Page 3 - GCC Flipbook_zip

our history

In the spring of 1895, a small group of young men from

Greenville, South Carolina, loaded their wagons with
shovels, rakes, sickles, saws and other tools and set out

for Piney Mountain. Having taken possession of 50 acres

of land conveyed to them by an Indian tribe, the goal of

the so-called Piney Mountain Pioneers was to lay out the

first golf course in this part of the country. The property – a

grassy meadow carved out of the hillside – was the site for

the course, crude clubhouse and other facilities.

Only a few years later, a larger and more modern facility
was needed. The mansion and property of a one-time

Provisional Governor of South Carolina were purchased.

The new club opened in 1905, with 50 members, and was

known as the Sans Souci Country Club. The original

three-story Victorian style mansion was refitted into a

semi-modern clubhouse with dining rooms, locker rooms,

a dance hall and verandas. The golf course was a nine-

hole layout of 2,634 yards, featuring crossing fairways.

Two clay tennis courts were built and cricket was also
played on occasion.

The Sans Souci Club was rechartered as Greenville

Country Club in 1914 and nearly ten years later, the new

club opened at its current site with an 18-hole golf course,

clubhouse, tennis facility and swimming pool. The club-

house as it stands today opened in 1954 as a 19,000 square

foot facility with new pool complex and bath house. In 1970,

GCC completed the Chanticleer Course, its second golf

course which was later renovated by Rees Jones in 2001.
A renovation of the Riverside Course by renowned architect

Brian Silva followed six years later. In 2014 the club

announced plans to build a new clubhouse and facilities.

“With a strong history and the vision to look

forward with confidence, you will not find

another club in the area that offers the opportunities

available at Greenville Country Club.”

- Patrick Sullivan, Membership Committee Chairman