Muskogee Golf Club is established in 1904 as Muskogee Town and Country Club in 1904, with the course located near close to Fort Gibson, on the opposite bank of the Arkansas River. A few years after, one hundred acres of land on the Garland Farm were obtained and the club was relocated to the current site. A nine-hole track was soon introduced, but in 1911, additional land was purchased and an 18-hole golf course was constructed.
Thirteen years later, Perry Maxwell was engaged to design the layout, and, in the process, the sand-based putting surface was replaced by Bermuda greens made of grass. In 1936, bentgrass greens became introduced. The majority part of the Maxwell course is in good shape with the exception of holes 3 and 5, and it's played host to numerous important tournaments, including four different editions of the Muskogee Civitan Open on the LPGA Tour in the early 1960s, and The US Women's Open in 1970.
The extract below is edited taken from Christopher Closer's The Midwest Associate: The Life and Work of Perry Duke Maxwell:
"The most appealing aspect of the layout designed by Maxwell is the sequence of holes that begins and the inclusion of natural hazards of the course. The course is characterized by its solid first hole, followed by the toughest hole in the layout. the second, which is a left-hand dogleg which goes downhill. The fairway is rolled away and forms a hanging lay. The green is situated on a ridge approximately 75 yards beyond the lowest point of the fairway.
The hole that was the third as Maxwell originally designed it was a 550 yard par five, which was a fantastic risk-reward hole. The hole was divided into two holes to make it a shorter par four as well as a par 3, to make the most both ravines that lie on the course. The holes four and five together to form the fifth hole. Since the time, Tripp Davis has performed an overhaul that has included repairs to all of the six holes in the beginning, with one exception on the 5th hole.
The back nine also has several great holes. Three are notable because they are centered around the lake. focal point and the genius of Maxwell's use of hazards in various ways is shown. The 10th hole is the most well-known hole and possibly the most challenging in the entire course. The fairways curve away toward the lake. After the fairway bunker in the middle of the dogleg, the lay is downhill. The approach has to clear the water.
Maxwell's ability to design his courses was apparent in his layout of Muskogee. His use of natural hazards was inspiring. The natural depression running along this course proved to be the main reason for the routing of many holes. The remaining nine holes were arranged around the lakes that were part of the course. Maxwell added a few innovative holes, such as the incredibly 10th. It is often one of the least-known courses within Maxwell's collection."
