Whitefish Golf Club and Clubhouse – Whitefish MT

Description

The course and clubhouse were constructed by the WPA in 1937. The course was originally 9 holes and was designated as both the golf course and airfield.  Planes landed regularly, but became a hazard and in the 40’s the course became the emergency air field for the area.  The clubhouse included the 2 gables, but not the structure to the left in the most recent photo as in the reference. The golf course website describes the course construction as follows:

“The property owners, golfers, donated the land to the County on October 29, 1933 which then transferred it to the City of Whitefish on January 15, 1934 with the stipulation that it would become a golf course for local golfers and double as an emergency landing strip. This was accomplished in 1935 with the funding coming via the WPA, which also built the Log Clubhouse / terminal finishing that project in 1937. Brad Seeley, a civil engineer, came to Whitefish from Helena to approve the final project. The Grand Opening Tournament was held on May 24, 1936. The golfers paid off the purchase price of the land, bought equipment and fixtures for the Clubhouse by individual contributions as well as the sale of $25 personal bonds.”   (https://golfwhitefish.com/history/)