History of Westport & Westport Golf Club

     The story of Westport began in 1955 with Dwight L. Phillips, President of Dwight L. Phillips Investment Company, was searching for a parcel of land that could be used as a radiation testing site by the U.S. Government.  Since requirement for this site included a large tract of land with a good water source, he began exploring available land in the Catawba River area.  After talking briefly with an elderly gentleman, he ended up, sight unseen, with approximately 780 acres of pasture land and pine forest, with some frontage on the Catawba River.

     A test site location was finally chosen in the western United States, leaving Mr. Phillips with this land.  However, in 1959 the ground breaking began on Lake Norman and in 1963 the Lake was completed. At this time the town of Westport became a lakefront community.  Originally real estate sales for Mr. Phillips were slow as he found it hard selling lakefront lots for $3500.  But it soon took off.

     The golf course followed suit, with the front 9 opening on July 26, 1968.  The back 9 opened approximately one month later.  The course was designed by Porter Gibson and grading was done by Bradford Bros. Company.  The course plays to a par 72.  The blue tees played to a distance of 6805 yards, the white tees 6291 yards, and the red tees 5597 yards.  The course and slope ratings were blue 72.3/123, white 70.0/118, and red 71.5/118.

     Bob Galloway was the first head professional at Westport Golf Club.  Bobby won the Carolinas PGA Tournament in 1971 and the NC Open in 1972.  Howard Reid was Galloway's Assistant Professional and eventually was named Head Professional in 1974.  In 1989 Reid and a group of investors purchased the course from the Phillips organization.  In 1992, the course was resold to Saber Capital in New York, and in 1996 the course was purchased by DMM Golf Management Company of Murrell's Inlet, SC.  The most recent sale took place in 2006 with Westport Lakeside Development purchasing the course and the land surrounding with plans in place to develop the land into upscale homes.  The father-son team of TG and Tom Daniel purchased the course to help revive the tradition of golf and the sense of community in the Westport area.

     Westport Golf Club has hosted several Carolinas PGA events, including the 1972 CPGA Championship, which was won by Bob Bruno.  The club also hosted the National Club Pro qualifier, as well as the Kemper Open qualifier.  The course records are held by the following: Blue Tees, Chris Tucker - 64, White Tees, Bob Galloway and Howard Reid - 63.  The first Club Championship was won in 1969 by men - George Boring and women - Gladys Hecht.

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