Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – “Members Only” Temple Terrace Golf & Country Club (1958)

On June 1, 1958, the corporate name Temple Terrace Outdoors, Inc., was replaced by Temple Terrace Golf & Country Club. Thus began the “official” birth of the City’s premier, member owned, member run, private golf and country club. The most significant difference between the charters of the two organizations was moving from operating on a “for profit” basis, to operating on a “not for profit” basis.

I’m confident that over the years, every Board of Directors and Management Team that has participated in keeping this sometimes-leaky ship afloat would unanimously agree that the easiest aspect of meeting the demands of the Club Charter has been complying with the “legal requirement” to function on a “not for profit “ basis.

Being the Head Golf Professional at any golf course is not an easy job, but Basil was obviously good at it, he lasted twenty-six years. However, for all but the last year or so of his career as Head Pro, his only “boss” had been the City of Temple Terrace and the key to keeping the boss happy was keeping the cash register ringing. I’m confident both parties were happiest when they didn’t hear from each other. (To be honest, for many of those years, Basil had the additional advantage of also being City Manager, so at least to some degree he was reporting to himself).

Like most public courses, TT depended on a large number of “regulars” to pay the bills; but Basil had also developed a full calendar of “outside” events by making the golf course home for the annual tournaments of many local civic clubs, social clubs, police organizations, businesses, charities and even the Minor League Baseball Umpires Association. The crown jewel of these tournaments was the Tarnow Open; a three-day event held annually over Labor Day weekend.

The conversion from a public golf course to a private country club would quickly illustrate the many ways Basil’s replacement, Wiley Watkins would be stepping into a job posing far more unique challenges than those faced by his predecessor.

The first Annual Membership Meeting of the new Club was held on May 22, 1958. Norman Dudley, the outgoing President of TTO stated the primary purpose of the meeting was to elect a new Board of Directors for Temple Terrace Golf & Country Club and to establish the Senior Membership dues for the new corporation. He stressed the point that during the previous two years, $37,000 in improvements had been made and paid for, primarily in the areas of greens and tee box replacements in addition to parts of an irrigation system. He noted the Club had an additional $52,000 on hand from the collection of Initiation Fees “earmarked for the construction of a new clubhouse”. 

While the votes were being counted for the election of the new Board, the subject turned to establishing the monthly dues required to run the Club. It was noted the Club currently had a total of 304 members, comprised of 282 – Senior Voting Members, 1 – Ladies Member and 21 – Social Members.

To meet the estimated operating budget of $40,000 for the coming year, the Board proposed Senior Membership dues be set at $10 per month. Unfortunately, the dues were subject to a 20% Federal Excise Tax, adding $2 to the monthly cost. Per minutes of the meeting, a “vigorous” discussion followed, and an amendment was made to the initial motion by proposing “Senior Voting Member dues be set at $10 per month including the tax” After much more discussion, a vote on the amendment failed and the original motion for $10, plus tax was passed. (An Annual Operating Budget of $40,000?  Note that the Club currently spends about twice that amount on the electric bill)

Dues for the other classifications of membership were set at $5 a month plus $1 Tax. Two weeks later a “very serious” matter was brought to the attention of the new Board. The Social Members were threatening to resign if their dues continued to be $5 plus $1 tax because they currently were getting “absolutely nothing for their money. No clubhouse or any other facilities for social engagements were available to them, no swimming privileges” (Like everyone else, they had to pay 25 cents to use the pool), no tennis facilities, etc.”

The 21 Social Members were quickly notified by letter that their dues would be lowered, retroactively to June 1, to $2.50, plus 50 cents tax until such time as the new clubhouse was operational.

• One of the first new members approved after the conversion to a private club was the July 1958 application of Hall of Fame baseball player/manager Al Lopez.

The Board Establishes “Management by Committee”

With the conversion to a private country club completed and the new Board in place, their first priority became establishing and staffing committees that would be responsible for running the Club. Twelve standing committees, chaired by Board Members and staffed on a voluntary basis by other club members and/or their spouses were chartered to move the club forward. Additional committees would be added on an “as needed” basis to address specific shorter-term needs such as individual construction projects and long range planning programs.

