c. 1930

Golf Bag and Clubs

The game of golf gained popularity in Fort Wayne in the late nineteenth century. Early courses were created in Hamilton Park (1889), Lakeside Park (1890), and the Kekionga Golf Club (1892), which is now Memorial Park. The Fort Wayne Country Club, founded in 1908, laid out its course in 1911. Orchard Ridge Country Club was founded in 1924 and opened a nine hole course in 1925. By 1929, it was an eighteen-hole course designed by Frank McDonald. After the end of World War I, the game's popularity increased. In Allen County, new golf courses sprung up, including Brookwood (1925), Foster Park (1926), and Fairview (1927). While the Great Depression caused a delay in further golf expansion, by the 1950s, more courses were being created. Lakeside Golf Course (both eighteen and nine holes) was built in 1958. A boom in the 1960s saw six new courses constructed throughout the county, and new courses continue to be built.

The first city golf championship in 1926, won by Guy Means, and the creation of the Women's Golf Association (FWWGA) in 1931, helped to raise interest in the game of golf in the county. Golf became a passion for many, often under the tutelage of a parent or neighbor with time spent practicing in the back yard. These informal golf games often were the basis for a lifelong love of golf.

For over ninety years, Orchard Ridge Country Club has been nestled on 115 acres southwest of downtown Fort Wayne. The first LPGA Championship was held at Orchard Ridge in 1955. This set of ten golf clubs and its leather bag belonged to Guy Paulson, a pro at ORCC during the late 1920s to early 1930s. Paulson also played successfully in numerous golf tournaments around the Midwest and nation-ally. It has a zippered top and a pouch for tees.