The Bois de Sioux Golf Course is a Public Course
Members had a treat at their regular meeting April 30th at noon at Prante’s when Mayor Jim Sturdevant and Bois de Sioux Golf Board President Doug Hocker did a combined presentation. The Mayor began with a review of the history of the Bois de Sioux Golf Course. It began as a private club, unfortunately something that many believe still to be true, with planning beginning in 1922. The original nine holes and clubhouse were on the Minnesota side. Play began in 1927. That clubhouse subsequently burnt down. In the 1940’s Wahpeton entrepreneur and philanthropist R. J. Hughes started consideration of building an eighteen hole course. After World War II in 1946 work was started and twenty-five thousand dollars was used to build a clubhouse. Hughes added twenty-two thousand to this to provide lockers for members. The nine holes on the North Dakota side opened in 1952 and the other nine on the Minnesota side opened in 1956. It ceased being a private club and became a public course with the Friendship Bridge between the two States opening in 1984. To this day people come from far away for the unique ability to play nine holes in one state and the other nine in a different state. The City of Wahpeton ultimately owned the entire course including that in the Minnesota side.
Mayor Jim Sturdevant
Boix de Sioux Golf Board President Doug Hocker
The problem was Red River flooded many springs. The club house was badly flooded in 1997 and needed to be demolished with yet another new clubhouse build. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will not pay to rebuild golf courses so the City of Wahpeton spent 1.8 million rebuilding the golf course and parks. In 2008 Wilkin County needed to purchase some of the land back from the City of Wahpeton to build the levees on the Minnesota side of the river.
Doug Hocker reiterated that the City of Wahpeton owns the gold course but gives the Board a mandate to run it. In the summer to course employs twenty-five to thirty full and part time people and it employs three fulltime during the winter. The restaurant has been downgraded with a simpler menu and employs Jerry Prante as an off-site manager. It is a beautiful site and particularly eating on the porch during the summer is a great experience. The Board operates the vending machines and has sold advertising on the benches. While a public course people can purchase annual memberships. After the 1997 floor there were only eighty-five members; today there are three hundred and five. There is a full tournament schedule for this summer with a total of twenty-six events. The club championship tournament is Saturday August 10th.