History of The Point
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. About that time, approximately 350 acres of land, owned by Donald H. Ross, became available. The residents asked Golf Course Architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. to assess the property's potential 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.
Work quickly progressed to clear the land, form fairways, and by fall of 1957 they sewed seed. On June 14, 1958, the course opened for play and was soon recognized as Southwest Michigan's "hidden gem". It didn't stay that way for long -- in 1963 The Point was awarded the opportunity to host the Western Amateur and went on to host it for exclusively from 1971 - 2009. Golf legends like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, Andy North, Ben Crenshaw, Curtis Strange, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods have played the course at Point O’ Woods. Comments are the same: "One of the truly great courses in America," and the course has been ranked in Golf Digest's Top 100 for over 40 years.