Midland Valley Golf Club

Jim Ferree: From Midland Valley to the spotlight—did you know a former owner was the original Senior PGA Tour logo?!

For this week’s Throwback Thursday, we’re looking back at Jim Ferree — the son of Midland Valley founder Purvis Ferree, a PGA Tour winner, a longtime golf professional, and one of the most recognizable figures from the early years of the Senior PGA Tour.

Jim Ferree grew up around the game. His father, Purvis Ferree, was a longtime golf professional and one of Midland Valley’s original co-owners, so golf was part of Jim’s life from the very beginning.

Jim went on to become an outstanding collegiate golfer at the University of North Carolina. He won the 1953 Southern Conference Golf Championship and later became the first Tar Heel golfer inducted into the UNC Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.

After turning professional in 1955, Ferree played on the PGA Tour and earned his PGA Tour victory at the 1958 Vancouver Open Invitational, where he beat Billy Casper by one stroke. He also won several other professional events, including the 1961 Jamaica Open, 1962 Panama Open, 1963 Maracaibo Open, and 1966 Carolinas PGA Section Championship.

But Jim Ferree’s story also has a special connection to Midland Valley.

In 1980, *The Augusta Chronicle* reported that Ferree had been named head golf pro and co-owner of Midland Valley Country Club, joining his father Purvis as one of the owners of the club. The article noted that Jim had already been around Midland Valley for years, saying:

“I’ve always wanted to be able to come here and work at this place. This is a beautiful golf course.”

At the time, Ferree said he did not plan to make big changes right away. Instead, he wanted to get settled, learn the course, and focus on continuing Midland Valley’s reputation for strong tournaments and course conditions. He also wanted to place more emphasis on teaching, including golf clinics.

The article also pointed out that Ferree had been connected to golf instruction beyond Midland Valley, traveling with teaching pro Bob Toski and giving lessons through Golf Digest Magazine.

Jim’s career reached another level when he joined the Senior PGA Tour (now called PGA Tour Champions) in its early years. Known for his knickers, Hogan-style cap, and classic swing, Ferree became so closely identified with the Senior Tour that then-PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman chose him to serve as the model for the original Senior PGA Tour logo.

In 1994, *The Augusta Chronicle* reported another major honor: Jim Ferree, then director of golf and co-owner of Midland Valley, had received the Ben Hogan Award. The award, presented by the Golf Writers Association of America, honors someone who returns to the game after serious injury or illness. Ferree had battled prostate cancer, returned to the Senior Tour at age 62, and enjoyed a remarkable 1993 season, winning $424,333 and nine Super Senior titles.

In the article, Ferree joked about his connection to Ben Hogan:

“I’ve been trying to copy Hogan’s swing for about 40 years and I haven’t come close yet.”

He also added:

“I’m probably the only guy who won this thing that was old enough to have played with Hogan.”

From his college days at UNC, to winning on the PGA Tour, to helping lead Midland Valley, to becoming one of the faces of the Senior PGA Tour, Jim Ferree built a golf life that stretched across generations.

And through it all, Midland Valley remained part of the story — not just as the course his father helped build, but as a place Jim Ferree came back to, worked at, helped lead, and proudly called “a beautiful golf course.”

Congratulations to Mr. Terry Pifer for his Hole-N-One on hole #8 today. He almost had a second one today on Hole # 13 he was two inches short.

Congrats

WORLD CUP WATCH PARTY THIS FRIDAY

USA takes on Paraguay at 9:00 PM, and we’re showing it live at Horse Creek Tavern. Come out, grab a table, and cheer on Team USA.

Before kickoff, we'll have live music with Lindsay Hayes from 5:30–8:30, so come early and make a night of it.

Our kitchen closes at 9:00, so come hungry and get those food orders in early. But don’t worry, the bar will be open all night, and we’ll be pouring $2.50 Budweiser draft pints, because cheering for the USA just feels right with an ice-cold Bud.

