Lancaster County Golf Association

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Golf Course History

1. Lancaster Country Club (LCC) - Est. 1900

2. Meadia Heights Golf Club (MH) - Est. 1922

3. Overlook Golf Course (OV) - Est. 1928
   For many years Abe Dombauch occupied the old house sitting on what today is
   the 17th tee at Overlook. Abe spent many afternoons watching players finish up
   on the par-3 eighteenth hole (today it is No. 16) while dispensing advice and
   stories to friends and other golfers.
   After Abe Dombauch, ownership of Overlook went to Dr. Kaiser then to Manny Murry.

4. Conestoga Country Club (CCC) - Est. 1948

5. Indian Springs Golf Course (FS) - Est. 1961 (Now Four Seasons)

6. Lancaster Host Resort (LHR) - Est. 1965

7. Tanglewood Manor Golf Club (TW) - Est. 1967

8. Hawk ValleyGolf Course (HV) - Est. 1970 (from 6/24/83 article on Amateur by George Crudden)
   The course was created by Phares Rutt and Jim Millen. The name was taken from the tenth
   hole which runs through a valley from tee to green. The hole is also framed by trees and
   the black hawks go winging and screaming up and down the valley producing an eerie sound effect.

9. Foxchase Golf Club (FC) - Est. 1991
   Foxchase is owned and operated by the Graybill family. The family has owned the original
   farm land that the course now occupies for 5 generations. The family had operated
   Triple G Ice Cream with a store on Church Street in Denver for many years. The Triple G
   included brothers Art, Steve and Donald Graybill. When Donald was diagnosed with bone
   cancer in 1985 Art and son Steve arranged to take Donald to Chester Valley Country Club
   to the Bell South Senior Classic for a chance to meet Donald's golf hero Arnold Palmer.
   The day they arrived the course was inundated and the day's golf cancelled. Undaunted,
   their informal meeting with "The King" turned into an hour long lunch and discussion of all
   things golf related. Art and Steve created an American Cancer Society event in honor of
   Donald over the next few years and Arnold Palmer invited them to Latrobe for a round of golf
   while continuing to encourage the family during these difficult times. Young Steve Graybill
   saw a need for a new golf course in Lancaster county (the last new one was Hawk Valley opening in 1970)
   and, with father Art, began to gain knowledge about the golf industry with the help of Arnold Palmer,
   some of his staff and the agronomists at Penn State. They decided to allocate 210 acres of
   their 300-plus acre farmland for the new golf course. Breaking ground in March, 1990 the course
   opened for play in June, 1991. The Foxchase name is derived from the fact that the Graybill
   youngsters chased foxes on the original farmland. Today Steve Graybill heads the golf course
   operations and his cousin Doug manages the food service facility. Still a family operation,
   Foxchase enjoys a top flight reputation for championship calibre golf and a country club facility
   that is available to the public golfer.

10. Bent Creek Country Club (BC) - Est. 1993
   The idea to build a new, upscale golf course in Lancaster originated with long-time friends
   Dennis Hevener and Barry Hogan in the mid-80's. The men were members at Meadia Heights but, when
   capital there was earmaked for the clubhouse instead of the course, they decided to take matters into
   their own hands and began to put together a team. Along with Bob Wolf, Sr., Bob Wolf, Jr., Dennis Herr
   and Josie Buckwalter their search for a suitable property led them first to the Willow Street area.
   A 200 acre parcel there proved unfruitful when it was belatedly discovered there was a power company
   right-of-way through the center of the property. Their option deposit and their work with designer
   Robert Trent Jones up to that point went for naught. The developers turned their attention to the
   Erb's Nursery property along Fruitville Pike. Acquiring the Erb's parcel, along with two adjacent farms,
   became a reality and plans were made to break ground in 1991. Attorney Elvin Byler was retained to
   serve as the developers' legal counsel. The course designer, Jay Morrish, recommended Jim Loke of Firestone
   Country Club for the position of Course Superintendent.   Local golf professionals were considered
   for the head position but when Byler received an unsolicited call recommending Brett Upper for the
   spot a deal was soon struck. The call?...another Pennsylvania golfer...Arnold Palmer.
   The Bent Creek name, coined by Bob Wolf, Jr., is derived from the creek that runs through the
   environmental areas on holes 3,4 and 5 today. The private club was opened for play in July, 1993
   and has been the site of two Pennsylvania Opens and a Pennsylvania Amateur in it's young history.