Historical Sketch
Joe T. A. Varn Hagen was a man with a big problem in the spring of 1921 - how to carve a practical golf course out of the 157 acres of rolling "pasture land" that had been the farm of James and Frank Kirchoff. The new "greenskeeper," just arrived from Pennsylvania, hadn't even seen the property before. Located at Lahser and Nine Mile Roads, the site was known locally as "Plum Bottom," from the dozens of wild plum trees growing in the sandy soil along the Rouge River bottomlands. Since this countryside plot was chocked with old orchards and heavily timbered ridges, with soggy swampland flooded by meandering streams and unpredictable underground springs, the task of building a golf course was both challenging and formidable. Yet Varn Hagen was a man of great vision. He saw a wonderful potential in this land - "one of nature's beauty spots" - if only he could surmount the natural obstacles and build a practical course in two months.
This time constraint was all the more pressing because the organizers even then were circulating brochures soliciting members at a price of $300 and promising "nine holes for play by May or June." For this imposing task Varn Hagen had a crew of 30 men and seven teams of horses! Equally difficult, he had to lay out the course based upon the plans of architect Captain C. H. Allison of the English firm Colt and Allison, plus grow the vast quantity of grass needed for the fairways - all while moving his ample family from the vicinity of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.
Since there was no clubhouse, only an old farmhouse complete with an outdoor privy - which would be adapted for use by the members - it quickly became an intense and frustrating labor. "Nowhere had he found the soil in such poor condition," later remembered his daughter, "[for the] area [was] dotted with stumps from old orchards, unsightly under-shrubs, and [was] generally unattractive terrain [for construction]."
Fortunately, the crusty but experienced Joe Varn Hagen was what we refer to today as an overachiever. In fact, Plum Hollow Golf Club was to have its roots in the world-class tradition of Oakmont Country Club in Pittsburgh, where Varn Hagen had spent the last few years as greenskeeper and in laying out the course. Ever present with his vested black suit, starched white shirt and well-worn roll of plans under his arm, the grimly determined Varn Hagen insisted on hard work for his crews from sunup to sunset. He hoped for a nine-hole venue where "golf of a primitive nature" could be played. What he boldly crafted, however, was soon to become one of the most handsome and noted golf courses in Michigan. On May 14, 1921 Plum Hollow was officially opened. Joe Varn Hagen had accomplished the seemingly impossible.
Although the early years saw great difficulty with retaining grass on a shallow loam base - gusting winds sometimes drove sand drifts to the height of three or four feet against the clubhouse doors - play continued with zeal and ingenuity. Many players from other clubs scoffed and termed it "barnyard golf." Hitting a shot from the fairway seemed like blasting from a sand trap, even for the club's original professional, Stewart Cowper. With each swing a plume of sand spewed skyward. Rolling the ball wasn't beyond the rules, it was a necessity! A nearby friendly tuft of fescue was often the only way to save one's self from a sand shower.
As the years went by the local farmers contributed to the ultimate solution. The club bought piles of manure and spread this smelly barnyard "produce" over the fairways in the fall and winter. "In the spring," said Plum Hollow pioneer J. Clive Helferich, Sr., "we had a base on which to build so the grass seed wouldn't continue to blow into Lahser Road." Fertilized in the best manner of the era, Plum Hollow's fairways grew lush and thick so that today we enjoy some of the best in the district.
Plum Hollow Golf Club had been the idea of Arthur J. Hood. The popular 49-year-old securities salesman had acted on a bold vision. He wanted a golf club "for golf only." A former Canadian who had competed in soccer and lacrosse, Hood was just as intense in his love for golf. A four-handicapper, he won a local club championship in 1914, and led the effort to build and organize Plum Hollow.
The prominent ravines found along narrow, crushed-gravel Lahser Road north of Seven Mile Road had been the compelling factor. "Plum Hollow was chosen [as a golf course] because of a ravine," noted an early newspaper account. Indeed, the early layout envisioned crossing the central ravine five times on each nine holes. Where only "the scrub of sandy slopes" exists, wrote a reporter, this would soon become the site of picturesque beauty - "a garden spot." At a cost of $95,000 the Kirchoff farm had been secured, and when Varn Hagen began his labors in April, so many others had joined the Hood faction of twelve incorporators that the initial 100-member plateau was reached as of April 8, 1921.
