Tee Time in T-Town

This newly discovered game was sweeping the nation − America had discovered golf! Less than three decades after the first golf course was established in Yonkers, New York, the game was being played in the sagebrush of Wyoming.

The Great War was over and local businessmen wanted to learn the game after hearing the promise that it helped alleviate the stress of business and gave you energy in your business pursuits. It was no longer considered an “old man’s sport” and returning soldiers picked up the clubs. In Thermopolis, it was a group of twenty businessmen who banded together to form the first golf course.

They moved swiftly. On June 22, 1922, after a month of speculation and high hopes, the local headlines heralded the good news – Thermopolis was getting a golf course and country club. The men had pooled their finances to buy a tract of 160 acres on the Yellowstone Highway at the mouth of the Wind River Canyon, four miles south of Thermopolis. Construction started at once and with the help of two Casper residents, golf enthusiast Ben Weeks and Golf Pro A. McCafferty, a nine-hole course was laid out.

The tract was located on high ground and, as reported by the newspaper, “ideally situated for a golf course, practically free from sagebrush and covered with a natural heavy growth of native grass.” A temporary building was erected and a fine clubhouse and tennis court were planned.

Within a month of announcing the new golf course, it was ready for play! A picnic party was held to celebrate the grand opening and by August, the golf course was officially incorporated as the Thermopolis County Club. In September, Thermopolis became one of the first members of the State Golf Association and the future of golf was bright for the fledging town.

Over time, this first golf course fell into disuse and never realized the dreams of its founders. The original log club house can still be seen on Buffalo Secondary Road but the course itself has long gone back to nature. However, this was not the end of golf in Hot Springs County.

Empire State Oil Company built a new golf course in the shadow of the red and rocky Roundtop Mountain in the early 1960’s. The 9-hole Thermopolis Golf Course features 2,966 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 35. The course rating is 35.0 and it has a slope rating of 111.

IT WAS THE CURE FOR BALDNESS. IT ERASED THE COBWEBS FROM YOUR BRAIN.

In 1918, the Thermopolis newspaper proudly printed the words of former President Taft, “I consider golf one of the greatest things that has come to man.”

THE GOLF COURSE IS OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK Book a tee time on their website at Thermopolisgolf.com or call 307-864-5294

ESCAPE FROM YOUR EVERYDAY

Scenic Nine Hole Golf Course open to visitors and tourists!

No membership required. Open until October, weather permitting Full-Service Bar Restaurant

Reserve your tee time today at Thermopolisgolf.com or call us at 307-864-5294

THERMOPOLIS GOLF COURSE

143 Airport Rd. • Thermopolis