June 24th of that year. The spring of 1978 saw the beginning of discussions on cart storage facilities as private cart ownership became more prevalent. The cart storage building was completed in 1979. Since private carts are now phased out for all but those living on the course, the building is now utilized by the grounds crew.

Clubhouse remodeling in the men's locker room, office area and hallway occurred in the spring of 1979. In 1980 users of the pool received some protection from the sun when an awning for the patio was added. The halfway house was remodeled in 1982 and reopened with expanded service to the membership. Since March, 1982, all stock members have enjoyed golf, pool and tennis privileges under a consolidated membership plan. The club continues to offer a recreational membership which provides dining, pool and tennis privileges only.

In 1984 Flushing Valley Golf & Country Club celebrated its 25th anniversary with appropriate festivities and reminiscences. 1984 was also noteworthy in that the club had its first female president, Nancy Beresford.

The need for future expansion of the Club House and the need for a modern pool led to the construction of the current pool facility just south of the tennis courts in 1993.

After much debate and months of planning a proposal for a new Club House was passed in the spring of 1995. Construction began that fall with the demolition of the old structure. Jack and Sally Goggins hosted a “closing” party that was the social event of the year a week before demolition began. The club office and the Pro Shop were located in a dual trailer system on the west side of the parking lot for the next 10 months. The construction was done under the close scrutiny of President Mike Delehanty and the new club house opened late in the summer of 1996.

During all this time the club management took various forms. Theresa remained with us as the food and beverage manager until a few years before the old club house was demolished. Jack Seltzer replaced Tim Foster as the Golf Professional. Jack stayed with us till 1999 and was replaced by Doug Kreis. Our current Head Pro, Aaron Bush started in January, 2002. The current system of having a General Manager came into being when we hired Randy Seabright in May, 2000. He replaced Theresa Allen who had returned to the club after a five year absence. The Club is now organized along the General Manager concept which is working extremely well.

The future will undoubtedly see many more changes for the Club which cannot be envisioned now, just as those few people in 1959 could not have imagined in their wildest dreams their club growing to what it is today.

Rosemary Kelsch, 1977, 1984, 1990, 1996
Revised by Tom Douglass 2002