History of Elephant Rocks Golf Course
I
n the early 1920’s, Williams
Country Club was formed. Originally built by the railway workers, it was
a private members club where membership cost a whole $10. Much of the
courses’ land was leased from the US Forest Service, but the club
did own the land covering three holes. The members and railway workers
constructed the courses’ historic stone clubhouse in 1932 and it
has remained nearly untouched for the past 75 years. The course has had
quite a different life.
Until 1990 the course had dirt/native grass fairways and sand and oil greens. The original nine holes were redesigned by Gary Panks in 1990. Panks tweaked the layout and added lush grass throughout the course along with pure bent grass greens. Under the direction of previous (1990-2008) PGA Professional John McCahan, the course quickly gathered the reputation of the best 9 holes of golf in Arizona. Despite its high reputation, it retained its laid back nature and is a great retreat from the hassles of daily life.
The city council began to view the
future of Williams as a destination town with a strong influence of
retirees living in the cool ponderosa pines. They made a deal with local
developer Bill Gary, to include 9 holes within one of his development
and sell the course to the city. This brought the return of course
architect Panks, who in 1999, despite a very different terrain, managed
to sculpt a very scenic and challenging completion to the course. The
new nine consisting of holes 6 – 14, is situated in one of
Northern Arizona’s many golden meadows. It is much longer than the
original nine, but still maintains the true essence and environment of
Elephant Rocks golf.

