Manito Golf and Country Club

About This Course: The Spokane Club That Hosted the 1944 PGA Championship

Manito Golf and Country Club is a private, member owned club on Spokane’s South Hill, and its claim to fame is a big one: in 1944 its course hosted the PGA Championship, where Bob Hamilton beat Byron Nelson in the final. The layout was designed by A. Vernon Macan in 1922, and the club describes itself as the only true private club in the Spokane area.

The course is an 18 hole, par 71 round framed by tall pines, and it measures 6,474 yards from the Black tees on the current rated card. Golf is for members and their guests, so a member is your way onto the first tee.

Manito Golf and Country Club Fast Facts

Course Overview

The club says it was founded in 1917 at Hart Field by a small group of golf enthusiasts and moved to its current home in 1922. The course’s big moment came in August 1944, when the PGA Championship, then decided at match play, came to Spokane. In a 1998 Seattle Times column, Blaine Newnham wrote that a final day crowd of 10,000 ringed the 18th green and that profits of almost $30,000 went to a nearby military hospital. Hamilton, a 28 year old awaiting induction into the Army, won the final 1 up.

The course has changed since then. Newnham reported that the course was rerouted, a new clubhouse went up and a lake was added to spice the ninth and 18th holes, but that six holes (4, 5, 6, 10, 13 and 15) were as they were when Nelson played. Top 100 Golf Courses reports that John Harbottle drew a master plan in 2009 and that Jeff Mingay, brought in after Harbottle’s death, oversaw the remodeling of holes 4, 5 and 6. Expect a tree lined round where finding the fairway matters more than length.

Hole by Hole Highlights

Yardages are from the Black tees on the current rated card.

• Hole 4, 480 yards, par 5: The first par 5 and the start of the stretch Jeff Mingay remodeled. A good drive brings the green into range in two.
• Hole 5, 145 yards, par 3: The shortest hole on the course and a real birdie chance.
• Hole 6, 420 yards, par 4: The number 2 handicap hole on the card. A drive in the fairway is a must.
• Hole 9, 382 yards, par 4: Closes the front nine at the lake the club added, playing to the double green it shares with 18 in front of the clubhouse.
• Hole 11, 413 yards, par 4: The number 1 handicap hole on the card. Take your par and move on.
• Hole 12, 192 yards, par 3: The longest par 3 on the back nine. Take enough club.
• Hole 13, 564 yards, par 5: The longest hole on the course and one of the six holes Newnham found unchanged from 1944 when he played it in 1998, followed right away by the 502 yard par 5 14th.
• Hole 18, 370 yards, par 4: The finish at the lake, playing to the other half of the big double green that Top 100 Golf Courses describes in front of the clubhouse.

Amenities and Practice

The club lists a full service grass driving range, a short game practice area and a putting green, and its membership page adds a lighted putting green, golf simulators, private or group lessons, cart rental, club storage, club care and club fitting through the pro shop. A newer facility holds a casual dining area, a fireplace patio, the simulators, the pro shop and the pool, and the main clubhouse has a new fitness center.

Membership is by nomination from an existing member, with approval by the Membership Committee and Board of Trustees. Regular Membership is capped at 400 stockholding members, and a Junior Executive Membership for ages 21 to 35 is capped at 30. Social members get the clubhouse and pool but no golf.

Food and Drink

The main clubhouse has several dining options, including spacious outdoor decks that look over the course and the pond. The club’s amenities page names two spots for a cocktail, ‘19’ and The Trap, alongside indoor and outdoor dining areas and the fireplace patio. The club also hosts receptions, weddings, banquets and business meetings.

Plan Your Visit

Rates, Tee Times and Local Tips

Manito is private, so there are no public green fees or tee times. Play is for members and their guests, and the club does not publish a guest fee or guest policy on its public site, so confirm the details with your member host. Initiation fees and dues are not published. For membership, use the club’s contact page or call 509-448-2045; the pro shop is 509-448-5829.

The club is on Spokane’s South Hill. Our Spokane city guide covers the rest of town, Manito Park is a few minutes north for gardens in bloom, and our list of Spokane coffee shops will get you to an early tee time. For a round you can book yourself, The Creek at Qualchan is less than a mile away, and Downriver Golf Course is about six miles away.

How to Score Here

• Put the ball in the fairway. Pines line the corridors, so a missed fairway costs more than distance.
• Know the local rules. The driving range is in bounds, and the fences and the curbing behind the second green mark out of bounds.
• Pick your moments on the par 5s. Holes 4 and 14 are the shorter two, while 13 is a three shot hole at 564 yards.
• Respect the finish of each nine. Holes 9 and 18 play to a shared green at the lake, so favor the safe side of the target.

Final Word

Manito pairs a Macan routing with a real piece of golf history, the 1944 PGA Championship, on Spokane’s South Hill. If a member invites you, say yes and bring your straightest driver.