Unfortunately, the unanticipated need for a Delinquent Accounts Committee was identified early on as an additional “standing” committee that remained operational until the mid-nineties when the responsibility was transferred to the Club General Manager. During the interim period, every conceivable approach to minimizing the overall financial impact of the issue was attempted with varying degrees of less than overwhelming success. Perhaps the most creative approach occurred in 1978, when Earl Wellman attempted the “friendly” or “excuse me” approach through letters like the following:

“Dear George,

I recently inherited the unpleasant task for the club of reviewing collections on delinquent accounts. The list supplied to me by the Business Office included your account as delinquent. As I do not have recent payment histories, I am assuming your account is present only because of an oversight on your part. I hope I can count on your prompt remittance.”

Earl H. Wellman Jr.

for the Board of Directors

The original twelve standing committees and their initial Chairman were as follows:

Finance Committee – Norman Dudley

Greens Committee – C. A. Phelps / Basil Brooks (1/25/59)

Rules Committee – Les Paben

House Committee – Henry Hansen

Entertainment Committee – Perry Gibbons

Tournament Committee – Murray Gay

Handicap Committee – Murray Gay

Membership Committee – Adrian Cook

Publicity Committee – Jim Arnold

Special Events Committee – Murray Gay

Women’s Committee – Perry Gibbons

Executive Committee – Tom Albers

Other operating decisions made by the Board early on, included:

• Courtesy Cards would be issued to friends of Club members. The cards would initially offer liberal playing privileges, but privileges would be reduced periodically based on the level of need for the revenues. (Non-member Green Fees were also set at $3.00 or $1.50 after 4:00 pm.)

• Guest Cards would be issued to property owners in Temple Terrace.

• Authorized Clergy Privileges allowing ministers to play golf “gratis”

Note 1: In January 1959, Clergy Privileges were modified to exclude weekends and holidays.

Note 2: In March 1965, privileges were modified again limiting them to “Active ministers from Temple Terrace churches”.

Note 3: August 1986, privileges were modified again to limit such play to “no more than two times per week”

Note 4: July 1990, Vote, “To give no special privileges to members of the clergy”.

• In response to a letter from John Simmons offering the Club a  $1,000 loan for planting Bermuda grass on the fairways, with loan terms being set at “no interest” and paid back “when possible”, President Albers asked if there were “any objections to him talking to Mr. Simmons about the possibility of upping the loan to $2,000?”

• The Board voted not to overseed the fairways with winter rye because “all the benefits last year literally went to the birds”

February 7, 1959 – Dedication of the New Clubhouse

The official opening of the new clubhouse was celebrated with day long festivities that included a golf clinic and exhibition match featuring two Hall of Fame lady golfers, Patty Berg and Betsy Rawls, local golfing prodigy, twelve-year-old Roberta Albers and Mrs. Joe Byars,  representing the TTWGA. Their match was followed by a cocktail party and dance in the new Clubhouse.

The original plan had been to build the clubhouse in the area of the tee box on #10, but it was ultimately decided to build it on Hole #1, by changing it from a par five to a par four and lengthening Hole #7 to a par of five. After the new Clubhouse opened, the city tore down the old Pro Shop behind the 10^th tee.   They did leave the Caddy building in the same area and for a period of time it was used by the city as a Police Station.

In preparation for assuming the added responsibilities of operating the new clubhouse, the Board voted in mid-November 1958 to hire Jack Ryan, at $55 a week as the Clubhouse Manager. They also decided to notify the city they would not be renewing the lease to manage the pool.

The Board was later notified the “pool lease” was cancelled at a City Council Meeting where Council expressed “disappointment at the Country Club for not continuing with the lease”.  Shortly thereafter and with “no formal notice of lease change” the Board received a revised lease from the City raising the lease amount to $5,000 per annum. (Year one had been $1, in year two the lease had been split into a golf course lease for $1,800 a year and a pool lease at $540 a year) After discussion, “it was decided that President Albers should go to City Hall and sign the lease”.

