Augusta Country Club & Fitness

The motion was made “that Kuster Eighty….be purchased, said premises to be used for a golf course for the Augusta Country Club.”  And thus was the local golf course formed and named.  Other stockholders at that meeting were H. C. Leonard, F. H. Schoeb, Stephen Lehr, R. A . Haines, W. B. Jones, D. A. Kirchner, R. C. Brownlee, J. J. Russell, H. E. Cease and O. C. Jones.

 

The founders issued one hundred shares of stock for $100 each and built a sand green nine hole golf course.  The course served the community into the 1950s when a new bond issue was sold.  Five hundred shares were sold at the price of $100 and the resulting $50,000 was used to build greens and install irrigation.  By 1961 the greens were in and for the first time golfers could putt on the challenging grass greens the course is still using. 

 

The club had been using a very small frame building as a pro shop.  In 1974 construction began on the current clubhouse.  The old building was torn down and replaced with the current clubhouse in 1975.  The clubhouse has a pro-shop and concession area and one large meeting room on the main floor.  The basement was recently remodeled to allow for a larger meeting room, bar, locker room, dance floor and storage room.  The basement meeting room is available for any kind of meeting for both members and non-members.

Over the course of two summers, 1999 and 2000, the fairways were replaced with a more heat and drought resistant Bermuda grass.  The Bermuda requires less water and has proven resilient even during the recent drought.

 

In 2009 the stockholders of the country club voted to improve the irrigation system on the golf course.  The pond on hole number 8 was deepened and wells were dug to provide water to irrigate the course.  Two years later the pond on hole number 5 was deepened and pipe was installed to provide water from that pond for irrigation.

 

The country club hosts a number of tournaments each year.  The annual Little Masters Golf Tournament in April, which coincides with the Masters at Augusta National in Georgia, is the most famous.  It has been featured in Golf Digest and Sports Illustrated.  It pairs local golfers with professional golfers playing the Masters to make two man teams for competition.  The course is also available for third party golf tournaments.  Some of the tournaments the club hosts are the annual Chamber of Commerce tournament, Rod Davidson Memorial Tournament, Jake Cauthron Tournament and Knights of Columbus Tournament.

 

In addition to tournaments, there are special group nights for golfers.  Wednesdays at 6 pm is the 19th hole club.  The men play nine holes of golf together.  On Thursday evenings, the ladies play nine holes of golf in a scramble format.  Our regular Men's group every Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 10 am in the summer and 11 am in the winter.

 

The Augusta Country Club is also very kid friendly.  Children under twelve play for free with an adult paying regular price whether walking or riding a cart.  Each summer also brings dozens of junior golfers to the course for six weeks of junior golf instruction and play.  Junior golf starts in June and is taught by the high school golf coach with assistance from high school golfers.  In 2011 a new program was started in cooperation with Envision, an organization that assists low sighted and blind children and adults.  The first summer of “Blind Golf” taught eight low sighted or blind children to play golf over a three week period.  This year the group grew to sixteen golfers and culminated in a tournament where the students played with sighted golfers from the country club. Plans are underway to continue this program in 2013.

 

The club also has a driving range located on the south side of the golf course.  The newest grass simulating Astroturf was installed on a concrete slab to provide an excellent practice facility.  Baskets of balls are available in the pro shop - small baskets are $5.00; medium baskets are $7.00 and large baskets are $10.00.  Please read the signs for the clubs you are allowed to use.  Drivers are not allowed on the driving range.  A large practice green is adjacent to the clubhouse and can accommodate several golfers.

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