Pack the Tavern, raise a glass, and cheer on the red, white, and blue! 🇺🇸 🍻

This Week at The Valley:
Saturday June 13th = Callaway Golf Fitting Day, if you would like to be Fitted please go on our website and sign up for an available time.
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Tuesday June 16th Due to Aerification of the Greens only the Back 9 will be available for play with limited tee times

Wednesday June 17th Due to Aerification of the Greens only the Front 9 will be available for play with limited tee times

Junior Clinic Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday June 15-16-17 Junior Clinic ages 7 - 15 8:45 am - 11:30 am

Callaway Golf Fitting * The email address collected from this form will be used only for scheduling purposes. Click here to learn more about our privacy policy.

For this week’s Throwback Thursday, we’re looking back at Henry Bland, one of the three original owners of Midland Valley Country Club.

Charles Henry Bland, known by the nickname “Hands,” was a native of Columbia and was raised in Greenwood, S.C. Before coming to Midland Valley, Bland had already built a long career as a golf professional in the Carolinas. Records from the 1950s show him serving as pro at Anson Country Club in Wadesboro, N.C., and later at New Bern Country Club in New Bern, N.C.

By the late 1950s, Orville “Wh**ey” White and Purvis Ferree were working to turn their dream of owning a golf course into a reality. They had found the land, brought Ellis Maples in to lay out the course, and began looking for a third partner to help make the project stronger.

That partner became Henry Bland.

In a 1967 article about Midland Valley’s early history, Ferree explained why Bland’s role mattered so much. A friend had told him they needed a third partner “to make it a firmer deal,” and Ferree said that when Henry joined, it kept them from “spreading ourselves too thin.”

Bland came to Midland Valley from New Bern in November 1961, soon after the course opened for new members. At Midland Valley, he served as one of the club’s original co-owners, a golf professional, and vice president of Midland Enterprises, Inc., the company that developed the course.

Alongside White and Ferree, Bland helped guide the young club through some of its most important early years. In only a short time, Midland Valley grew into a course respected across South Carolina, hosting the 1965 State Amateur and the 1966 South Carolina Open.

After what was believed to be a heart attack, Henry Bland passed away on December 31, 1966, at the age of 54. A newspaper article following his death described him as a “popular golf professional” and noted that he had been a golf professional in the Carolinas for 26 years.

His time at Midland Valley was far too short, but his impact was lasting. Henry “Hands” Bland was part of the original group that took an idea, a piece of land, and a shared belief in the future of golf in the area, and helped turn it into the course we still know today.

Week at The Valley:

* Monday June 1st The Aiken Seniors have an event at 9:30 am Shotgun Course and Range closed. Range will open back up at 1:00 pm and course at 2:30 pm.

* Tuesday June 2nd The Valley Twilight League at 5:30 pm Sign up as a twosome must have at least one MVGC member of the two players. Format this week is par 3 challenge. Course will be closed from 3:30 pm until 6:00 pm

* Friday 5th TTX Corporate Outing : 9:00 am Shotgun start course closed until 2:00 pm, Range will be open after 10:00 am

* Junior Clinic June 15-16-17 (Monday , Tuesday , Wednesday) Call golf shop or drop by shop to sign your child up (Ages 7 - 15)

Thank you,

Craig Malone, PGA

A little rain goes a long way!

The Valley is popping with fresh color and great playing conditions right now thanks to the recent showers.

It’s a perfect day to get out, enjoy the course, and roll in a few putts—come join us for a round!

Midland Valley Opens Its Doors

This Throwback Thursday, we’re looking back to the early days of the golf course after it officially opened for new members in January 1961. From the beginning, the course was drawing notice from golfers and writers alike.

In a January 7, 1961 article from The State, sports editor Jake Penland wrote about the new Midland Valley Country Club and the early reactions it was getting from golfers. Some called it one of the toughest courses in South Carolina, while others praised it for being challenging, beautiful, and enjoyable to play.

In the article, Penland interviews Purvis Ferree — a key founder of Midland Valley — who shares his thoughts about the new course. Here are a few of Ferree's quotes from the article:

“When this course gets a couple years of growth I think it will be not only one of the prettiest, but one of the finest and most enjoyable playing courses in the country."