As an enticement the membership price, which had already jumped to $400, would remain in effect until 200 members were enrolled, when the cost increased to $500. "We think these memberships will be worth $1,000 in the next three to five years," predicted the offering brochure. Since "economy and conservatism [would be] a key note," stated the organizers, Plum hollow's yearly dues were to be kept between $80 and $100. Thus, the target for recruiting would be "young business and professional men possessing the right qualifications." "Let it be known that we are very particular but not snobby," announced the organizers.
It proved that new members were easily recruited. The second batch of memberships was snapped up within a few months, and the 200th member was accepted on September 10th. Plum Hollow seemed to reflect its burgeoning status as a notable part of the fast and furious Roaring Twenties."
Of course, elitism and opulence were hardly the reality at Plum Hollow in 1921. Original members were treated to such "comfortable" facilities as the old farmhouse barn. Here members took their showers from an elevated barrel filled with cold well water, often watched by the mournful eyes of groundskeeper Joe's trusty draft horses. To complete the social amenities, Julia Varn Hagen, Joe's wife, prepared lunches and dinners on an antique coal stove with food maintained without refrigeration. It seems that fast showers and fast food were the order of the day, long before the modern concept!
Beyond use of the outdoor privy, members were allowed to lounge in the Varn Hagen living room and sitting room, which doubled as a dining area. Reservations were accepted, usually for 12 members at a time, by means of the old crank speaker telephone, a "modern" convenience.
Yet the biggest problem for the early Plum Hollow pioneers wasn't the facilities, it was the lack of water. Despite the nearby meandering Rouge River tributary there was great difficulty in watering the many parched fairways during dry weather. A horse-drawn water wagon was the only source of irrigation. To combat the inevitable drought, Varn Hagen built a dam to provide an 80,000 gallon reservoir, and tapped an underground spring located about 200 feet north of No. 17 green. Six, 1,000-gallon tile storage tanks were all that were available, and they provided water for the new clubhouse, which was constructed in 1923.
It was the clubhouse, which seems to have provided much of the early impetus for Plum Hollow Golf Club. The initial prospectus had promised a facility of a "modest, home-like, and comfortable [nature]," utilizing combinations of wood and glass to provide a "commodious" locker room and clubhouse. When dressing for golf in the Plum Hollow barn amid the ever-present aroma of an adjacent horse stalls, early members must have scratched their heads in amazement at the organizers' definition of a "home-like" atmosphere - although their surroundings were commodious, indeed!
Beginning with two construction sheds obtained from Cadillac Motor Car Company, which were dissembled and modified to form the walls and roof portions of the clubhouse, the low, one story building that began to take shape in 1923 was fitted with green shingles and a deep roof overhang. In fact, the 21,500 square foot Tudor style clubhouse was actually two buildings; the first being a combination pro shop, caddie house, and men's' locker room which was separated from the main clubhouse. In the main building there was a utility room (thoughtfully tucked behind the kitchen!), and a ballroom/sitting room, replete with a large stone fireplace. Laboring in the kitchen on a concession basis was Julia Varn Hagen, who often struggled to clear the thick wood smoke, and had to daily obtain ample food supplies from the all to distant Detroit grocers.
For the first two years Plum Hollow was a 9-hole course. Hole No. 1 tee was located about 100 yards north of the present No. 1 green, with the 1st green at about where No. 11 tee presently exists (hole No. 1 was supposed to be an easy par 4). Yet the course's layout, some said, was more conducive to mountain goats than golfers. So many complaints were voiced that a general redesign and leveling campaign began. The gully in front of No. 1 tee was filled in by grading down the top of the hill. Holes No. 6, 7, 8, and later 10 were modified by razing the offending hills to a lower profile. Yet with these practical engineering changes often came serious problems for Varn Hagen. Underground springs erupted, flowing water into the wrong spots, which necessitated long runoff tiles. When No. 13 hole was constructed, quicksand was discovered under the green. One of old Joe's plodding draft horses was nearly lost before a two-horse team pulled the animal free. Countless timbers, logs, stumps, and virtually tons of clay were eventually used to firm up the ground here. The cattail swamp, which guarded No. 15 fairway from the tee, was so extensive that when one enraged member failed to get shot after shot across, he flung his entire bag into the bog, marched back to the clubhouse and submitted his resignation. Soon thereafter not only was the swamp drained, but No. 15 hill was graded to a more manageable slope. Even so, as late as the 1980's a runaway golf cart managed to speed its way into the nearby creek, thanks to the area's "gradual slopes."
