Course design for the "Old 9" dated November 1935
 

In 1936 the WPA started constructing the 9-hole public golf course off Indiana Avenue, in Baker City, Oregon.  It was replacing the 9 hole private City Golf and Country Club created in 1924 at the end of Washington Street.  The clubhouse then was the Fireside.  The new public course was to be known as the Municipal Golf Links.

On June, 1937 the City Golf Club was incorporated by filings of Howard Bergman, attorney.  E.B. Young was the vice president and Sanford Adler (Leo's brother) was the secretary.  The purpose of the club in the filings, as an incorporated non-profit entity, was to enhance the golf experience.  The club was originally intending to lease the premises and operate the course for a couple of years.

The club got its license to sell beer in 1938.  In 1954 they applied to the OLCC for a class B dispensing license by President Dr. Roger Biswell. secretary-treasurer Bob Derrick, and trustee Bud Burgess.  The city still owned the golf course and could not apply for a liquor license.  This City Golf Club was the applicant for the liquor license.   The uniqueness of the license was that it was a private license on public property.  This meant that you had to be a member to enjoy the lounge but not to use the golf course.  That was a rare license to obtain.

Through the decades the City Golf Club became known as the Baker City Golf Club.  The members continued their purpose to enhance the experience. As the experience grew, they needed more area.  They then added the kitchen and dining area to the west.  They also added appliances and the furniture.

The members still needed more area by the 1980's.  The built the Douglas fir deck to the south and roofed it, making room for a bigger scoring area and outdoor seating.  During this decade they carpeted the dining area, added to the kitchen furnishings and bought a new freezer.  The members also kept the clubhouse and kitchen area clean and maintained.  They organized most of the events including the staffing, cooking and cleanup.  The all-volunteer club became increasingly involved as the experience grew and increasingly stretched them thin.  The welcomed people to organize, staff and cleanup after their particular events.

In the 1990's the members built the BBQ shed, added the handicap accessible bathroom and storage area to the west, the outhouses off the #2 green, helped finance the new 9 holes and the badly needed equipment shed and added gravel around the cart house sheds.

In the 2000's, the members added a 55" TV, a new PA system, new patio furniture, and a new paved parking lot.  They also cooperated with the new concessionaire, Seven Iron, to make the lounge a public licensed lounge rather than a paid member private lounge as originally started in 1954.  This fulfilled the original intention of running it for only a few years.

The members didn't do this all by themselves.  It was not only thousands of hours of volunteer time; it was also the cooperation of the city, the county, golfers, non-golfers, the ladies league, the men's league and local businesses.  It was not only the cooperation, but also the financial and material support.  All this made the experience better and better over time.

The golf experience can still be improved upon.  The only organization with that purpose in Baker City is the Baker City Golf Club.  The members define that experience.  Please be members and keep on improving the experience.