Building of the Golf Course is Underway!
As noted in Part 1 of this series, the location selected for the course was 1-1/2 miles SW of town, on the Betzler farm. Silver Bay resident George Starkovich recalled (for “Company Town” editor Kent Kaiser) walking the land with his dad before the work began on building the golf course and how serene it was. He saw a partial barn standing there, a place where the Beaver River flowed through the lower pasture, and commented on how beautiful the area was. “They did a nice job of putting in the golf course.”, he said.
On March 25, 1958, a Silver Bay News reporter agreed with their article titled ‘Golf Course Called Tops’. To quote from the news article: ‘One of the best 9-hole courses in the country’ per the famed architect who advised on its layout. Don Cooksey, the then chairman of the golf membership committee, described the painstaking care and planning that had gone into the course, from location to types of grasses, and the right sand used in the traps. They also had to ensure tees (where you hit the first shot of each hole), fairways and greens (where you putt the ball into hole) all met United States Golf Association exact specifications. Only the very best expert guidance and authoritative advice was sought. It was also noted that Highway 61 access to the golf course was purposefully avoided to deter attracting tourist business, since the express purpose was to provide recreation for Silver Bay residents. Also, the crossing of Reserve Mining Company’s railroad played a role in the decision to deny access from Highway 61 as well.
The course was designed by W.S. Haley in 1957 and opened in 1959. The 9-hole course features 3,173 (3,239 originally) yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 36. The blueprint map, shown below, dated August 28, 1957, shows the original course layout and yardage. The course holes were renumbered over the years as noted in green on the map.
For an aerial view of course see the link below from Golf Link.
https://www.golflink.com/golf-courses/mn/silver-bay/silver-bay-golf-course
With the big steel strike of 1959 (July -Nov) the Reserve Mining plant shut down. “..During that time period (the strike) that’s when the golf course began to be built. All the salaried workers, the people who were … not members of local steelworkers union were kept on staff and they worked at the country club, clearing… and seeding the fairways, . . so the country club became again a place where folks could go out and enjoy the game of golf.” (quote by George Starkovich from “Company Town”, editor Kent Kaiser)
“Whenever there was a strike or a slowdown, then all the staff members would go work there, building the little sheds.” (quote by Dick King from “Company Town”, editor Kent Kaiser)
Work on the course continued throughout the years including adding the irrigation system, river restoration to reduce erosion, and the building of 3 bridges. The pictures below show the bridges and the sign paying tribute to craftsman Bill Williamson. The bell is rung by golfers, playing hole 5, when ready to cross the bridge. The bell alerts the golfers on the #5 tee box that all is clear to tee off as the #5 fairway slope obscures
the view ahead of them.
Forty years after the opening of the course, the present driving range was added, with a
grand ribbon cutting ceremony held on June 4, 1999.
Interesting Fact: Today as you play hole #4 (originally Hole #2) at the top of the hill, mid fairway and off to your right towards the edge of trees, you’ll find the grave markers of Mr. & Mrs. Betzler. The course builders took care to preserve the final resting place of Joseph (age 72) and Rosina (age 69), their deaths in 1918 and 1920 respectively.
Please email the Bay Area Historical Society with any corrections or additional historical information you may have including photos.
Our email address is: bayareahistoricalsociety@gmail.com
FORE! Watch for more Silver Bay golf course history coming soon.