Although the Club maintained a very full calendar of social events, the nature and size of those events were severely hampered by the club’s lack of food and beverage amenities and by its limited facilities; however, the Social Committee always had four major dinner/dances on the calendar each year and almost all of them were held at the Tampa Terrace Hotel in the heart of downtown Tampa. From a revenue perspective, the new Clubhouse and its food and beverage facilities would provide an opportunity to significantly grow club revenues from member food and beverage sales and through booking events with non-members and outside organizations.

• February 16, 1959, Board Meeting – “Motion Gibbons, second Dudley, that club accept an adding machine and typewriter from E.E. Bravo for a sum totaling $200 to be applied towards his dues. Carried”

• April 1959, a letter was sent to all members requesting, “Men wear shirts on the golf course”. (This “Country Club” lifestyle definitely takes some adjusting to!)

Phase II of the Construction Program

October 1960 – A Special Membership Meeting was called for approval of a thirty month, $5 a month Capital Improvement Assessment on Senior Members to fund the next stage of the Long-Range Building Program, to include a competition sized swimming pool, locker rooms, deck areas, control room and snack bar for the teenagers. The motion passed and the official dedication ceremony for opening the pool occurred on April 13, 1962. During the first season of operations ending on September 30, 1962, the daily logs reflected over 10,000 swimmers as having used the pool. (There’s no record of how many actually paid for the privilege.)

March 1961 – A Special Membership Meeting was called to address concerns raised in a member petition challenging the overall construction program. The meeting was attended by 290 Senior Members.

The petitioners pointed out that a recent editorial in the Temple Terrace News suggested that because the Club was three years into a twenty-five-year lease with the city, it was at best questionable whether it was a good idea to invest significant capital dollars on improvements that would be forfeited to the city in only twenty-two years if the city decided not to renew the lease.

The Board responded by noting that Club members were a significant and influential segment of the city and the chances of the city not renewing the lease were not even a minor concern. Additionally, the Board was already working with City Council to modify the City Charter whereby the lease could be extended to fifty years.

• May 18, 1961, Annual Membership Meeting – “Mr. Palmer asked that a bulletin be posted that each foursome play a little faster.”

• June 20, 1961, Board Meeting – Committee Chairmen submitted their 1961-62 Budgets for Board approval, as follows, Greens Committee $53,167: Tournament Committee, $700; Publicity Committee, $500; Membership Committee, $150; Entertainment Committee, $400.

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• July 1961 – The first issue of the monthly Score Card Newsletter was published.

• November 1961 – Fourteen-year-old Roberta Albers was named the #1 Junior Golfer in the United States.

• December 1961 Score Card Newsletter – “The Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club has secured the services of Jack and June Blair, well known Broadway and television dance team, for lessons in dancing at the Club. A good deal of interest has been shown by Club teenagers in taking lessons in the Twist, Hully-Gully, Swing and Cha-Cha. Jack and Joan have appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, with Sid Caesar, Guy Lombardo and Lawrence Welk. Lessons will also be available for adults.”

• June 1962 – Board voted a $2 weekly increase in the Grounds Crew Supervisor’s salary and five cents per hour increases for each of his crew.

• March 1, 1963 – The Jack and Dena Lu Stodghill family accepted for membership.

• April 24, 1963 – The Board voted to allow late afternoon use of the course by the USF golf team.

• May 16, 1963, Annual Meeting – With the $5 building assessment scheduled to run out in June, the membership voted to raise the monthly Dues from $12 to $17 in order to upgrade the golf course and begin building reserves for the construction program.  The $24 annual fee required for pool membership was dropped.  All Senior Members now had “free” pool privileges

• June 25, 1963 – Motion made by Dr. Ernest Traina and passed unanimously that “the minimum amount of charge ticket at the bar shall be .25c. This is being deemed necessary to eliminate the many five, ten and fifteen cent charges being made by children, which has resulted in an increased amount of bookkeeping.”  

