Chris:
I have no particular interest in Ponca City, other than I thought the story of the course (what I could make of it) was fairly interesting. When I stumbled on the narrative above in the back pages of the site, it turned into a bit of a mystery, especially when I found out that Don Sechrest hadn't even been born by the time Maxwell worked at PCCC.
The quick research I did lead me to the story of E. W. Marland, a man a I had not heard of until yesterday. Marland's oil company at one point controlled 10% of the world's oil reserves, a staggering amount for a man that would lose his company and sell his property a short time later. If I have any personal connection to the story, it is related to Marland and his desire to bring art and culture to the town of Ponca City. My father at one point worked for the Philbrook Institute in Tulsa. The story of the Philips family and their civic goals closely mirrors that of Marland.
I greatly appreciate the followup and the link to the website. Funny enough I had tried to get to the club's website from a google search at some point yesterday and received a server error.
Even after reading the club's history, I'm not sure if I have the complete picture. All of the following is based on a couple hours of web searches, and in no way paints the complete picture, I am sure there are others out there who can fill in the gaps:
1. The 1916 Annual Guide has a notation for a Country Club in Ponca City in the section for courses that it is seeking more information on. It is unclear if this refers to the Marland Course or another course altogether.
2. The 1920 Annual Guide notes the existence of a 9 hole private course built for E. W. Marland and notes a date of 1916. An interesting bit of information contained in the write-up is that Art Jackson (who Maxwell would work with at Lincoln Park in Oklahoma City) was the professional at the time.
3. The 1923 Annual Guide also has a notation for a 9-hole Private Golf Course in Ponca City with a date of establishment of 1916.
4. There is a book on E.W. Marland called "Life and Death of an Oilman" that describes the creation of the golf course and the gardens. The book does not go into great detail as to the timing of the golf course, but seems to suggest a time period between 1914 and 1918. The book also notes that he used 80 acres of the entire 400 or so acres of property for his gardens and golf course, suggesting a 9 hole course as opposed to 18.
5. In 1928 Marland's company was merged into Conoco, in a hostile takeover bid coordinated by J.P. Morgan Jr. At that time, Marland lost the bulk of his fortune. This creates the link between Marland's course and what is referred to as Conoco Country Club, as it appears that the name of the course was changed when Marland was forced out. [Note: There is a big question here as to whether the estate and golf course were part of Marland's corporate holdings, or if they were sold outside of the takeover.]
6. Maxwell came into the picture at some point in the late 20's and either laid out a new 9 holes or redid the existing course. It is conceivable that Maxwell was brought to Ponca City via his connection with Art Jackson. What is not clear is if Maxwell was brought in by Marland or by Conoco.
7. Tillinghast came through in 1936 and made several recommendations regarding the course, at that time known as Conoco CC. There are two very interesting tidbits from his letter: (A) the course had 18 holes (or at least 15, as he notes a proposed change to the 15th); and (B) the course still had sand greens. From the Tillinghast letter, we know that the course went from 9 holes in the early 20's to 18 holes some time before 1936.
8. The history for Ponca City CC notes that the club was formed in 1928 and originally known as the Marland Institute. I surmise that this was the name of the estate, not necessarily the golf course itself. The 1928 date is very much in question. The history notes the transformation to Conoco CC in 1928, the visit by Tillinghast in 1936, the abandonment of 9 holes in 1940 and the conversion to grass greens at that time. It also notes that in 1944 Conoco decided to give up the course leading to the formation of Ponca City CC. Further, it includes this rather muddled description of the two nines, Maxwell's involvement and suggest that there may indeed have been an existing 9 holes prior to Maxwell's visit:
"There are not any official documents, but based on the memories of several long-time members, only the holes on the original front nine of the course, south and east of the clubhouse, were designed by the legendary Perry Maxwell in the late 1920's. It's unclear who designed the original back nine holes north and east of the current golf shop that were abandoned in 1940. Those nine holes were redesigned by former Conoco Golf Club and then PCCC Head Golf Professional Bill Oliver in 1945 and opened for play again in the summer of 1946."
What do I make of this?
First, the 17 hole story noted in the first post makes no sense.
Second, and more importantly, the story of the club is a fascinating look into one way in which courses came to life during the Golden Age. The names of the main players in the story are well known (Marland, Jackson, Morgan and Maxwell), but the course itself is not. You have a benevolent oil baron in Marland, who built a course and opened it (and the grounds of his estate and even his swimming pool) to the public for their use. His story harkens back to a time when those that could would seek to create parklands (including golf courses) for use by the public, a notion very contrary to the gated courses that became the norm for the private club in the years to come. There's a bit of a parallel between what Marland sought and the great gardens of Europe created by royalty for the enjoyment of the people.
Third, the club history for PCCC is not entirely accurate. There are still some questions that have yet to be answered.