Wikipedia

Sequoyah Country Club

Sequoyah Country Club is an 18 hole, private equity, member-owned golf course and country club in Oakland, California. Founded in 1913, it hosted the Oakland Open from 1938 to 1944 – one of the premier professional golf tournaments on the Pacific coast, which featured prominently in the early golfing careers of Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Jimmy Demaret, and others.

Sequoyah Country Club
Club information
Sequoyah Country Club is located in California
Sequoyah Country Club
Sequoyah Country Club is located in the United States
Sequoyah Country Club
Coordinates37°45′57″N 122°08′05″W / 37.765771°N 122.134716°W / 37.765771; -122.134716
LocationOakland, California
Established1913
TypePrivate
Owned by365 Proprietary Members
Total holes18
Events hostedOakland Open (1938–44)
U.S. Women's Amateur Qualifier (2013–14)
GreensPoa Annua
FairwaysRye, Poa, others
Websitewww.sequoyahcc.com
Designed byWilliam J. "Willie" Lock
Seth Raynor
Chandler Egan
Doug Nickels
Par70 (blue tees)
Length6,100 yards (5,600 m)
Course rating70.2
Slope rating135

History

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On October 3, 1913, a group of 23 citizens, acting as initial underwriters, held their first meeting at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, California and organized a new golf club. They intentionally chose the traditional Indian spelling of 'Sequoyah' instead of the more commonly used version of the name 'Sequoia'. The nine member board of directors consisted of:

Name Role
Phil T. Clay Chairman of the Board
Harvey B. Lindsay Secretary
Arthur D. King Director
Hugh Goodfellow Director
Barton T. Bean Director
William Rheem Director
W.P. Johnson Director
Charles H. Bentley Director
Dennis Searles Director

This board appointed committee leaders, including the membership committee, whose identity they kept secret. The golf club's bylaws allowed for 350 total members, of which 100 prospective members were already identified. Others who attended the founding meeting included: John C. Shipp, Frank H. Proctor, J.M. Stephens, J.H. Hunt, A.C. Baumbartner, Walter J. Wilson, M.H. Robbins Jr., K.B. Putnam, A.J. Coogan, W.A. Bissell, J.F. Neville, Fred Sherman, E.B. King, W.R. Thorsen, F.E. McGurrin, P.K. Gordon, and E.G. Garden.[1]

Several of the early Sequoyah members were also members of Claremont Country Club.[2]

Sequoyah is situated on a 180-acre parcel of land that encompasses a 6300-yard golf course with views as far north as Mt. Tamalpais, Golden Gate, and across the bay to Redwood City on the peninsula. The golf course is within an hour of San Francisco or Oakland downtown, and easily accessible by the Southern Pacific Railroad. The land is notable for its gently rolling terrain and soil conditions—sandy loam, with no trace of adobe clay.[3]

Golf course

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At 6,100 yards, Sequoyah is short by modern standards, where courses are often 1,000 yards longer. However, it has small, challenging greens, and due to the course's hilly topology, lies are very often uneven.[4]

The course record was established in 1955 by PGA professional Don Whitt, who was the club's first assistant golf professional before turning pro.[5]

Unlike other local courses from its era, no public roads interrupt the layout. Sequoyah is completely fenced in and there are no homes that openly abut the golf course. It is not unusual to see wild turkey, deer, fox, vultures, eagles and falcons at Sequoyah.

Club house

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The club house was designed by architect Edward G. Garden, with all the amenities consistent with a modern country club for that era—including a main dining room, lunchroom grill, women's dressing room, men's locker room, main living room, sleeping accommodations for resident staff, open air swimming pool, tennis courts, twenty sleeping rooms for members, automobile parking, stables, and a golf pro shop. The original plan also reserved space for a polo field and race track.[6]

Scorecard

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Sequoyah Country Club
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Men's Blue 70.2 / 135 325 190 403 374 137 532 344 397 349 3051 371 453 175 337 235 328 484 216 450 3049 6100
White 69.6 / 132 307 175 394 367 137 516 330 369 334 2929 353 423 155 325 217 323 468 194 440 2829 5827
Gold 67.2 / 129 294 148 386 360 119 461 305 326 300 2699 323 423 128 307 217 317 454 147 433 2749 5448
SI Men's 17 13 5 1 15 3 11 7 9 4 2 16 12 10 14 6 8 18
Par Men's 4 3 4 4 3 5 4 4 4 35 4 4 3 4 3 4 5 3 5 35 70
Green 67.6 / 130 322 153 365 407 368 455 117 327 448 2962 109 458 340 134 332 400 446 375 379 2973 5532
White 71.1 / 134 402 211 455 427 407 544 174 354 602 3576 218 507 415 187 454 439 579 437 466 3702 5827
SI Women's 13 15 3 5 17 1 7 9 11 4 6 16 10 18 12 2 14 8
Par Women's 4 3 4 4 3 5 4 4 4 35 4 5 4 3 4 4 5 3 5 37 72

Tournaments hosted

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  •  
    16th green, 484 yard par-5
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    17th green
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    Byron Nelson at Sequoyah's 18th hole

References

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  1. ^ "'SE QUOY AH' Name Of New Golf Club". San Francisco Chronicle. October 4, 1913.
  2. ^ "Northern California golf championship today". San Francisco Chronicle. March 27, 1915.
  3. ^ "Burlingame Club Gives Tourney Saturday". San Francisco Chronicle. November 12, 1913.
  4. ^ Tady, Steve (September 15, 1997). "Tricky greens at hillside layout". Oakland Tribune. Archived from the original on December 7, 2007.
  5. ^ "Sequoyah Country Club – Club Record". 1955. Archived from the original on February 23, 2007.
  6. ^ "Sequoyah club to build home will feature big golf field". San Francisco Chronicle. March 6, 1914.
  7. ^ "Golf Events Set For Exposition Tournament". San Francisco Chronicle. January 15, 1915.
  8. ^ "U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifying – Sequoyah CC". Northern California Golf Association. August 9, 2012.
  9. ^ "U.S. Women's Amateur Championship Qualifying". Northern California Golf Association. July 11, 2013.
  10. ^ "U.S. Women's Amateur Championship Qualifying". Northern California Golf Association. July 14, 2014.
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