The saving grace of member's legs and much energy proved to be the various bridges constructed amid controversy during the late 20's. A barn north of 9 Mile Road was obtained through the efforts of charter member and past president J. Clive Helferich, Sr., who negotiated with the farmer to have Plum Hollow's ground crew tear down the barn in exchange for the lumber. Helferich then used the old slotted and doweled timbers for stringers and cross ties to bridge No. 16 and 17 gully. Despite much opposition from various "purist" directors, who felt both structures would interfere with play, these bridges were such a success that bridges were soon constructed at No. 6 and 10. Even so, it wasn't until the early 1950's that the final bridge, over No. 8 fairway, was built with funds provided by life members.
Plum Hollow's pioneer golfers could cope with the terrain, primitive facilities and many inconveniences. Yet what nearly ruined the club was the very aspect the original founders had so extensively promoted - modest economics "in keeping with our needs and pocketbooks." The Great Depression of 1929 nearly ended the eight-year-old club in its most vibrant, budding stage. With the mid-summer economy seemingly well off, members had approved that season an appropriation of $65,000 to build new locker room facilities. Yet the impact of October 1929 was both crippling and dramatic to the members of Plum Hollow. Within a few months the number of members had fallen from 300 to 150. By good luck or perhaps genius, the club's secretary, Harvey Shuler, had earlier tabled the plan to build the new locker room, thus saving almost certain bankruptcy. As it was, the club virtually gave away stock ownership certificates (for as little as $25), just to obtain the monthly dues. Of the forty-six private golf clubs in the Detroit area before the crash, Plum Hollow was one of the twenty-eight, which survived.
Even before the advent of hard times, the economics of the era were interesting. For 25 cents in 1923 "bus service" could be purchased to the Redford street car connection with Detroit via the old Varn Hagen Model T Ford, complete with convertible top! Caddies were "paid by the hour" - 15 cents for a Class C, all the way up to 30 cents for a Captain. Greens fees were $2.00 for guests on the weekdays, but on the weekends a member had to pay a 25% premium - $2.50 per guest.
By 1934 Plum Hollow Golf Club was at last in its way to full maturity. That year a contract was written with the City of Detroit to provide city water, and a six-inch water main was constructed, delivering water to the club through a half-mile of pipes. This was considered the practical answer to the permanently green fairways.
With the blossoming of the course and facilities came new prominence and prestige. The Michigan PGA Championship was held at Plum Hollow in 1929, 1937 and 1939. Also, the 1951 Women's Western Amateur Championship utilized our course. In fact, in the post World War II era many world famous personalities came to Plum Hollow to play golf. During this period the course was home to several nationally prominent golf professionals, specifically Jimmy Demaret (1942-1944) and Sam Byrd (1944-1947). It was Demaret's influence, which sent Plum Hollow's reputation skyrocketing in 1943 with the acquisition of the "Synthetic" Ryder Cup matches (not officially held due to the interference of World War II). The likes of Walter Hagen, Craig Wood, and Chick Harbert roamed fairways, adding prominence to the course.
Then in 1947 the first of Plum Hollow's national golf tournaments, the PGA Championship, was an enormous success. Ben Hogan and Sam Snead were on hand, battling it out in match play with competitors such as Tony Pena, Bobby Locke, Chick Harbert, and Australia's Jim Ferrier (the eventual winner). Ten years later huge crowds were again on hand for the 1957 Western Open when Doug Ford, George Bayer, Gene Littler, and Billy Maxwell finished in a four-way tie for first place (at 279). The playoff was a thriller (you'll want to read the golf section for the results!), but "Slammin'" Sammy Snead stole the show with his "sextuple bogey" on No. 4 (again see the golf section).
Throughout the years the club has proved to be a magnet for top celebrities. During the 40's Bob Hope teamed with Walter Hagen against Jimmy Demaret and Detroit mayor Ed Jeffries. Bing Crosby found a gallery of 5,000 following him and Demaret during a 1942 challenge match with Byron Nelson and Chick Harbert. In the 1970's so many celebrities were on hand for the annual Gordie Howe Tournament that the course assumed a carnival atmosphere, replete with spectators, contestants, and big name personalities.
