The game of golf first arrived in the Rogue Valley in the fall of 1910. It was brought here by a group of wealthy young businessmen who had played the game in the East. The young men, and orchardists from around the Rogue Valley, organized the Medford Golf and Country Club. An elaborate grand opening was scheduled for June 30, 1911, at a property on Hillcrest Road just east of Medford. The country club included tennis courts, a skeet range and nine holes of golf.
The clubhouse featured a veranda garden.“ From these heights, the valley sweeps away,” wrote the Mail Tribune newspaper.“ Dotted with homes, orchards, fields of grain… it is beautiful!”
Yet, despite many activities the Medford Golf and Country Club struggled financially and closed a short time later. The country club moved to a smaller site a few miles away in August of 1912.This new property was donated by Conro Fiero, a wealthy apple orchardist, and his wife Grace, a Broadway actress, to be used as a golf course. This new course had nine holes and held many inter-city golf and tennis matches. Once again, the Medford Golf and Country Club had to close its doors due to financial difficulty in 1917.
In 1923, the Rogue Valley Golf Association was formed and it bought 70 acres of land where the original Medford Golf and Country Club was located on Hillcrest Road. H. Chandler Egan, a local orchardist and nationally recognized amateur golfer, was selected as the course architect. Egan considered the land ideal because of the interesting terrain, attractive shade trees and plenty of water nearby. Egan donated his services to the new club and he was called the“driving spirit” behind the project. The Rogue Valley Country Club was one of Egan’s first designs.
With only nine holes at first, membership was limited to 100 people and applications came in rapidly from people in Medford as well as Ashland, Grants Pass and Portland. On May 3, 1924 the Rogue Valley Country Club was opened for play. Egan went onto design another nine holes at RVCC, which we now refer to as the “original course.”
Fall 1910- Idea forms for first Golf Club.
June 30, 1911- Medford Golf and Country Club Opens.
1912- Club closes and moves to a smaller site.
1917- Club closes due to financial difficulty.
1923- RVGA buys 70 acres of original Medford Golf and Country Club property. H. Chandler Egan selected as course architect.
May 3, 1924- Rogue Valley Country Club opens again on the original site with 9 holes and membership limited to 100 people.
1927- H. Chandler Egan designs a second 9 holes to make Rogue Valley Country Club an 18 hole golf course.
1961– Ron Caperna designs the third 9 holes making Rogue Valley Country Club a 27 hole golf course.
December 1, 1981– 600 Charter Golf Members and 400 Social Members purchase Rogue Valley Country Club from Golf Holding Co. making RVCC a Member Owned Club.
1994– The golf course was redesigned by Robert Muir Graves.
May 13, 2017- The Original Course was renamed and dedicated to honor its designer, H. Chandler Egan.