By Claudia Loucks
Geneseo Current
Family fun has always been the goal for the Geneseo Country Club and after more than 100 years, that goal remains the same.
The Club will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding on Saturday, Aug. 5, with activities for all ages. The event is open to club members and their guests, and the day includes a cookout, golf, and activities for children with prizes. For more information about membership in the country club contact Carmen at 309-944-3666, or email geneseocountry@gmail.com, or visit the website - geneseocountryclub.com.
Tucked away in the countryside north of Geneseo, the Country Club has been referred to as “the Quad Cities best kept-secret where memories are made and relationships are cultivated.”
At age 82, Jim Andrews of Geneseo continues to spend time out of nearly every day, weather permitting, on the club golf course, something he has enjoyed for the last 71 years. Those accumulated years have earned him the title of being the person who has been a Country Club member for the longest time.
Because of his dedication to the course and to its youth golf programs, Andrews recently was made an honorary member of the club. He is responsible for organizing a free junior golf clinic in the summer of 2014, a program that now includes a junior tournament in addition to the clinic.
Andrews recalled how his association with the Geneseo Country Club began. He was 11 when his Dad passed and at times he said he just wanted to be alone. He would ride his bike to spend time fishing at the canal, which is adjacent to the club.
“One day I saw some of my friends playing golf and I stopped to talk to them,” he said. “They encouraged me to begin playing golf with them.”
“My Mother bought a set of clubs for me at what was then Orsi & Green in downtown Geneseo, and a junior membership at the Country Club….The entire set of clubs and bag cost less than $100 back then.”
And that was when Andrews carried his golf clubs on the handlebars of his bike to join his friends in playing golf at the Country Club.
Fast forward a few years to when he and his friends were asked if they would like to water ski with a group on the canal…”We would practice skiing every afternoon and we presented water ski shows on the canal. We were even invited to do water shows at different locations on the canal.”
The Country Club continued to be part of his life and after his marriage to Mariane, he taught her to play golf as well…”Later, our son Brent played golf with us and in recent years our grandchildren have joined us on the golf course.”
“Mariane and I play golf every day,” he said. “Through the years we have met many new friends who have become club members and we golf with them.”
The Geneseo Country Club has been “home” to the Geneseo High School Girls’ Golf Team for many years and in recent years also became “home” to the Geneseo Middle School boys’ and girls’ golf team.
Jon Murray, GHS head girls’ golf coach, said for as many years as he can remember the girls’ team has never been charged by the Country Club for the use of the course, both for practices and their nine-hole home meets.
“We have been approached by other courses in the area trying to recruit our team, but I have told them the Geneseo Country Club has been home from our beginning without charging us for use…As long as I am head coach, we are going to stay loyal to them.”
Murray also credited the Country Club staff for their efforts in taking care of the course and he added, “They really do a good job of keeping the course in great shape for our meets. They make sure the bunkers are well-raked and that the entire course is in good condition not only for our practices, but especially for our home meets.”
He said they also supply visiting coaches with golf carts at no charge.
Matt Biddle, left, vice president of the Geneseo Country Club board of directors; Jim Andrews, who has the longest membership at the club; and Jon Murray, Geneseo High School head girls’ golf coach, are shown on the golf course at the Country Club which is celebrating its 100th birthday on Aug. 5. Photo by Claudia Loucks
“Often times, early in the day of our home meets, there will be volunteers from the club raking bunkers and just making sure that the course is in good condition for us,” Murray said. “The club members are always very welcoming to out golf team members, and don’t seem to mind giving up their course for a few hours for us, as they are not allowed on the course during our meets.”
Murray has been the head girls’ golf coach for the last seven years, and was assistant coach for two years prior to that. Before Murray, Judi Nash was the head girls’ golf coach for a total of 18 years. After Nash, Julie Frels led the team, and later Steve Brucher was at the helm of the girls’ team, and through all of those years, the GHS girls’ team has used the club course for practices and meets at no charge.
TRACING THE BEGINNING OF THE GENESEO COUNTRY CLUB
TODAY – The Geneseo Country Club, located on the city’s northern boundary, along the banks of the Hennepin Canal, is situated on over 30 acres. It is a private Club, covering a nine-hole golf course with watered fairways and challenging greens. The golf course is 2,719 yards long and carries a par of 35. The Club also offers a swimming pool.
HISTORY - The original Geneseo Country Club, which was organized in the late 1880’s for the enjoyment of a group of area families who went swimming off a sand bar, rowed, looked for pearls in clamshells, danced and played games such as Whist or other family games on the banks of the Rock River.
In 1898, the group built a cabin, “The Dew Drop Inn, which was later sold and the focus became the canal north of Geneseo. This cabin still remains at Shady Beach on the shore of the Rock River.
In the summer of 1912 those same people often gathered for picnic suppers on grounds near the city pumping station. After the meal, groups would stroll along the banks of the canal and invariable linger high on the 60-foot knoll above the canal. It wasn’t long before a group of people organized the Geneseo Outing Club and purchased 13 acres along the canal.
Captain Wheeler, the engineer of the canal, declared this knoll the mot beautiful spot on the canal. A contract for about $5,000 was let to construct the building that is used today as the clubhouse. The colonial yellow building with white trim consisted of two rooms in the basement used mostly by the men, and the main floor consisted of a large ballroom with a 12-foot ceiling and a fireplace.
The building did not have electricity or a furnace. Five double French doors opened into the porch which faced the canal. There also was a lady’s restroom and a kitchen on the main floor. The second floor was made up of two rooms provided for the caretaker.
In 1923 the Golf Club was formed. The Outing Club and the Golf Club became the Geneseo Country Club. Dues were $25 for both the golf and social club.
Women were associate members paying $12.50 for dues. The junior members’ dues were $7.50. Locker rental was $.50 if a person shared a locker. Greens fees were $1 per day.
Approximately 30 additional acres were added to make the nine-hole course.
In 1942, a group of men raised $3,000 to purchase greens from a private club in Princeton. As in the early days the members did the work themselves, moving the greens from Princeton to replace the sand greens at the club. The greens were ready for play at the beginning of the 1943 season.
After 85 years, it is the foresight of the members that improvements and additions to the golf course and clubhouse continue. Members are active in Men’s League, Lady’s League and Couple’s League, tournaments and various social events. The Boy Scouts continue to swim in the club pool as they have since the club was founded.
Gone are the boat club and the bathhouses on the beach at the canal. Gone are the baseball diamond and tennis courts. Missing from the evening twilight are the businessmen in suits playing roque (a version of croquet) on the five lighted courts.
Now, the members play golf, still putting on those greens which were moved to the course in 1942, swim in the pool, dance on the yellow pine floor in the ballroom, kids play on the playground and all enjoy the serene environment that encompasses the Geneseo Country Club.