• July 4, 1963 – The Entertainment Committee organizes the first of what would become an annual tradition with fireworks viewed from the clubhouse and the fairway of hole #1. They called it “Fun Fourth” (The event name was later changed to Family Fun Day)

The Greens Keepers Wife

After the new Clubhouse was opened, the old caddy buildings behind the 10^th tee went from empty to temporarily housing a Police Station, to becoming the first home of a Public Library established by the Temple Terrace Women’s Club. When the library moved to City Hall in January 1961, the TT Jay Cees were given permission to begin using the “Caddy Shack”. In early 1963, they were asked to, “clear their property out since Mr. Frick wishes to use same as an office” 

Ed Frick was the Head Greens Keeper and apparently very good at his job because Mr. Phillips, head of the Greens Committee proposed giving him a three-year contract raising his $125 weekly salary by $10 for each of the first two years and $5 for the third; The motion was approved unanimously. 

Mr. Frick was given a copy of the contract to review and sign. When asked why he hadn’t returned it, his response was he was totally happy with it, considered himself under contract but would not sign it. When pressed, he admitted, “Because his wife did not want him to sign it”

The Board, concerned about losing him to another club, sent two people, including Club President Jerry Schine, to talk to him. Mr. Schine reported back they had talked to Ed, and he advised them, “He was happy at the club, had already turned down other offers and had not signed the contract purely because of religious reasons on the part of his wife.”  

But the story doesn’t end there; at a Board Meeting held only months before the three-year contract would have expired, the Greens Committee was reporting on the condition of the course and the Committee Chairman made a presentation “on the various contacts he had made with the greenskeepers”.  After discussion, “It was unanimously approved that the present Greens Superintendent, Mr. Ed Frick be advised by letter that he has breached his contract and that he was being permanently released from his duties on July 15, 1966. (His contract?, I wonder what his wife had to say about that?)

Apparently, the announcement didn’t take anyone on the Board by surprise because by the time Ed left, Bernie Felton the Assistant Greens Keeper at Lone Palm Country Club in Lakeland was on the job and within two weeks the Club purchased $9,000 in equipment Bernie said he needed. 

• April 1964 – A water hazard was added in front of the #7 green.

• May 1964 – Future Centennial Members O’Neal and Jan Sutton accepted for Senior Voting Membership

• At the 1964 Annual Membership Meeting, “Mr. Gower asked that the Board take a stand and bring about some action regarding the ‘Dog Nuisance’ around various greens on the course.”  His motion was defeated. (Apparently a lot of voting members lived near the course, and owned dogs!)

• In September 1964, the Board received a letter from W.W. Duval, Jr, Chairman of the House Committee, presenting the Committee’s recommendation that Club Manager Walter Reynolds be asked to resign because, “We feel that both supervision over the lounge’s operation and concern over its financial success is almost entirely lacking at this time. Likewise, we should like to call to your attention that employee morale and also concern is probably at its very lowest ebb.”  The motion passed unanimously, and Jack Ryan was eventually promoted to Club Manager.  (Note: The transmittal making the recommendation was on the letterhead of Duval Funeral Home)

• September 1964 – Henry and Marilyn Tillis accepted for Senior Voting Membership.

1965 – Highlights from a transitional year

• Completed an addition to the Clubhouse of a 7,000 square foot Ballroom, thereby increasing event capacity from 150 to 500 people
• Approved a Senior Member cap of 450 members

• The Christmas Dance was attended by 386 people in the new ballroom.

• “On a motion by Mr. Kennedy, seconded by Mr. Baker, it was approved to increase the hamburger and French fry plate from 50c to 60c.” (Would that be called, micro directing?)

1966 – Selected Annual Meeting highlights

• The proposal to raise dues from $17 to $20 (tax included) was rejected.

• The Pool Committee – (Dr. Ernest Traina, Committee Chairman) reported the average daily pool attendance was 117; Wednesday Teen Nights were a great success and would continue all summer with “do-it-yourself” hot dogs; and hot water was added to the shower at the pool. (The average shower time and the Club’s water and electric bills increased dramatically.)

• The Entertainment Committee reported their activities included thirteen dances with live bands during the year.

