Information from Glen Acres Golf and Country Club
Friday, May 17, 2024, Glen Acres Golf & Country Club kicked-off what will be a year- long 100th Anniversary celebration. The course was the concept of half-a-dozen prominent Seattle businessmen, who in the early 1920’s wanted to establish a club that was both inclusive and non-discriminatory, unusual for the time. Funds raised and location scouted, the official announcement of Puget Sound’s 10th and newest course, initially named the Washington Golf & County Club (soon renamed Glendale), was made May 17, 1924.
“Never heard of it,” was a frequent response when rumors first circulated of a new golf course and club to open in what was then called McKinley Hill, now familiar as the Boulevard Park neighborhood overlooking the Duwamish Valley, just south of Seattle. In short order, the course was known throughout the region for its challenging and rewarding fairways and greens.
Designed by veteran golf course architect and award-winning Victoria, BC golfer, A. Vernon “Mac” Macan, construction of the course began January 1924, with the intent, as was common at the time, to begin with a nine-hole course, then expand to eighteen holes at a later date. (The course remains a nine-hole course with eighteen teem placements).
Upon accepting the commission, Macan declared the course “…shall be the last word in modern features of scientific construction, but at the same time one that shall not be too difficult: a course that is going to give lots of interesting golf for all classes from the expert to the duffer. In a word, a course that will be a grand addition to the golfing areas of the Pacific Northwest.” On July 1, 1925, the course officially opened.
Work on the construction of the clubhouse followed, opening its doors on New Year’s Day 1926. The clubhouse still stands, having gone through several remodels over the years. Retaining its original ‘Modern English’ design, it sits on a knoll with a sweeping view of the golf course and the modern Seattle skyline to the north.
In 1958, developer Kinney Leonard purchased the property with the intention to turn the land into a housing development (compelling the club’s membership to take their club name, Glendale, and locate a new golfing home, which they did in Bellevue).
Other local golfers, however, persuaded Leonard, a golfer himself, to preserve the existing golf course. Like a phoenix rising from ashes, the club was reborn, now named Glen Acres Golf & Country Club, on December 1, 1958 with 125 members.
In the late 1960s, developers purchased additional acreage to begin construction of townhouses and condos adjacent to the golf course. The homeowner’s association currently owns the golf course and clubhouse, though club membership is open to all.
Centennial celebrations for “The Glen”, as the club is affectionately called by its members and local golfers, began Friday, May 17, 2024, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony MC’d by club member, and local radio announcer, Dick Fain. Long-standing member,
Phyllis Stevens, had the honor of cutting the ribbon as she was also celebrating her 100th birthday, dressed festively in her mother’s 106-year-old wedding dress. In attendance, were past presidents, Robert Blakey, David Nieman, and current president, Tom Arrington. General Manager, Eddy Carrell, Head Golf Pro, Dan
Harrington, and Golf Course Superintendent, Reuben Flores were also present. A 1920s golf outing with the NW Hickory Players followed, preserving and promoting the bygone traditions of hickory golf when golfers, wearing knickers or other period clothing, played with “brassies, spoons, mashies, and niblicks”.
The celebration continued throughout the weekend with the Washington State Hickory Championship tournament, vintage cars and a dinner and dance on Saturday evening where people partied like it was 1924.
For more information about Glen Acres Golf & Country Club, visit glenacresgolf.com
