1954 Planning Meeting
Country Club of Sapphire Valley
When Gene Howerdd, Sr. saw the verdant Sapphire Valley, bordered by rocky mountain vistas and laced with crystal clear trout streams, he knew he had found the perfect site for a level, cool, and breathtakingly beautiful golf course. In fact, the valley floor where the golf course would be built had only a 12' elevation change across the entire area.
The then retired Executive of Georgia Pacific and member of Augusta National, and his wife Katie, purchased a 2,000 acre tract that the golf course is on and a 6,000 acre tract that had an inn and a 200 acre lake on it.