• The House Committee announced the addition of draft beer to the bar. (Draft beer, not people!)

• The Golf Committee announced, “We had six inter-club matches and found out our handicaps were too low.”

• July 1966 Board Meeting  – A motion was passed to “Bond for $5,000 all positions having access to entry to the safe” (Not sure how that worked out because I found the safe combination written on the cover of the binder containing the Minutes of that meeting, R90, L77, R41, L23).

March 1967 – The Club held the first in an unbroken string of Men’s Member/Guest Tournaments. An impressive total of 216 golfers participated. The 108 teams were divided into six flights of eighteen teams.

In preparing for the two-day tournament, the Board recognized for the first time, at least in print, an issue that existed in 1965 when the 7,000 square foot Ballroom was added to the Clubhouse and continues to exist today, i.e., the Board Meeting Minutes note, “General agreement that the club has inadequate facilities to serve food to 330 people, and the dinner should be catered.”

Yes, they had added a Ballroom to expand seating capacity from 150 to 500 but did so without addressing the fact the kitchen was sized to service 150; a mistake that would be substantially duplicated over thirty years later when the current clubhouse was built basically on the same footprint.

• May 1967 Annual Meeting – The membership approved expanding the Board of Directors from nine to twelve members based on the recommendation of a committee of past Club Presidents. The move was made in order to add a second Board Member to the House, Greens and Social Committees to ensure continuity of committee programs by overlapping Board Member assignments.

• June 1967 – Implemented use of a golfer’s “sign-in sheet” in the Pro Shop.  Golfers were also asked to post their scores on the sheet after their round as opposed to the previous rule of signing and dropping off their scorecards.

February 1968, the club hosted the first annual Busch Invitational, a Pro/Am with a $5000 purse. Apparently the course was in less than pristine condition because a disgruntled member wrote a letter to the Board quoting several uncomplimentary comments he heard Professional Golfer Tommy Bolt make during the tournament. Comments including, “You’d have a good course here if you could get some grass on it.”; “Ask me, and I’ll show you how to grow grass.”; “Longest 6300-yard course I’ve ever played. Let me see a score card, Yep, that’s right”; ”Bare spots around the greens.” (As he dubbed a chip on #15)

But course conditions must not have been too bad because the Club continued to host the event. In its second year, the tournament winner was Billy Casper and by the third year the prize fund had been raised to $11,000.

It should also be pointed out that “Terrible Tommy” Bolt, as he was called, was not a man of great self-control when things weren’t going his way. He once turned to his caddy on the last hole of a less than stellar round of golf and said, “Looks like 155 yards, what do you think?” The ensuing discussion went something like this:

Caddy, “Well I’d say it’s a two iron or maybe a nine iron”

Tommy, “What the hell do you mean?”

Caddy, “I mean those are the only irons you’ve got left.”

March 1968 Score Card Newsletter – “It is with a great deal of pleasure, I am able to report  that a new fifty-year lease between the Club and the City of Temple Terrace was executed as of November 7, 1967, and has been recorded in the public records of Hillsborough County, Florida. This lease will expire at midnight on the 6^th day of November 2017. Thanks to all the members who made their presence felt at the city election and voted for the lease.”  Yes, the residents of TT were actually asked to vote on a referendum to decide whether the city should extend the Club’s lease and the election results were not reported to Club membership until six months later. (Those damn “mail-in ballots” again?)

• May 1968 – The Don and Doris Rimbey family was accepted for membership. Their seven children included current club members, daughter Sandra (Alpaugh) and son Grant.

• August 1968 – The James and Dorothy Whittemore Sr. family accepted for Senior Voting Membership

• October 1, 1968 – The Senior Member Initiation Fee was increased to $750

• November 1968 – Jan Sutton won the 3^rd flight of the Duval Tournament by breaking 100 for the first time in her golfing career.

• At the December 1968 Board Meeting, the Greens Committee was, “Authorized to expend the sum of $150 for rakes to be placed upon golf carts with a view to their use in raking traps.” (I believe there’s a good chance a few of those rakes are still around and have seen very little use.)