Club History
Original Club House Hillcrest Becomes Reality
Led by Frank Phillips in the 1920’s, a group of Bartlesville businessmen agreed to create a new country club. The businessmen would later be known as the “Committee of 15” with a mission for the club to “foster and promote athletic sports, games, contests, tournaments, and wholesome and healthful outdoor sports for its members, and to provide opportunities for their social fellowship and enjoyment.” Bartlesville really does mean business, and Hillcrest Country Club has always been an irreplaceable pillar of community development.
Edward Beuhler Delk was commissioned to design and construct the original two-story, Spanish-Mission style clubhouse in 1926. Delk served as a local associate for two Frank Lloyd Wright projects in Kansas City, and he would later collaborate and construct several homes in the Bartlesville area. Delk was also interested in historical revival architecture, and for more information on him visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Buehler_Delk.
For the task of building the golf course, the men recruited golf course architect Perry Maxwell. Maxwell was quoted “The new grounds are ideal for a golf course. It will make one of the best eighteen-hole courses in the state.” (The Bartlesville Enterprise, January 12, 1926) The course opened in the spring of 1927, and the final cost was approximately $25,000.
Maxwell remains one of the most renowned golf course architects in the United States, and Hillcrest is one of the last solo designs before he partnered with Alister McKenzie. Maxwell also designed Prairie Dunes, Southern Hills, Dornick Hills, Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club, and Crystal Downs Country Club with Alister McKenzie. (www.cybergolf.com/golf_news/perry_maxwell_golf_course_architect_at_a_glance)
Hillcrest continues to thrive and adapt to the ever changing demands of the community and membership. Thanks to focused management and a respectable list of loyal patrons, Hillcrest is proud to be only a handful of clubs that is debt free. Hillcrest owes its vitality and beauty to a number of architects, grounds superintendants, golf professionals, staff, and members who recognize the community benefit of a first-class social and recreational club.