"We told Ellis Maples we wanted big greens and tees, and a layout that, according to the tees used, would play reasonably easy for the high-handicap golfer and long and interesting for the low-handicapper. That's what he gave us."

"There are no weak holes on this course. Because of the terrain we were able to get in 18 real good golf holes. Other courses will have 16 holes and two weak ones."

Ferree’s early assessment turned out to be remarkably accurate. Midland Valley quickly developed into exactly the kind of course he described — enjoyable and playable for everyday golfers, while still offering enough length and challenge to attract stronger players and major competitions. Within just a few years, the club had grown rapidly, built a strong membership, and earned a reputation as a championship-caliber golf course.

Here’s how Bob Stewart described that early success in The Augusta Chronicle:

“Midland Valley caught on right away with golfers in the area and it was only four years later that the governing body had to restrict outside play due to rapid growth in the membership. The membership now totals over 350 and White and Ferree feel that it has ‘just about followed the pattern we anticipated.’

It didn’t take the course long to be recognized as championship caliber, as the Carolinas PGA tournament was held there in 1964, the South Carolina amateur in 1965 and the South Carolina Open in 1966.”

From the very beginning, Midland Valley made an impression. It was challenging, scenic, and already being talked about across the region — a pretty strong start for a course that had only just opened its doors.

The attached image shows an aerial shot of the course from 1971.

How Did Midland Valley End Up Where It Is Today?

For this week’s Throwback Thursday, we’re picking up where last week’s story left off.

After the original Clearwater Lake plan fell through, Wh**ey kept looking. According to this 1967 Augusta Chronicle article by Bob Stewart, a call from Paul Bailey led him to the valley where Midland Valley would eventually be built. Once they found a reliable water source and brought Ellis Maples back in to lay out the course, the dream finally started to come together, and the construction of Midland Valley began on March 15, 1960.

Here’s the article excerpt that tells that part of the story:

"He continued to look and then one day 'Paul Bailey called me and suggested I come over with him to look over this valley.'

'That was a great day,' Wh**ey says.

'I stomped all over these hills looking for water. I didn’t find any until one day I spotted this small stream out by the highway and went over, and put my arm down in it to find there was water about three feet deep,' Wh**ey says.

He called in an engineer from Aiken and was assured a lake of any size could be built from the stream. It didn’t take him any time to contact Ferree again.

This was in 1958.

A dream was starting to materialize and White and Ferree brought up the idea to Bland with whom they had often discussed the idea. In 1959 at the Carolinas Open in Goldsboro, N.C., an offer was made to Bland and he accepted.

'A friend of mine told me we should have a third partner in the corporation to make it a firmer deal,' Ferree said. 'And when Henry decided to join us, it kept us from spreading ourselves too thin.'

Again Maples was contacted and came in to map out the land for an 18-hole course in the valley.

'I thought there was enough land for 36 holes,' laughs Wh**ey, 'but when we were through we had used up all of the good land.'

White and Ferree made a change in Maples’ original drawing which they feel 'made the course.'

Maples had turned the second and third holes back to where is now the practice tee and cart shed, but Wh**ey and Ferree felt they should put the big lake along the highway into play.

'I can remember walking along that hillside on No. 2 in the rain,' Wh**ey says. 'Maples felt it was too hilly to be used, but Purv and I talked him into making the change.'

'I think Nos. 2 and 3 make the course,' Ferree says.

With plans in hand, Wh**ey and Ferree and Bland began construction on March 15, 1960" - Bob Stewart

Pretty amazing to think that one trip to “look over this valley” led to the Midland Valley we know today.

The photograph is an aerial shot of the valley from 1955, before the course was built. The red outline shows where Midland Valley is now. Althougb the photo is not very high resolution, you can make out Jefferson Davis Highway and the upper part of Langley pond just to the south.

New scorecards are in, you will notice the yardage difference between the Gold and Red tee. Before they were the same on majority of holes. The ratings will be adjusted.

Thank you,

Craig Malone, PGA