Westwood Country Club of St. Louis history

At the heart of the complex, located on the corner of west 35th Street and Mount Bonnell Road, is the original McClendon home, a medieval French mansion built in 1925 by Judge and Mrs.

The McClendon family carefully oversaw the yearlong construction of their home, which was completed on July 7, 1926.

On March 31, 1927, the purchase of the present grounds was concluded.

In 1928, Walter Pfeiffer bought the course and restructured it into a public facility.

Two houses came with the site, both built in 1935.

In 1947 one of the first houses was built near the property, owned by Harlyn and Mary Rohr.

In 1948, a small group of Westborough’s founding members purchased the Club, using their own business as collateral.

The house, which is now 8100 Westwood Hills Drive, was so remote that in 1949 the address in the directory was listed as Rt.

In 1952, a local developer named Leon Horowitz bought the farm for $120,000, theorizing that the DC suburbs would expand out Chain Bridge Road.

The year 1953 found him back in the golf business as the head pro at the Westbriar Country Club.

The original golf course, designed by noted architect Alfred Tull, opened in 1954.

Westwood Country Club officially bought the McClendon’s property in July of 1955.

In the fifties the name was changed to Robert J. McNulty Company, and then in 1956 the name was changed to McNulty Construction Company, under which name it continues today.

In 1957, Murri-Mac bought 117 acres and proposed to develop 400-500 homes on 68 acres of the parcel from the golf course and the rest from further north (or possibly east of Texas?). A “Save the Green” committee was formed, with 450 members, trying to stop residential development.

In 1958 the club went private and the clubhouse and pool were built.

On August 17, 1959, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission recommended to the City Council that the City acquire Westwood Hills Park.

The golf course was gone by the early sixties – it does not appear in the 1961 directory.

On February 12, 1962, the mortgage holder, Victor Orsinger, called the note and the club was padlocked by the Sheriff.

In 1963, the City Council required the developers of Westwood Estates 2nd Addition to ensure that the water of Westwood Lake was controlled by an adequate outlet.

On Publicity: The June 7, 1964 Washington Post sports page noted: "Westwood pro Ernie Garlem was a very embarrassed man last Thursday.

In 1965, in order to eliminate the local rowdies' frequent evening forays onto the golf course, a $9,500 unsecured loan was granted by the Vienna Trust Company for perimeter fencing of the property.

Beginning in 1970, the city began exploring the idea of creating a nature center in the area, and construction of the interpretative building began a decade later.

In 1971 the City was looking at 150 acres, including 60-acre Westwood Lake, to be developed into what would become the Westwood Hills Nature Center.

The first building at Westwood Hills Nature Center opened in 1981, but the area has a long and interesting history that dates back many years earlier.

Honeywell donated an alarm center in June 1982, but vandals caused $1,700 in damage that September.

In 2008 the Club embarked on a $5.5 million dollar expansion project.

The project was completed in spring of 2009 and included significant upgrades and playability improvements to the golf course.

One decade later, the diverse WCC members of 2018 overwhelmingly approved another batch of improvements with big visions for the future.