Local businessmen purchased the present tract in 1928 specifically to build a golf course and, according to the club’s own historical account, “retained the services of famed course designer, Donald Ross, to design the present nine-hole course.” The same account records an opening for play in 1929, after a meeting—recounted in club lore—between the organizers and Ross in Augusta, brokered by professional David Ogilvie. The club further acknowledges that no copies of the original course design have survived, which limits plan-level analysis.
The course initially bore the name Oak Hill and, reflecting period agronomy in the southeastern Piedmont, featured sand greens. In the late 1940s–early 1950s the club constructed the current clubhouse, renumbered the holes (today’s No. 3 was originally the 1st; today’s No. 2 was originally the 9th), converted the putting surfaces from sand to Bermuda grass, and installed greens irrigation. During this same post-war phase, the club built the lake and pond that now influence strategy on Holes 1 and 5. None of these elements are attributed to Ross; they are documented as mid-century improvements that altered the hazards and green surfaces while keeping the routing in place. The club was reorganized under the present Washington-Wilkes Country Club name in this era.
Through the twentieth century the property remained a lightly resourced, member-driven venue. In recent years the club added an RV park as a revenue supplement and opened limited guest access to the course for RV visitors, an unusual policy for a private club that nonetheless aligns with the organization’s long-standing community role.
Independent directories and lists—including Wikipedia’s consolidated Ross roster—have long carried Washington-Wilkes among Ross’s Georgia designs. That secondary consensus comports with the club’s internal history, but because the club states that original plan sheets have not been found, primary confirmation would ideally come from the Tufts Archives or contemporary newspaper contracting notices.
Unique Design Characteristics
Even with limited archival drawings, several course-specific characteristics are clear from the present scorecard and the club’s historical notes. The nine plays par 36 with par fives at Holes 4 and 8 and par threes at Holes 5 and 9; the distribution produces a traditional, balanced rhythm when the loop is played twice for eighteen. Yardages from the back set—339-352-374-489-166-402-400-480-174 (3,176 yards)—illustrate how the design leans on mid-length two-shotters punctuated by reachable fives and short threes, a scale that remains appropriate to the site’s gentle relief.
The club’s history helps pinpoint where later alterations changed how Ross’s routing now behaves. The water on Hole 1 and Hole 5 was added post-war; these hazards did not exist in 1929 and therefore introduce modern risk-reward layers to opening and mid-round sequences. The history also notes that the course was likely largely treeless at opening due to the agricultural context of the land; the pines that now visually and strategically frame Holes 6–9 grew in over ensuing decades and are now 80+ years old. The cumulative effect is a present-day experience with narrower driving corridors than Ross would have confronted on the raw site, with tree canopies and shade also influencing turf vigor at fairway margins.
The renumbering that accompanied clubhouse construction means the walk and vista sequence of the original Oak Hill experience were rearranged, though the corridors themselves largely stayed intact. For example, starting on today’s No. 3 (original No. 1) would have presented a different opening ask in the Ross era. These specifics matter when interpreting which holes most closely preserve Ross’s on-the-ground intent: the landforms and lines read as original, but the greens (now grass rather than sand) and key hazards (lakes/ponds) reflect mid-century modernization.
Historical Significance
Within Ross’s Georgia portfolio, Washington-Wilkes represents the small-town, nine-hole strand of his work—commissioned by local organizers, built quickly, and kept alive through economic cycles by committed members. Its 1929 opening situates it chronologically after Ross’s 1926 Georgia commissions at Forest Hills (Augusta) and Athens CC, but before the New Deal building wave that shaped many municipal courses in the state. The club’s own narrative ties the commission to Ross’s presence in Augusta and professional networks there, a plausible pathway given the proximity and the era’s informal contracting practices. While Washington-Wilkes does not appear in national rankings, it is included on consolidated lists of Ross designs and, locally, is celebrated as a centennial-era artifact of golf culture in rural eastern Georgia.
Current Condition / Integrity
Routing and par. The nine-hole routing remains legible, with a par-36 structure and distances consistent across multiple public listings. The water on 1 and 5 and the mature tree lines are the principal post-Ross changes that affect strategy; otherwise, yardage and hole balance read as classically scaled.
Greens and playing surfaces. The conversion from sand to Bermuda grass greens occurred in the late 1940s–early 1950s, with greens irrigation installed; this transition reshaped green speeds and surrounds management, inevitably altering short-game play relative to the 1929 experience. The club’s materials do not claim wholesale green relocations, suggesting that green sites are in the original locations even if their constructions and perimeters have evolved.
Clubhouse and renumbering. Construction of the present clubhouse prompted a renumbering rather than any broad re-routing. This preserved walkability and short green-to-tee connections while reorganizing the narrative of the round.
Access and operations. The course retains a private identity but offers limited guest play to RV park patrons at posted rates, with weekend pro-shop staffing—an operational detail that underscores the club’s community orientation in the absence of large-scale resort funding.
Preserved vs. altered or lost.
Preserved: overall nine-hole corridor framework and hole balance; green site locations; modest yardage scale; community-club ethos.
Altered/modernized: greens (sand to grass with irrigation); water features added at 1 and 5; renumbering around a new clubhouse; maturation of pines narrowing corridors and changing wind/sun exposure.
Unknowns requiring primary verification: the as-built Ross green perimeters and original bunker schemes, given the absence of plan sheets; whether any green pads were rebuilt during the turf conversion; and whether early photographs/aerials document different mowing lines or hazard placements than exist today.
Sources & Notes
“A Brief History of Golf at Washington-Wilkes Country Club.” Club-authored narrative establishing land purchase (1928), Ross’s retention, 1929 opening as Oak Hill, sand-to-grass green conversion and irrigation post-WWII, renumbering with clubhouse construction, and addition of lake/pond affecting Holes 1 and 5; also notes that no original Ross plans survive.
Washington-Wilkes Country Club site (golf page) & chamber listing. Confirms small private club, historic Donald Ross course, and guest play for RV patrons with posted rates and pro-shop hours.
GolfNow / directory corroboration. Independent listing repeating 1925–1929 era origins, Ross attribution, par 36, and back-tee yardage (~3,177); useful as corroboration, not primary evidence.
Wikipedia — consolidated Ross list. Includes Washington-Wilkes Country Club (Washington, GA) among Ross designs; a tertiary check on attribution.