A Devastating Fire At Milburn Golf & Country Club

Milburn Golf & Country Club leaders were confident their storied club would survive Monday evening’s devastating fire.

“A club of this nature is about people, and the people are still going to be there,” said Bob Fischgrund, vice president of the club at 7501 W. 69th St. in Overland Park.

The fire spewed flames for hours, and high winds whipped smoke that could be smelled miles away. It started about 4:30 p.m., possibly on the clubhouse’s second floor, but authorities didn’t know what sparked it.

The club was heavily damaged. It took five hours to get the fire under control.

No one was injured. The club had been closed Monday.

A member of the club’s administrative staff was in the building Monday but was able to escape without injury, club president Greg Dunn said.

Officials were investigating a report that a roofing crew working at the club started a small fire about an hour before, Overland Park fire spokesman Jason Rhodes said in a statement. That fire was not reported, he said.

Built in 1917 on the Strang Line Interurban Railway, the club drew city visitors who rode the line to play golf. Downed by fire in 1932, the club came back, and these days it has hosted tournaments where local golfers tried to qualify for the U.S. Open.

“It’s a shame,” golfer Tom Watson said. “There are lots of memories, but they’ll just have to look forward to a new building and make new memories.”

Watson won the Missouri Amateur at Milburn in 1971, and the Watson Challenge was held there in 2008.

“It’s one of my favorite golf courses in the area,” Watson said. “It’s a really good test of golf. But gee whiz. What a shame.”

Hi,everyone!There are some new golf clubs in our store,for example: Callaway X-24 Hot Irons , Nike CCI Forged Irons , Ping K15 Fairway Wood

Dozens of people lined Santa Fe Drive on Monday night, watching firefighters struggle to tame the three-alarm fire and recalling memories of Christmas parties, wedding receptions and summer days spent swimming and golfing there.

“You can see it on TV, but you don’t believe it until you actually see it,” Diann McCallum of Mission said.

McCallum, who graduated from Shawnee Mission North High in 1980, sang at the country club with the school choir every Christmas.

“It’s a gorgeous building. It’s really sad to see it go down,” McCallum said.

Kristen Johnson, 25, fought back tears. The night before her wedding two months ago, she wrote her parents how thankful she was her family joined the club because of the amount of time they spent there together.

“I just can’t imagine not spending a summer up here,” Johnson said.

“It’s certainly been an important fixture in the city’s history,” said Florent Wagner, the president of the Overland Park Historical Society. “Thousands of people have been married there.”

Club leaders were trying to learn the extent of the fire’s damage Monday night. Although the clubhouse sustained heavy fire and water damage, crews were able to keep the pro shop intact, Fire Chief Bryan Dehner said.

High westerly winds fanned the flames and made the blaze difficult to control. Crews had to bring water from a long distance because there were no nearby hydrants.

Jim Crilly, a homeowner on 69th Street who lives three houses away from the club, said a friend told him that he heard a loud popping noise from the clubhouse before the firefighters arrived.

Crilly said he went outside upon hearing the sirens and saw smoke that appeared to come from the west side of the clubhouse.

Monday’s fire wasn’t the first at Milburn. Flames destroyed the clubhouse in September 1932. Almost all the furniture and equipment — including a grand piano and 225 sets of golf clubs — were saved by caddies and caretakers.

Dunn said Milburn was insured and had being doing well financially.

“We’re going to continue, but it’s going to be a disruption to our operations,” he said.

The club employs 50 to 100 people. Several people had been planning to hold Christmas parties and other holiday celebrations at the clubhouse.

Post by: discount golf clubs

Tags: Overland Park, the U.S Open