For any golf course to survive for 100 years is a major accomplishment, and at Hayward Golf Course, we’ve been lucky enough to not just survive, but flourish over the century since we were founded back in 1924.
We’ve seen many great people and personalities come through our doors over time, and we’ve weathered challenges (world wars, golf industry ebbs and flows, pandemics, damaging storms) while holding onto the goal of providing a great golfing experience for our guests and a vibrant community for our Passholders.
Over this past weekend, we celebrated our 100th Anniversary with a 9-hole scramble and reception. We appreciate everyone who turned out and helped to make it a fun event to commemorate this major milestone. Here’s a little glimpse:
We also wanted to take the opportunity to draw everyone’s attention to our official History Timeline that has been revised for the first time since 2004! It would be impossible to mention every individual who helped make our course what it is today, or to acknowledge every event in our history, but this is a solid overview of where our facility began and how it has moved through the last century. A slightly more complete version can also be found on our website HERE.
- May 1924 — Hayward Golf Club is formed, memberships are sold, and financial assistance is provided by L.S. Robins.
- Aug. 1924 — The 9-Hole course (our current Back 9) is ready for play, and a $100 per share stock offering is made.
- Aug. 2, 1925 — Formal Grand Opening of the course. George Tosh, Professional. Bill Marquardt, Assistant Pro.
- Sept. 1925 — Course is visited by the famous player Walter Hagen, who comments favorably on the course design and local community.
- April 1927 — Grass greens are constructed.
- May 1929 — Bill Marquardt is given a contract as Professional, and he will remain in this capacity through World War II.
- 1943 to 1945 — Course closes because of WWII.
- April 1946 — The Club is reorganized and reactivated. Joe and John Kuta offer their services as greenskeepers.
- April 1951 — Lease granted to the Junior Chamber of Commerce to operate the Club.
- 1962 to 1964 — Three greens are rebuilt and the course is lengthened.
- Sept. 1964 — Hayward Golf Club Corp. is dissolved. The Course is now owned by the Hayward Civic Club (formerly the Junior Chamber of Commerce).
- 1969 to 1971 — Hayward Civic Club applies for a loan to purchase 80 acres, build a second nine, driving range, and construct a new clubhouse facility. The full 18-Hole course debuts in 1971.
- Dec. 1975 — Joe Kuta dies after 30 years of service. Damon Glocklee takes over as Professional.
- 1980 — David Blake succeeds Damon Glocklee as Professional and begins a 35-season tenure in the position.
- The 1980s — The Course prospers and the golfing community grows. Tennis also becomes a fixture, and the facility is renamed Hayward Golf & Tennis Club.
- Jun. 27, 1991 — Jim Pejka shoots a round of 61 to set the course record.
- 1997 — Architect Ken Killian is hired to modify and upgrade the existing 18 holes.
- 2003 — Hayward Golf & Tennis opens a new, 6000 square-foot clubhouse to rave reviews.
- Sep. 17, 2005 — Amy Schintz shoots a round of 68 to set the Women’s course record.
- 2009 — The tennis courts are removed, and the facility is renamed Hayward Golf Club.
- Jul. 14, 2010 — A severe thunderstorm tears through the Hayward area, with tornado-force straight-line winds hitting the Front 9. Over 400 trees are lost. An outpouring of support from the community aides in the cleanup, and a redesign plan impacting Holes 5 and 8 is implemented.
- Spring 2011 — The redesign of Holes 5 and 8 is completed.
- Oct. 2014 — David Blake concludes his run as Golf Professional after 35 years. Ben Kanters succeeds him as the new Professional after being the Assistant since 2007.
- 2020 — A state-of-the-art, double-row irrigation system is installed on the course. A new water feature on Hole 13 is added as a result.
- 2021 — A covered expansion of the outdoor patio seating area affords more great views of the Back 9 while eating, drinking, and socializing.
- Spring 2022 — Ben Kanters steps down as Golf Professional. He is succeeded by Assistant Mitch Byrd, who has served that role since 2019.
- 2022 — The golf cart storage facility is upgraded to feature a paved parking surface for the first time.
- Aug. 2, 2022 — Brody Moreland shoots a 63 to set the new course record, post-1997 redesign.
- Oct. 2022 — Hayward Civic Club transitions to a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation and becomes Hayward Civic Corporation, Inc. The facility is renamed Hayward Golf Course.
- Fall 2023 — A significant redesign of bunkers and tee boxes is undertaken and completed.
- Nov. 2023 — The facility completes installation of offseason golf simulators in the restaurant dining room, allowing for golf-related activities all year round.
Finally, here are the videos we created in the past few years to draw attention to some more peculiar or interesting aspects of HGC lore!
We again want to thank everybody for continuing to support Hayward Golf Course. We are constantly grateful for all of you who make us part of your golfing and Hayward area experience.
Here’s to another 100 years at HGC!