By Ann Marie Shambaugh
Woodland Country Club has been a Carmel staple for 60 years, offering golf and social events for its members as a tiny rural town blossomed into a thriving suburb around it.
Dee Cooler is the club’s only member who has seen it all. The Carmel resident and her husband were among the first to join the club when it formed in 1956.
“It’s been our life. We made our first home on Woodland (Drive), and we have had many important social events at Woodland, weddings and other celebrations,” Cooler said. “It’s like my second home.”
Cooler, 87, joined other Woodland Country Club members for a 60th anniversary party Dec. 10. Guests enjoyed 1950s-themed food and drinks as they shared memories and recognized longtime club members.
The beginning
Woodland’s golf course predates the club. William “Bill” Diddel, a golf architect who designed dozens of courses in Indiana and many more across the nation, purchased 160 acres of farmland in 1928 with a goal of creating his own golf course. Twenty years later, a nine-hole course opened to the public, with nine more holes added the following year.
In 1955, Diddel said he would build a clubhouse and swimming pool if 300 charter members committed to founding a club. The campaign was a success, and Woodland Country Club was born in 1956.
Cooler remembers committing to become a member at a dinner for those interested in early 1956. She hasn’t looked back since.
“I’ve seen a lot of changes,” she said. “(At first) there was no Keystone (Parkway). There was a farm on the east side of the golf course. There were pigs and cows when you were playing on the east side of the golf course.”
Keystone Parkway came through town in the 1960s, bringing more families to Carmel and the country club.
Cooler said she and her husband, who died in April at age 90, built their first home near the golf course. Harry Cooler Jr. was an architect, and his projects included restoration of the Indiana Statehouse building. Although the family eventually relocated to Brookshire Village, Dee Cooler has fond memories of raising her four children on Woodland Drive.
“We loved raising them at Woodland, because I didn’t have to do a lot of driving,” she said, recalling summers spent watching the kids perform swim routines at the pool or learning to play golf.
The future
With 60 successful years in the books, Woodland Country Club is moving ahead, optimistic about its future. Boasting a membership of 479 families and a waiting list of many more, the club offers an Olympic-size swimming pool, two outdoor tennis courts, a fitness facility and an 18-hole golf course redesigned in 2002 by World Golf Hall of Fame member Pete Dye.
“Woodland continues to work on making the members’ experience a special one,” Woodland Country Club manager Robert Reynolds said. “While there are no major projects in the next few years, Woodland is always looking to improve the overall member experience.”
Cooler believes the club is in good hands as it prepares for the future.
“Woodland is in the best place that it’s ever been,” she said.
As for herself, Cooler doesn’t plan on slowing down soon, either. Although she’s switched from an 18-hole to a 9-hole golf group in recent years, she still enjoys hitting the links with her longtime friends, recently purchasing new equipment she plans to use for years to come.
“I got myself a periwinkle golf bag after 16 years of using my beige one,” she said. “It’s beautiful. I have to stay in good health so I can continue using it!”
A fire, a party and more
Woodland Country Club has celebrated its share of happy occasions, but in March 1969 tragedy struck when a fire burned down the clubhouse, which had opened less than two years earlier.
Newspaper reports from the time state that the fire caused $250,000 in damage. The pro shop, a kitchen and cocktail lounge were all lost. No one was injured in the blaze.
Dee Cooler said she recalls that fumes from the refinishing of golf clubs exploded to start the fire. Her husband had designed the clubhouse, which featured stucco and a red roof, inspired by a trip to Spain. He designed the family’s home in the same style, which is still reflected in the house along Woodland Drive.
The clubhouse was rebuilt in December 1969 and stood until 1989, when it was demolished to make way for the existing building. The last big party in the old clubhouse is among Cooler’s favorite memories at Woodland.
“We had a big cake to celebrate, out with the old and in with the new,” she said. “We did our line dancing. We always had such a good time in those days.”
