Classic Course: Thunderbird CC

November 20, 2014

By Matt McKay

This story originally ran in the January 2013 issue of FORE.

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The palm-lined lane leading to Thunderbird CC may not be the original route to the original clubhouse. But the air of history is powerful, and there’s no escaping the feeling that the number of golf legends that have passed over this stretch of asphalt is incalculable.

Since it’s opening in 1951 as Thunderbird Ranch and Country Club, to 2013 with it’s completely-modernized clubhouse (the third version of the facility), Thunderbird has been the trendsetting history maker in the Coachella Valley. Like many of the original desert layouts, it’s limited length has prevented it from being a part of professional golf history over the last several years, but the part the club played in building the game in the desert and in the United States is still evident at the club today.

The evidence, however, comes in the form of that feeling that something happened here. While the new clubhouse is spectacular with it’s sharp angles, picture windows and cut stone, it still exudes an atmosphere of a private retreat that’s been stamped with the approval of some of the game’s greatest players and entertainers. While there’s more than 60,000 square feet involved in the clubhouse and it’s state-of-the-art fitness center, only one long hallway extending from the front to the back of the clubhouse is devoted to the club’s history in the form of a photo gallery.

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A picture of the third green when the club first opened in 1951.

Now this is the display that guests want to see. Here are the photos of Bing Crosby in the massive original card room, clowning around with Dutch Harrison, Torchy Torrance and Harris. There’s Dean Martin finishing a beautiful swing, and there’s a photo of Ralph Kiner, the 1963 club champion and current member, in his Chicago Cubs uniform. The irony is, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a Pittsburgh Pirate. Over here is a photo of a happy couple riding in their motorized golf cart, an innovation that originated at Thunderbird. The clubs are attached to the outside rear fenders of the art deco-style contraption, giving the cart the illusion of wings, the same feature so popular in the automobile designs of the 1950s.

What might be the gallery’s highlight, though, is a photo of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball at the front door of their Thunderbird home, situated between the 18th green and 9th fairway. The couple strikes a welcoming pose in the door frame, while the door reveals the architectural details of the day; a doorknob in the center of the door, with brass starbursts as highlighting accents.

Aside from the gallery of photos, the only nod to the club’s grand history is displayed next to the doors of the golf shop. Mounted there is a small-framed invitation from the 1955 Ryder Cup, hosted by the club (won by the U.S., 8-4). The event marked what was essentially the first time the Coachella Valley’s golf potential was revealed to the rest of the world. Four years after the 1955 Ryder Cup, the next time the United States had the honor of hosting, the event was held at Eldorado CC in Indian Wells, just 12 miles east on California Route 111. Even the trophy cases, filled with priceless mementos covered with famous names, are almost intentionally-low key.

It all started when noted California-by-way-of-Illinois amateur Johnny Dawson convinced co-investors that the desert was the right place to build and maintain a top-class golf club, a notion and concept that were way out at the time. One of Dawson's contacts was Frank Bogert, a mover-and-shaker who owned the Thunderbird Ranch, which he operated as a dude ranch. Bogert went on to become one of the valley's most important citizens, serving on the Palm Springs City Council and as mayor of Palm Springs from 1982-1988. Bogert also had Hollywood connections from his many bit parts as a young man just out of UCLA, and was key to exposing the biggest stars of the day to the beauty of the desert. Backed by a small group of investors, Bogert purchased 633 acres on Thunderbird Mesa in 1946 after verifying an abundant source of water from the area's subterranean water table.

The original buildings were designed by La Quinta Resort architect Gordon B. Kaufman, and were true to La Quinta's Spanish-Ranch style, surrounding a swimming pool. A group of cabins, which remained on the club property until 1999, provided accommodations for visiting members and guests. Horse stables and a horse ring were also part of the development.

The ranch opened in December of 1946, and was almost immediately sought out by Hollywood. The film Two Guys from Texas was filmed on the ranch in 1947 (Bogert, of course, made an appearance in the movie). However, Bogert found himself losing money on the ranch concept, and that's when his path intersected with Dawson, who'd been seeking the right spot to take a chance and build an 18-hole golf course in the desert. Dawson and other Hollywood hotshots like Bing Crosby and Bob Hope had been playing at the only available golf course in the Coachella Valley, the short, 9-hole layout at O'Donnell CC in Palm Springs, and Dawson felt certain the 18-hole course concept was a sure-fire hit. He and realtor/partner Barney Hinkle bought the property from Bogert in 1950 along with an adjoining parcel, and incorporated the club later that year. While some were skeptical, the original investors - including Texas oilman D.B. McDaniel - knew the plentiful water was their ace in the hole. With McDaniel's substantial investment in Dawson and Hinkle's vision, the project gained momentum and began to pique the interest of the Hollywood types already partial to the desert. Actors, pro athletes, and even a state governor (Colorado's Dan Thornton) put up investment money to see the project though.


A look at the course in 2010. The view shows the third green surrounded by three bunkers.

Golf course construction began in 1950, and despite a destructive flood, the course was completed later that year, designed by Donald Ross protégé Lawrence Hughes with assistance from Dawson. Architect William F. Cody helped update the dude ranch's clubhouse into a more forward-looking mid-century modern design, and also built 14 cottages that still exist today. Jimmy Hines was hired as the head professional, and all the while the club's real estate offerings were starting to move, ensuring the survival of the community and a steady supply of golfers and socialites. Dawson went on to develop Eldorado CC in Indian Wells in 1957 and also worked with Hughes on La Quinta CC. The stories generated in those early years could fill books - and have - and still the lost memories and reminisces are innumerable. This is the place where Byron Nelson came in 1956 to mentor a young military veteran by the name of Ken Venturi sort out his game. One of Hines' assistant professionals, Eddie Susalla, developed the first electric golf cart in an attempt to move the semi-handicapped McDaniel around the course. This created a desert legacy that still exists today, as the club members, including McDaniel and another original investor, Milt Hicks, raced to customize their vehicles. The club's Women's Invitational was won by Mickey Wright in 1952. The Women's Invitational and the club's Pro-Member Tournament featured six U.S. Open winners in 1953, and helped pave the way for the club's 1955 Ryder Cup bid.

Tire tycoon Leonard Firestone bought several lots in the early 1950s, and held on to one for his friend, former President Gerald Ford, who was able to purchase one in 1977. By 1954, the club's 80 golf course lots had been sold, and many were occupied by the likes of Desi Arnaz/Lucille Ball, Hoagy Carmichael, Douglas Fairbanks, Phil Harris, Hicks, Owen Moore, Mary Pickford, Buddy Rogers and Kiner. Ford chairman Ernest Breech and L.A. Ford dealer Holmes Tuttle received permission to name Ford's newest, sportiest sedan after the club, and the very first 1955 Thunderbird was given to Dawson and his wife, Velma. Bing Crosby won the club championship in 1958. Claude Harmon began a 20-year run as head professional in 1957 (Don Callahan, 1978-2003; Nick De Kock, 2003-present). Two of the country's greatest World War II generals, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Omar Bradley, were honorary members.

Memories are more than just black-and-white photos at Thunderbird. They're part of the club's personality, it's make-up. It's a feeling and an atmosphere that can't be recreated by bricks, mortar and grass seed. It's something you can’t buy, or create, nor can you catch up with. It's something that is Thunderbird's alone.



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