Washtenaw Golf Club: A History Part 4

Washtenaw Golf Club A History: Part 4

Washtenaw Golf Club celebrates its 125th anniversary this year. Founded in 1899, it is among the three or four oldest clubs in Michigan.

For my money, it’s among the best. If you are a fan of classic golf courses (as I am), you should play Washtenaw. Long a private club, it has been open to the general public for several years.

For the 100th anniversary, the then-private club published a commemorative book detailing its history.

You can read the earliest history of the club in this post here. The second entry in this series is here. The third segment of the history series is here.

The Road To Recovery

While many members lost interest in the club after it faced bankruptcy, a few were determined to save and restore the facility to solvency.

A plan to form a new corporation (Washtenaw Golf Club) was conceived and presented to the federal bankruptcy court in Detroit. It won approval. Bond holders were accorded first rights. They were given shares of stock in the new corporation based on the value of the bonds held. Second came to those to whom money was owed. They also received stock in lesser proportions than bond holders. Members gave up all rights to membership standing.

The successful rebirth of Washtenaw Country Club as the Washtenaw Golf Company is largely credited to the work of Joseph Thompson. He was elected president of a nine-member board of directors and served in that capacity for thirteen years. Thompson was doggedly determined to keep the club on a financially sound basis. And he did so. Ironically, Joe Thompson was not an active golfer.

Beginning in 1933, the newly formed company operated on a semi-public basis. Golfers could play for a daily fee or they could purchase season memberships. Stockholders in the Washtenaw Golf Company were given a discount on the price of season memberships.

The plan proved highly successful. The company operated in the black and additionally purchased 12,000 shares of the golf company stock to be held as treasury stock. Unquestionably, this tight-ship operation provided the foundation for eventually converting the club back to private status.

In the 1940s, rumors persisted that outside interests were seeking to purchase controlling ownership of Washtenaw Golf Company stock. Such a development could mean that the golf course would be closed to the existing membership. The rumors stretched from a former boxing champion to gambling sources being interested in acquiring the club for private, personal uses. Because many of the stockholders were not members of the club and had little interest in its activities, the possibility looked large that a takeover could occur.

It was even rumored that an area circuit court judge was approached to see if “arrangements” could be made to permit gambling operations at the club.

It is reported that the judge said “no dice!”

The prospect of such possibilities prompted long-time member and avid golfer, Clark Greenstreet, to take action.

Greenstreet’s plan was simple. With limited financial resources, he set out to buy back as much stock from non-club members as he could. He would immediately sell the shares to golfing members. As a sales pitch, Greenstreet pointed out that by purchasing 100 shares, golfers would be entitled to a discount in their season golf fee. In a few years, the stock would pay for itself.

Greenstreet’s ambitious undertaking proved to be overly successful. He accumulated stock faster than he could sell it.

Clark Greenstreet had become the largest stockholder in The Washtenaw Golf Company. He discovered that with one more purchase of a block of stock available at a bargain price, he could team up with the second largest stockholder and gain control of the company. That, of course, had not been his idea.

In 1944, Greenstreet was elected a director of the club. He convinced his fellow directors in 1945 to give his plan to restore the club to private status a try. It was to be initiated for the 1946 season.