Important Years In History

1922

It all began
Isaac W. Anderson, manager of the Tacoma Land Company, knew of a plot of land in the area called Regents Park that he thought would be perfect for a golf course. He soon convinced his nephew, Sydney S. Anderson, and other initial members of the club – Earl C. Reynolds, Frank C. Neal, W.B. Stephens, J.A. McLeod, Russell Barlow and Harry Mathews – that the site was perfect for an 18-hole layout.
The 165-acre site was owned by the Tacoma Land Company, and the property for the first nine holes was given as a gift. The land for the second nine holes cost $160 an acre and had to be paid off in 20 years.

It was established at the very beginning what would be the focal point at Fircrest Golf Club, as evident by this passage from the Tacoma Sunday Ledger of June 25, 1922:

“A point emphasized by the committee is that while an adequate clubhouse is to be built for golfing purposes, nothing elaborate along this line is planned, it being the intention of the incorporators to concentrate their attention on the course itself and to reduce clubhouse cost and maintenance to the minimum. This policy will also be followed after the club is established so that the greater part of the dues paid will go toward the maintenance and improvement of the course and greens.”

1924

First ball in the air
Sydney Anderson, who went by Syd, was instrumental in the club’s formation and was its first president. Two hundred members joined at $300 each and A. Vernon Macan, from Victoria, B.C., was hired to design the course. William Tucker and Son of New York built the course, and Calvert Winsborough of St. Louis was the landscape architect.
Sydney Anderson, who went by Syd, was instrumental in the club’s formation and was its first president. Two hundred members joined at $300 each and A. Vernon Macan, from Victoria, B.C., was hired to design the course. William Tucker and Son of New York built the course, and Calvert Winsborough of St. Louis was the landscape architect.
The first two foursomes were made up of club officials, and then members could tee off in order of their appearance on the first tee. In the first group were Anderson, the club president; Earl C. Reynolds, the vice president; J.A. McLeod, the secretary; and W.B. Stephens, the chairman of the building committee.
The clubhouse was not yet completed, but 100 lockers were ready and assigned to those who wanted them.
According to the Tacoma Sunday Ledger of the following day, the opening was well received. “Official opening of the first nine-hole unit of the splendid Fircrest Golf Club course Saturday marks another accomplishment well done,” it was reported.
“They knew they had an ideal location for a golf course and they knew full well that Tacoma could and would support a third course,” reported the newspaper that was filled that day with stories of a massive fire nearly wiping out the entire town of Morton on the same day Fircrest opened.

1925

Let’s add more
The second nine holes opened in the summer of 1925. By that time, 150 additional members had joined the club at $400 each, and dues were set at $18 a quarter.

The second nine holes opened in the summer of 1925. By that time, 150 additional members had joined the club at $400 each, and dues were set at $18 a quarter.

“I was always up there, getting in the way,” Van De Mark said, remembering his days as a 10-year-old who lived just blocks away on Buena Vista in Regents Park.

At that point, green fees were set at $1.50, and the salary of the golf pro, a Scotsman by the name of George Turnbull who lived just off the 12th tee on Alameda, was boosted to $25 a month.

1927

Washington State Amateur
William K. Yost, the winner of four consecutive club championships at Fircrest, was right at home at Fircrest during the State Amateur as he was the best of the 86 players entered. There were 36 holes of qualifying scheduled before the start of match play, but a terrific storm with plenty of rain and wind up to 50 mph prompted the qualifying to be cut to 18 holes. Yost took the title, winning the 36-hole championship match 9-and-8 over Ross Sutherland of Tacoma Country and Golf Club.
Washington State Open

Neil Christian won one of his three State Open titles. Christian had spent time as the head pro at Tacoma Country and Golf Club, Waverly in Portland and also played on the PGA Tour.

1940

Washington State Open

Portland’s Emery Zimmerman won his second of four State Opens, beating amateur Bud Ward in a playoff. Emery’s brother, Al, won two titles himself and took the 1933 Northwest Open at Fircrest.

1945

Tacoma Open
Byron Nelson was sweeping the nation with his golfing exploits this year, winning an amazing 11 tournaments in a row and 18 of the 30 he entered. Of the 12 he didn’t win, he took second seven times.

Fircrest, though, presented his biggest challenge.

He ended up tied for ninth, his worse finish all year. His 1-under-par 283 was eight strokes behind winner Jimmy Hines, who posted a 70-67-67-71—275. Nelson bounced back, though, heading north the next week to win the Seattle Open.

1948

Tacoma Open

The 1948 Tacoma Open at Fircrest had its own distinction, holding a spot in the PGA Tour history books for almost 50 years. Five players – Cary Middlecoff, Fred Haas, Chuck Congdon from Tacoma Country and Golf Club, Vic Ghezzi and Ed “Porky” Oliver of Inglewood Golf Club near Seattle – all finished at 10-under 274. That stayed on the record books as the largest playoff until 1994, when six players played off for the title after 36 holes of the rain-shortened Byron Nelson Classic.

