History
THUNDERBIRD COUNTRY CLUB FIRSTS
The first 18-hole golf course and country club in the Coachella Valley opened on January 9, 1951. Thunderbird Ranch and Country Club had taken shape on the site of Thunderbird Ranch, a dude ranch that had been operated by the Club's first manager, Frank Bogert, since 1946. The new course represented the fulfillment of the dreams and hard work of Johnny Dawson, the Club's first president.
Thunderbird's first pro was Jimmy Hines.
Lawrence Hughes, the golf course's architect, hit the first tee shot on opening day, followed by the first foursome: Harry Weimer, Johnny Dawson, and Bob and Alice Hefferman.
Thunderbird's first hole-in-one came in March of 1951, when Roland Tognazzini of San Francisco aced No. 8.
The Club's first national golf tournament occurred in November of 1951. Thunderbird's first Women's Invitational welcomed 130 of the country's best women golfers.
The first men's national event, in January, 1952, was a 36 hole pro-am affair, with a total purse of $5,000.
First national press(about the tournament and club): "movie stars were scattered all over the course in liberal quantities . . . Nancy Chaffee Kiner, the tennis star and wife of home-run belter Ralph, did her gallerying from one of the dozen electric cars, which navigate the flat desert with ease . . . Bing Crosby had similar transportation and so did Phil Harris." Although it was not strictly tournament news, the writer added, "If you're in the market for a house at Palm Springs, there's a nifty one off the ninth and eighteenth greens for sale . . .The price tag, including drapes and carpeting is $110,000 . . . The swimming pool is included as are the four fireplaces, etc . . . Club President Johnny Dawson lives next door."
