Wichita (Kan.) Country Club
Yardage: 6,209 yards
Par: 36-36—72
Defending champion: Martha Leach
Opened: 1900
Designer: William H. Diddel
USGA championships: This will be the third USGA championship at the club, following the 1955 U.S. Women’s Open won by Fay Crocker and the 1969 Senior Amateur won by Curtis Person Sr. But it will be the first U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur held in Kansas.
Wichita and women’s golf: Several USGA championships for females have been conducted in Wichita, including the 1950 U.S. Women’s Open that was conducted by the Ladies Pro Golf Association and won by Babe Didrikson Zaharias. The ’55 Women’s Open was also held at Wichita C.C. and Crestview Country Club has had two U.S. Girls’ Juniors – 1980 (Laurie Rinker) and 1991 (Emilee Klein). The 2001 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Flint National G.C. in the Wichita suburb of Andover was also won by Meredith Duncan. In addition to the championships, past USGA president Judy Bell is a Wichita native and past Wichita C.C. member who has been instrumental in bringing USGA events to the area, including the 2002 U.S. Women’s Open to Prairie Dunes C.C. in Hutchinson, about a 45-minute drive from Wichita.
Historic venue: For more than 100 years, Wichita C.C. has been one of the hubs of society and is the longest running private club in the state. Besides Bell, the club also can boast Kansas State Golf Association founder John L. Powell.
Course notes: From its original nine-hole layout, Wichita C.C. has evolved over time to its current location. The 18-hole layout, opened in 1950, features tranquil ponds and streams. Besides its USGA pedigree, Wichita C.C. also hosted the 1948 and 1970 Western Amateur, the 1936, 1947, 1960 and 1992 Trans-Mississippi Amateur, 1963 NCAA Championship, 2008 Kansas Amateur Championship and 1954 LPGA Wichita Open.
Club notes: Golf isn’t the only activity offered at Wichita C.C. The club also features four indoor and five outdoor tennis courts and an on-site workout facility.
Keeping green: The club is committed to several environmentally friendly projects, including the creation of a state-of-the-art irrigation system/weather station coupled with daily monitoring that dictates the judicious use of irrigation water. All product selection when it comes to fertilizer are chosen for its impact on the environment, and all applicators are licensed through the Kansas Department of Agriculture. All fertilizer applications are science based and driven by continuous soil testing.