Over the years the "names" would come and go, but what remained was the true essence of Plum Hollow. It was fine course and warm, caring people who were members that counted the most. This was the very principle that headlined the subsequent more "traditional" history of the club. When Sam Byrd resigned as head pro in 1948 to enter private business, a sort of crossroads faced the membership. Many enjoyed the dazzling prominence of national golf competition and "big name" professionals. This faction wanted to hire another top-flight national golf pro to further the high prestige of the club. Others wanted more a more conservative club, featuring a "stay-at-home pro," who would teach and look after the members' best interests.
The problem was resolved with the hiring of Bill Uzelac, who for nearly forty years graced our fairways and fretted about others' swings rather than his own. Prior to his retirement at age 73 in 1986 "Uzie" was a fixture at Plum Hollow, always serving the members and displaying his love for a game to which he had devoted his life. Plum Hollow had, indeed, turned the corner, becoming not only one of the area's most prestigious courses, but a gracious facility in the tradition of the founding organizers' desire to promote a "happy family" of golfers "pulling together" for the common interest.
With the focus again on the course, from which the original impetus had come, quality of play and improvement of facilities was once more a priority. Yet familiar troubles began to resurface. "Water has always been a problem at the course," noted an early news story - which referred to the difficulties with Plum Hollow's naturally sandy soil. Ironically, despite the access to Detroit city water, which facilitated the lush greens and well maintained fairways the club was noted for, Plum Hollow's water jinx would continue in a manner that few could perceive.
During the club's middle history the absence of adequate water was to threaten outright disaster. In 1944 occurred the initial episode of what was to become a fifteen-year "three-peat" ordeal for Plum Hollow. In June, fire broke out in the kitchen and severely damaged the dining room, resulting in $25,000 of losses. Four years later Plum Hollow undertook a club improvement and expansion project to renovate the clubhouse. New furniture, carpeting, a new cocktail lounge and bar, more dining room capacity and a new hot water boiler were acquired. In keeping with burgeoning "family" interests, the parking lot was blacktopped and by 1954 an Olympic-style swimming pool with adjacent locker rooms was constructed. Yet this influx of the members' money was to virtually go up in smoke as the second and third of Plum Hollow's fires devastated the club in the summer and fall of 1959.
In July of 1959 the maintenance and storage sheds were destroyed by a whirlwind fire - the loss was $30,000. Then two days before the 1959 Annual Meeting scheduled for November 12th, came "Black Tuesday." Winds gusting to forty-milers an hour whipped at a fire, which started about 7:35 p.m. on November 10th in a passageway between the men's grill and the kitchen. Although caretaker, Walter Bodar, soon discovered the fire and attempted to call for help form the switchboard, thick, blinding smoke drove him out of the building. By the time he ran to the home of club manager Forrest "red" Large, who about twenty minutes earlier had been playing cards in the grill with a few members, the rapidly spreading blaze was consuming the grill.
Red large hastily called the Southfield Fire Department, and although they arrived with a few minutes, the blaze quickly turned into a multi-alarm conflagration. Detroit and Franklin contributed several companies of fire fighters, but when a ladder truck sped up to the pro shop to pour water through the roof, the hoses emptied only a trickle - a key hydrant was broken. The wind gusts and old, dry timbers proved to be insurmountable obstacles. Only three fire hydrants were available with one unusable - sufficient water was lacking! The grand old clubhouse burned to the ground in the span of four hours. All that remained were three blackened chimneys, grotesquely silhouetted against the smudgy night sky. Amid the rubble were found the remains of the members' golf clubs and personal belongings. Club pro Bill Uzelac, who had just stocked this shelves with a large selection of Christmas merchandise, was nearly wiped out. Most of the club records were gone, including much financial and membership data. Later, the old safe containing $5,000 in cash for the caddie bonus fund was discovered to have been miraculously preserved.
Although the Southfield Police had blocked off nearby roads, hundreds of spectators, some of them teary-eyed members, walked cross-country over the course to watch the tragic but spectacular fire. So intense was the searing heat from the 100-foot flames that the towering pine trees on the north side of the clubhouse were badly scorched. The vast publicity generated by the $650,000 fire (attributed to defective wiring) only accentuated what seemed to be the demise of one of the nation's fine golf facilities.
