Rolling Hills Country Club History

Ted Robinson began his career with degrees in land planning and landscape architecture from the University of Southern California. After years of experience in land planning, including teaching at U.S.C. this background evolved into his dominant interest, golf course architecture. He has designed and constructed well over 100 golf courses. Over the past 25 years he has become one of the world's leading and imaginative and respected golf course architects. His concepts have materialized into beautiful and challenging courses that have become show cases for golf at its finest around the world. We at RHCC are proud to have Ted's talents exhibited in our magnificent golf course, designed early in his career. And prouder still that he has risen to World Prominence as a Golf Course Architect.

In the Beginning
Omer K. Tingle - Omer is a retired Army Air Force celestial navigation instructor and an early builder/developer in the Palos Verdes area. He is also an envisionary! As early as 1959, he envisioned a Private Country Club arising out of the bean fields and vegetable plots on the somewhat desolate Palos Verdes Peninsula. "My plans form the very beginning were to ultimately develop a full scale 18 hole golf course, owned by members. I decided to start building an Executive Nine on the land, and hoped that downstream I could acquire additional surrounding acreage." Omer immediately contracted for the services of Theodore G. Robinson, a local resident and friend who had already designed some of his first golf courses including Pauma Valley and Mesa Verde. Ted designed the original 9 hole, par 29 layout, and grading got underway in April 1960. It was a sporty nine playing 1260 yards with individual hole lengths from 85 yards to 260 yards. All were par 3's except for holes 1 and 6, which were 4 pars. The course featured two half acre lakes and a unique "island tee" that was in the center of the lake on the ninth hole with pedestrian access over two wooden bridges. On November 9, 1963 the new course was dedicated and opened to the public. Green fees were $1.25 weekdays, and $1.50 on weekends for nine holes of play.

A young Pat Chartrand was hired as the club's Golf Professional even before the course was finished. At that time, Pat held the Inglewood CC course record at 62, had won a number of titles including the L.A. City Junior Championship and was the U.S. Army Champ in 1959.

Pursuing Omer's Dream
While the "Executive Nine" hole course was getting virtually all of the play it could accommodate, Omer Tingle persisted in his longer term goal of expanding to a regulation 18 hole private Country Club. He had been talking with the Chandlers about acquiring more land from them on the west side of P.V. Drive for quite some time. When it finally appeared that some sort of a deal might be acceptable to Chandlers. Omer decided it was time to make his next move. An old friend and fellow businessman Cliff Richards joined him in the venture. They completed negotiations with Chandler in June on 1967 and agreed on 65 acres West of the drive and immediately announced plans to build a "Double Nine" golf course on the limited acreage. Ted Robinson was summoned to design the novel course with nine fairways and two trees and two greens for each fairway.

18 HOLES!
The December 1971 agreement with Chandler for 22 acres west of the double nine was the giant step to assure our growth to a full 18-hole golf course. Our total lands now comprised 99.31 acres, certainly less than the 130 or so acres desired for an 18-hole complex. At this time, the membership stood at 315, and it was decided to authorize sale of an additional 100 memberships. By October of 1972, the entire course had been planned and touches of green were showing everywhere. Finally in March, Green Superintendent Bill Gallegos determined that the new grass was ready for play and 18 holes were commissioned. On opening day Gene Parana shot a great 71, followed by John Cartwright's course record 68. Sally Jones set the women's record with an 82.

Structures
As the golf course expanded and matured and more memberships were sold, the need for additional structures and facilities was ever present. No sooner than an addition was constructed, yet another was desired. The first office/clubhouse was a construction trailer placed on the site of the "3 par" first hole. In 1966 the diminutive little clubhouse (later to be the pro shop) replaced the trailer. It could accommodate perhaps 40 persons; standing elbow to elbow, and our early parties there flowed out to the wood decked patio and the first tee beside the lake. The need for a larger clubhouse was obvious, and the Board engaged architect Pat Derosa to draw up tentative plans for the new building. After much massaging of the plans and the extended hearings for permits, $260,000 was budgeted and ground was broken in June of 1969.

The tunnel under PV Drive was completed in July of 1970 and doubled as our first cart barn until the new barn accommodating 64 carts was completed in October, 1975. The new barn, North of the Pro Shop was financed through a $400 membership assessment. The halfway house was commissioned in January of 1975 and was financed largely through proceeds from art auctions and individual membership contributions. The maintenance shed behind the 14th green was added in October of 1973. June of 1976 brought the dedication of 4 tennis courts, which were planned and constructed, under the guidance of then Tennis Chairman Don Bowker. The tennis house and toilets were added later in 1983.

New Construction
Early in 1987, the architectural firm of Johannes Van Tilburg and Partners was retained to develop space studies and preliminary design concepts. The conceptual plans and costs were presented at a general membership meeting and on March 10th, the members voted overwhelmingly to proceed with final plans and approved a $6000 assessment to finance the construction. The construction contract was awarded to Henry Construction Co. on July 2, 1988. Finally after two years of developing plans, City hearings and procedural frustrations, building permits were issued. July of 1988 brought the commemorative ground breaking and the start of the massive project.

The first new structure rushed to early completion in February 1989 was the ultimate new pro shop sitting beside the first tee on the East end of the parking structure. This structure was to serve as our temporary Clubhouse during the rest of the construction period. Jim Neal's crew prepared the bedrock foundation and sodded the new practice putting green in mid September. Some 6000 square feet of quality green sod was purchased from the Virginia Country Club "green farm". The new green, 7500 square feet and over twice the area of the one it replaced, was amazingly ready for play in only 4 weeks!

By September's end, the Clubhouse had it's exterior painted, the roof tiles installed and was really beginning to look like a Clubhouse, although much of the time consuming interior finish work remained to be completed. In early October, invitations were mailed to members, city officials and dignitaries to attend the "opening and inauguration" of the new Clubhouse on October 25, 1989. The Clubhouse was designed on three levels comprised of 25,847 square feet in all, over twice the footage of its predecessor. The "old" lounge and bar area was retained largely intact. Other than that one area, everything else is either new or grossly remodeled as to be unrecognizable.