After the 18-hole playoff at Fircrest, Middlecoff and Oliver were still tied after 69s. Haas (72), Congdon (73) and Ghezzi (75) had fallen by the wayside. Middlecoff and Oliver went to the 10th hole (which was playing as the first hole for the tournament) for a sudden-death playoff. Both reached the 480-yard par-5 in two, but Middlecoff missed his tricky 10-foot eagle putt and Oliver made his 5-footer for eagle and the victory worth $2,000.

Bob Anderson, son of the club’s founder, Sydney Anderson, remembers well as Oliver won the playoff.

“He hit his drive clear over the hill and down into the hollow on the 10th. He pulled out his 3-iron and stuck it close to the pin for an eagle,” Anderson said.

“He took his club like this, and stuck it right into the ground. The head – the ground was relatively soft – stuck up out of the ground. He was so happy with the shot.”

In the third round, Middlecoff shot a 64 for the course record, which stood for 12 years until the pro tour came back in 1960.

The tournament in 1948 created plenty of local interest and it was broadcast live on radio, which created some problems when motorists along the west side of the course would stop and watch a bit of the action.

“The announcer was standing near Haas (preparing for his second shot on the seventh hole), trying to be far enough away so he wouldn’t bother his shot,” Anderson said. “But you could hear it coming over the radio … ‘Now, Freddie Haas is addressing the ball. He should be hitting it any second now.’

“It just kept going. All of a sudden, Haas backs away. He said to the gallery, ‘I think I’d like to play this shot before I find out how it’s coming out.’ That shut that guy’s radio down for a while.”

1954

Washington State Open

This tournament had a unique twist, and an unfortunate one for amateur Eddie Draper, who had thought he won the tournament by a stroke. However, he was assessed a penalty on the seventh hole when his shot out of the greenside bunker hit the flagstick and stopped three feet from the cup for a birdie. In those days, it was against the rules to use the flagstick when playing shots around the green. He was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard and then Tom Boucher of Portland edged Chuck Congdon of Tacoma Country and Golf Club in a playoff.

1960

Carling Open

Arnold Palmer’s presence graced Fircrest for the 1960 Carling Open, but, again, one of golf’s lesser-known names won the tournament. Ernie Vossler of Midland, Texas, won the title by a stroke over Paul Harney with a 69-69-66-68—272 total. Ken Venturi closed with a 66, but that was good enough to only jump into a tie for third place.

In the first round, however, in an early morning fog, Don January set the competitive course record that stood for a half century with a 63. January had eight birdies and an eagle on the 10th hole for his 34-29—63 total.

January, however, faded with a 75 the second day and finished tied for eighth. Palmer was further down the list with a 3-under 281 total.

National Association of Left-Handed Golfers Championship

Fircrest Golf Club legend Jack Walters, and his ties to the National Association of Left-Handed Golfers, was instrumental in bringing the organization’s national tournament to Fircrest twice.

Walters won it the first time it came to Fircrest, in August 1960. Going into the final hole of regulation play, Bob Wilder of Baton Rouge, La., enjoyed a one-stroke lead, but his chances were ruined by a double-bogey on the final hole. Walters had a 10-foot birdie putt to win it outright, but missed and ended up tied with Auburn logger Bob Wilson, who putted using the croquet style. Both ended up 292 for the four rounds. Wilder ended up third and Tacoma’s Bob Morris was fourth.

Walters, who also won the national crown in 1953, captured the playoff the following day with a 74. He played the final five holes 1 under while Wilson faltered with a triple-bogey on 17 as he snapped a 3-wood trying to get out of trouble behind the trees on the sixth hole. On the final hole, Wilson closed with a double-bogey for an 81 while Walters ended it with a 35-foot birdie putt.

The tournament was well received by the national field of left-handers.

1971

Pacific Northwest Golf Association Championships

Jim McLean of Seattle, now one of the leading golf instructors in the country, won at Fircrest. It was one of his three titles during a four-year stretch.

1973

National Association of Left-Handed Golfers Championship

With Jack Walters serving as the NALG’s president, the tournament returned to Fircrest and brought 243 players from 29 states and Canada.

The tournament was won by 30-year-old airline pilot Jack Ruhs of Bellport, N.Y. He followed up a double-bogey on No. 15 by putting a 7-iron 18 inches away on No. 16 to secure the title with a 293 total.

1987

Washington State Open

Don Bies of Seattle won before going out full-time on the Senior PGA Tour. It was the third State Open title for Bies, who first won 28 years earlier, in 1959 at Inglewood.