In 1925, Mr. A.D. Filiatrault owned the land that is now South Hills Golf & Country Club. With the help of his farmhands, Bill Mullen and Elmer Burleton, the three men laid out the course exactly as you see it today. The course first opened for play two years later in 1927.
Now that the course was open and ready for play, Mr. Filiatrault had to come up with a name as well as a professional to help run it. South Hills was first dubbed "Takodah" meaning "Welcome". The name was decided after a contest ran in the local newspaper. Mary Dana, a local resident, came up with the idea of naming the course "Takodah". Local high school graduate Dick Watson was then hired on to become the club's first professional. Members paid annual dues of $37.50 in Takodah's first year.
After 24 years of ownership, Mr. Filitrault decided to sell the 152 acre course in 1951. Local real estate broker Arnold Brenner called Fred Thiel and Nate Manis who owned the Riverdale Golf Course in Sheboygan. Thiel and Manis purchased the course in 1951 for $77,000. That same year Fond du Lac Judge C.F. Van Pelt suggested that Manis and Thiel sell the land back with the hopes of making it a private course.
Fond du Lac residents and community leaders Judge Van Pelt, Russ Hansen, Ben Sadoff, J.R. Ahern Sr., Ralph Kraut, Andre Perry, A.D. Edgarton, Dr. L. McCabe, Dr. M. Korb, Bill Cochrane and Nate Manis met to discuss the details of turning "Takodah" into a country club. Judge Van Pelt came up with the idea to call the club "South Hills Club" choosing to omit the word "Country" for fear that residents would think only the rich or affluent were allowed. In order to fund the launch of the club, $1,000 debenture notes were issued. $100,000 was raised in that first week and South Hills was off to a flying start in the summer of 1951.
South Hills Club officially became a Country Club in 1958 with the addition of the swimming pool. Nate Manis then decided it was time to find a legitimate golf pro. Nate's first call was to none other than George Calderwood - Wisconsin's PGA President at the time. Calderwood, serving as golf pro at North Hills Club in Menomonee Falls, visited South Hills for the first time and said quite simply - "I'll take the job". Thus South Hills had its first PGA Professional.
In 1986, with members paying dues, the question as to who actually owned the club was asked. Attorney Mike Fortune was called in to examine how to make South Hills an equity club. After getting clearance from the Wisconsin Security Division and the SEC, it was decided that each current member was invited to buy one share of South Hills stock for $1,000. On January 1st, 1987 South Hills officially became an equity club and its name was changed to South Hills Golf & Country Club.
South Hills Golf & Country Club, designed over eighty years ago by two farmhands, has stood the test of time as generations of community residents have endorsed, invested in and - most importantly - enjoyed the 152 acres that is South Hills.
