Course History
The dream of bringing golf to Portland, Indiana came alive in 1920 through seven local men: Carl Bimel, Orville Easterday, Jim Fleming, Walter Guedel, Paul Jaqua, George Smith and Louis Weiler. The proper corporations were formed in 1921 and Bill Diddel, a very prominent golfer and course architect from here in Indiana, was hired to design the course. Assisting Mr. Diddel was golf professional Chandler Egan. Forty acres, purchased for the course, came from Ervin Black and eleven more acres from the Crowell Farm located just south of the city. The course and clubhouse were completed and dedicated in November of 1922. Furnishings for the clubhouse were purchased from Marshall Field's of Chicago.
The first caretakers of the clubhouse were Tom and Katy Thornburg. They earned a salary of $30 a month. They served vegetables grown in their own garden and they took care of the cows, pigs, and chickens that were on the farm that was on the course. The first club pro was Floyd "Boots" Wile. Green fees were 50 cents for 45 minutes, with free club membership. Caddies worked for 15 cents per nine holes. Fairways were mowed by Tony Clark and Charlie Caster for 15 cents an hour.
As the years went by, some renovations were made to the greens and some tee stations changed locations. In 1950, the east porch of the clubhouse was enclosed and made into a dining area. Also, ten more acres, north of the Salamonia River, were added. In 1964, an automatic sprinkling system for the greens and a manual sprinkling system for the fairways were added. The clubhouse went through another renovation in 1970. From 1950 through 1970 the Portland Forge was a great friend of the club. The Forge furnished equipment, materials, and labor to rebuild bridges and help maintain and rebuild greens, parking areas and roadways, at no charge to the club.