Flint Golf Club

Detailed description of Flint Golf Club

Flint Golf Club is steeped in tradition. What started as a social club in 1910 has developed into a premier golf and country club.

The Flint Country Club was originally built on the Medbury farm near Goodrich (Atlas). With 39 original members paying $500 each, the farm was purchased for $13,200 and the balance of the money was used for the “golf links and other club accessories."

J. Dallas Dort, one of America’s most prominent automotive pioneers, was the club’s prime mover and shaker. He was the golf and greens chairman, and he single handedly designed the first nine hole course creating a first-class layout with sand bunkers by 1915.

It does not appear that in the beginning the members of the Flint Country Club actually owned the property but the Flint County Club property was actually owned by the 39 original members of the Flint Golf Club Corporation that essentially was a real estate partnership that leased the property to the many members of the Flint County Club and acted as the landlord to the Flint Country Club.

By 1916 Mr. Dort had been appointed trustee to acquire suitable property nearer Flint for an 18 hole golf course that could be reached more conveniently. The deeds from many landowners went to "J. Dallas Dort, Trustee" and were recorded in the fall of 1916, covering the present property and the adjacent area, which was to be sub-divided. In 1918 the Flint Country Club Corporation was started as a separate entity to the Flint Golf Club Corporation.

The current course opened for play on May 18, 1919. The golf course was designed by world class architect Willie Park, Jr. He was a former winner of the British Open and he designed over 100 courses in the U.S. and was known as the pioneer of modern golf course construction.

The course is one of only four Willie Park Jr. designs in Michigan. Willie Park Jr. crafted a beautiful layout that includes mature trees, a winding creek, rolling terrain and strategic bunkers that provide challenges for golfers of all skill levels

Par for the course is 72. From the back tees the course plays to 6671 yards. From the forward tees the course measures 5935 yards. The longest hole on the course is # 18, a par-5 that plays to 546 yards. The shortest hole on the course is # 17, a par-3 that plays to 165 yards from the back tees.

Watch out for # 7, a 454 yard par-4 challenge and the #1 handicap hole on the course. The easiest hole at Flint Golf Club is # 17, the 165 yard par-3.