06/04/2026
The legendary Dayton Golf Club officially opened on Saturday, June 4, 1898, on “a beautiful stretch of country, a part of the Houk estate in Oakwood… and a more picturesque spot could not be found anywhere.”
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The day’s festivities began with a match game between the course designer, Willie Dunn, and the club’s newly-hired professional, Willie H***e. The evening ended with dinner and dancing at the charming new clubhouse.
The newly constructed clubhouse, built by Frank M. Andrews, offered a wide veranda across the front and sides, affording a view of the links and a magnificent view of the city. The clubhouse included a hall for dancing and the two anterooms were furnished in “antique style” with a huge fireplace.
One newspaper article described the opening day’s event “worthy of a Rembrandt’s magic brush, as the members assembled in their picturesque costumes, enjoy the dance in the fire-light’s glow, which reflects in fantastic shadows.”
The evening was not without a problem— as the clubhouse was not yet equipped with electricity. According to the "Dayton Daily Journal", in order to have lights for the evening gala, Valentine Winters and Charles Clegg “hitched up a streetcar cable and shot the current into the clubhouse, and the day’s pleasures wound up with dancing.”
The clubhouse soon became Oakwood and Dayton’s premier venue for social gatherings and entertainment. It was originally situated near the west of today’s Five Points, stretching to Kramer’s Road. The nearly 45 acres, leased from Eliza Thruston Houk, also included tennis and croquet courts. Additional acreage was later purchased from Colonel E. A. Parrott of Maysfield to enlarge the course.
On June 18, 1910, the Dayton Country Club Dayton Country Club opened its new clubhouse, on a portion of the former Kramer’s Wine & Pleasure Gardens, with an afternoon tea, dinner, and dancing— replacing the earlier Dayton Golf Club and its fabled links.