Yet Plum Hollowites were of a stern constitution - "Plum Hollow Will Rise
Again," proclaimed the headline of the November 1959 Divots. Indeed, if 1959 had witnessed an unprecedented disaster for Plum Hollow, like a phoenix rising form the ashes, the venerable club refused to die. In the wake of heartbreak and despair, the club assumed a new vitality and destiny. Thanks to the efforts of many, including officers Bob Otto, George Smith, Lew Rockwell and Pete Russ, Jr., plans were soon underway for a new, advanced design 33,000 square foot clubhouse. Architects O'Dell, Hewlett and Luckenbach of Birmingham designed the facility, and groundbreaking occurred in July of 1960, with completion scheduled for nearly a year later.
Meanwhile, active social life began anew. Club parties and functions continued at various area facilities including neighboring clubs. Club parties and functions continued at various area facilities including other country clubs. During 1960 the contemporary designed clubhouse was erected at a cost of $975,000, a shortfall of about $600,000 from the fire insurance claims. Accordingly, an assessment of $975 per each of the 375 members was approved at the special meeting of February 20, 1960, providing the basic funding for the structure. Thereafter, the remaining mortgage of $250,000 was paid for at a rate of $13 per month per member.
On May 6, 1961 Plum Hollow's "Shake Down Party" dedicated the new ledge stone, brick and glass clubhouse. "It was quite a party," remembered Lew Rockwell, the club's treasurer who had begun rearranging finances the day after the fire. "Everyone seemed excited about the rebirth of the club, and they were thrilled with the new facility," he continued. Indeed, if the great fire of 1959 had represented an awesome challenge to Plum Hollow, the disaster now seemed to be somewhat of a blessing in disguise. "It made us all very close friends," confided Rockwell. The effort and common dedication provided a bonding among those who worked long and hard to rebuild the club.
The results spoke for themselves. At the time of the fire, about 28,000 rounds of golf were played annually on the course. Within a few years the number of rounds was up to 35,000. A beautiful new clubhouse graced the old "Plum Bottom" property and the membership roles were full. That the 1959 ordeal had been successfully overcome was a true measure of the grit and character of the members and their officers-directors.
Of course, large difficulties are not uncommon in any era. Over the last three decades Plum Hollow has faced a variety of challenges and problems that have shaped the course's appearance. The Dutch Elm disease that struck between 1965 and 1970 resulted in cutting down 214 trees. Ironically, since the early directors had ordered the planting of elms sparingly, due to their $1.25 cost verses $1.00 for maples, the elms planted in the 1935-1936 era were mostly lost around tees and greens. This early "frugality" proved to be significant, as the hardy original maples that line the fairways today remain today to enhance the course.
Due to annual drainage difficulties, in 1968 noted golf course architect Bill Newcombe was retained to alter the greens and improve specific marshy areas. Under Newcombe's master plan, nearly all greens were greatly enlarged and sand traps were elevated to green level. Improved drainage, through the liberal use of tiles and contouring mounds to control runoff, has considerably improved the course's playability during wet periods. Beyond this, the greens have been engineered, updated and managed to accommodate long-term trends. Whereas the pros of the 1950's played on greens cut to <" or 3/16," today's players putt on much faster surfaces routinely cut to heights measured in 1000's/inch. More sophisticated lawnmowers and advanced turf grass management practices have enabled the great improvement in golf course conditioning and grooming. Yet there are always challenges to be met. "The idea is not to stand still in golf course management," vowed long term master greenskeeper Ward Swanson. In the future, other improvements planned are a privacy fence along Nine Mile Road, additional tiling to further aid drainage, and screening off the with more trees certain open areas on the back nine.
Today we enjoy as the fruits of our history a long tradition of excellence. Top golfers such as Jimmy Demaret have termed Plum Hollow, "One of the fine golf clubs in the world." Golf Digest agreed, ranking our course among America's 200 toughest courses in 1966. Currently, Plum Hollow remains ranked as one of the Top Ten private courses in Michigan. The vision of Joe Varn Hagen and other Plum Hollow Country Club pioneers had been right on the mark. We can take pride in one of the finest golf and country club facilities, a true hallmark of the social graces of our contemporary society.
Accordingly, what could be more appropriate that a proudly remember the more then eighty-year legacy of good times and good people at Plum Hollow that have made our lives far more worthwhile.
- As excerpted and updated from the 75th Anniversary Book of Plum Hollow Country Club. The Historical Sketch was originally written by Wiley Sword.
