Long-time golf pro Gene Shreves honored for work at course
By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
Delbrook Golf Course in Delavan celebrated its 90th anniversary Saturday with a breakfast, golf scramble and dinner. Long-time manager Gene Shreves was also honored with a proclamation and a street sign posted at the entrance to the golf course driveway.
According to research conducted by the late W. Gordon Yadon, the golf course originally opened as a private course in 1928, a year before the stock market crash of 1929 and the beginning of the Great Depression. The original clubhouse was in a house originally occupied by the family of Henry Phoenix, co-founder of Delavan. The private Delbrook Corp. struggled to make its mortgage payments in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The City of Delavan began leasing the course in 1943 and purchased it in 1945 over the objections of some residents who thought the property would better the serve the community as a residential or industrial property.
Alderman Ryan Schroeder read a proclamation issued by Mayor Mel Nieuwenhuis at the dinner Saturday. Nieuwenhuis was out of town and unable to attend. The proclamation said Delbrook was dedicated on July 21, 1928, with Gov. Fred R. Zimmermann driving a ball off the first tee. The proclamation said the course survived the Great Depression and other financial challenges and has been a municipal course since the city purchased it in 1945 for $9,111.09.
The proclamation said the course has gone through many changes including expanding from 18 to 27 holes in 2001. Nieuwenhuis congratulated the course for celebrating its 90th anniversary.
Part of the celebration was honoring the late Eugene “Gene” Shreves for his service to Delbrook. Shreves died March 28, 2017.
Barbara Shreves, Gene’s wife, said they both started at Delbrook in 1951 as co-managers of the course. In 1965 an addition was added to the clubhouse and Gene Shreves became the professional greenskeeper until retiring in 1989, though he continued to work part-time mowing grass for four more years.
“He loved what he did,” Barbara Shreves said. “It was a great run.”
Shreves said her husband worked seven days a week from as early as 4:30 a.m. until midnight during the season.
“It was his whole life,” she said.
Shreves said Gene had three brothers who were also golf course professionals and she knows of only one other family in the United States with that many professionals in one family. She said Gene started caddying when he was so young the golf bags he was carrying often dragged on the ground. He was also a Professional Golf Association member who played in several tournaments.
Schroeder said Shreves coached hundreds of junior golfers as he began offering junior golf lessons that professional Dan Piecha continue to offer today.
“He left a legacy and tradition of getting the next generation of golfers. He set that standard,” Schroeder said.
Schroeder said it was his honor to have known Shreves, who was a close friend of his grandfather. Schroeder said he received his first clubs and first lessons from Shreves
“During the 90th anniversary celebration of Delbrook, it is important to recognize Mr. Shreves for his service not only to Delbrook over the years, but also the community as a whole,” Schroeder said. “He left a lasting impression on golfers and had an important impact on the golf course and the community.”
Schroeder read another proclamation from Nieuwenhuis detailing and honoring the commitment of Shreves to Delbrook Golf Course. Schroeder and Piecha also unveiled a street sign declaring the driveway into the parking lot “Gene Shreves Drive.”
“The sign will stand for many years to come and keep his spirit alive,” Schroeder said.
Schroeder also thanked Piecha, the golf commission, the commission’s chairman Scott Nieuwenhuis, the mayor and city council and city staff for getting the sign erected.
Barbara Shreves said she thought honoring her husband was wonderful but also said he would have thought it unnecessary.
Shreves’ daughter Sara Bote said the honor means a lot to the Shreves family. She said the family considers Delbrook to be their course even though its owned by the city because her father did so much to make the course what it is today. Bote said the greens were 60 years old before they started to get replaced. She said greens typically last half or even a third that long, so it was a chore to keep them up at their age.
“Dad worked so hard to keep the greens going,” she said. “He often would spend entire days just taking care of the greens.”
Bote said she is very glad her father’s name will always be at Delbrook.
“He put everything into it,” she said. “It meant everything to him to keep this golf course going.”
