History
In 1954, five area residents met informally to discuss the possibility of building a new country club for the greater St. Joseph-Benton Harbor area. Those initially interested in the project were C.E. (Bud) Blake, Charles W. Gore, Richard Merrill, Malcolm Ross and Frederick S. Upton.
About that time, approximately 350 acres of land, owned by Donald H. Ross, became available for such a project. Robert Trent Jones Sr., one of the leading golf course architects of the country, was contacted and asked if he would inspect the location to decide whether it had sufficient possibilities for development into a world class golf course. After careful study of the terrain, he reported enthusiastically that it was an ideal location for a championship 18-hole course.
The rolling terrain and trees provided interest and beauty to the proposed golf course plan, and the lake was an ideal source of water supply for fairways and greens. Jones was then instructed to prepare a tentative layout for the course. The five "founders" devoted many hours of work to make the new course a reality. After about a year of investigation and planning, financing was obtained and Jones was instructed to proceed with final plans for the golf course. In the spring of 1957, the first bulldozer arrived on the scene to start shaping the Point O' Woods golf course.
Building progress was rapid, and during the months that followed, land was cleared, fairways were formed, and in the fall of 1957, seed was sown. On June 14, 1958, the course, which only 14 months earlier had been rugged wooded land, was opened for play. It was recognized from the start that the course was a great one. Golf legends such as touring professionals Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus have played the course. Comments are the same: "One of the truly great courses in America." For 39 years the Point was ranked in Golf Digest's top 100.
Point O' Woods was first awarded the Western Amateur in 1963 and was the home of the Golf Tournament from 1971 thru 2009. Some of professional golf's top players have been a part of the Western Am at the Point, including Tom Weiskopf, Andy North, Ben Crenshaw, Curtis Strange, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott, and more. The tournament returns to the Point in 2019.
In May of 2012 the Point broke ground on a brand new clubhouse. Construction of the project was completed in July of 2013. To the left, you can review several historical photo's of the golf course dating back to 1959.