In 1958, an idea was born that became a subject of discussion between four enthusiastic gentlemen. The discussions and meetings between William Remlinger, Jack Werner, Max Miller and Ike Bandelier led to formal presentations to both the local Jaycees and then to the Senior Chamber of Commerce regarding the feasibility of building a nine-hole golf course for Delphos and the surrounding area. The Chamber considered this project to one of importance to the community and thus began the journey to build Delphos Country Club.
The old Remlinger farm on Shenk Road was thought to be the perfect place for the new course and the land was purchased from Francis Nomina who was to become the first greenskeeper. Leonard Schmutte from Findlay Country Club laid out the first nine holes and construction began under the watchful eye of Ike Bandelier. The excavating was done by Feathers Excavating Company and Cyril Hempfling laid the water lines and did the drainage for the greens. The new members kept busy volunteering their time by tearing down old buildings and removing trees and shrubbery deemed unnecessary to the course. Other members used their talents raising funds.
In May of 1959, the first foursome took the course after the official ribbon cutting. This memorable event was led by the first Board of Directors with J. Frank Shumaker as the club president. Other members of the first board were Ray McKowan, Vincent Odenweller, Bill Remlinger, Max Miller, Jack Werner and Ike Bandelier. The Treasurer was R.B. Rozelle, Paula Minzing was the corresponding secretary and Edna Jane Nolte was the financial secretary. The clubs first manager was former Ottoville industrial arts teacher and coach, Jerry Moenter.
Later that year, the first club championship was held which generated much excitement and enthusiasm. The first men’s Club Champion was Jack Adams and the first women’s Club Champion was Martha Rosselit.
In 1961, it was decided that a new clubhouse was needed so by working together, they constructed our current clubhouse by building around and adding to the existing old farmhouse that was on the property. Many fundraisers were held to finance this project.
In the early 1970’s, the club felt that it was outgrowing its nine-hole course and the dream of having an 18-hole course began to be realized in 1974. Under the guiding hand of Joe Horstman, an additional 70 acres of the Kleman farm became available for purchase which made the expansion possible. Once again, Leonard Schmutte was hired to layout the additional nine holes. The board appointed E.M. Wiecher to supervise and coordinate the expansion with a target date for opening on July 4, 1975.
Carrying out the construction was Chester Wortman Construction from Middle Point and Cyril Hempfling again installed the water and drainage for the greens. Jim McKowen the current greenskeeper at the time helped with the construction and oversaw the day to day operations. Due to some adverse weather conditions, the official opening of the additional 9 holes was pushed back to May 2, 1976 and it was greeted with much excitement from the membership.
After the opening of the second nine holes, two other major improvements were made in the years ahead, both of which made Delphos Country Club an even better facility and one of the finest in the area. A new full-course irrigation system was installed in 1988 and a new and larger pro shop was built in 1992. Each year, thru the efforts of the members and shareholders, improvements continue to be made. The pride shown by these improvements are appreciated by the members and are noticed by the golfing public who come to enjoy our course.
In the year 2021, shares were sold to raise money to keep the club on a financially sound basis and because of the efforts of many long-time members and several hard-working leaders, Delphos Country Club continues to be one of the leading golf clubs in northwest Ohio. Improvements made each year not only make DCC a club that many members enjoy, it is a golf club that attracts golfers from all over northwest Ohio.