Santiam Golf Club

History:

Fifty Three years ago, the Santiam Golf Course was barely a dream. A group of seven men from the Sublimity, Aumsville and Stayton communities were instrumental in transforming their vision of a community golf course into a reality. These men wanted the golf facility to provide good golf, fun and entertainment for the families and friends of the area and to always remain affordable in price. In the meantime, inquiries to the Chamber of Commerce regarding golf facilities in the immediate area were becoming more frequent. Fortunately, a landowner of approximately 110 acres, Norm Peak, posted his land for sale. And after some negotiations, a deal was struck and arrangements to purchase the land were under way. Bill Gehlen, an attorney, filed the necessary papers with the Oregon Secretary of State recording Santiam Golf Club as a non-profit corporation, thus becoming Santiam Golf Club, Inc. Shares of stock at $257, plus 40 hours of labor, were offered to those closest to the project. After that, shares were sold at approximately $350 per share with the same 40 hours of donated labor attached as a condition of share purchase price.

On March 4, 1957, these seven founders: A.J. Frank, Roy Phillipi, William Gehlen, John D. Davis, Walter D. Miller,Harmon Drushella and M. L. Morey, all golfers, were recorded as the first directors of the new corporation they had founded and directed. Although, originally, the Santiam Golf Club board consisted of 12 members, this number created too much confusion and eventually the board membership was lowered to seven members.

The land was covered with brush and small trees. The designer of the course, Fred Federspiel, a golf architect, along with a couple of the founders, walked the land laying out the placement of the tees and greens according to the course blueprint.