08/05/2026
Many Memories Were Created Over the Last 100 Years at Mendota Golf Club
Turning 100 in the year 2026 must be the cool thing to do.
Route 66, which connects Chicago to Santa Monica, California, turned 100 in April which is the same month the idea of Book-of-the-Month Club became an actual selection process. The Chicago Blackhawks were franchised by the NHL a month later, May 1926, and the National Broadcasting Company, better known as NBC (or Peacock) turns 100 in November. Just to name a few.
However, in Mendota, Illinois none of these anniversaries or milestones are as cool as the Mendota Golf Club turning 100.
In celebration, a party hosted by MGC Operations Manager Jodi Manning and the MGC Board of Directors took place on Saturday, August 1 at the club, located at 35666 US Rt. 34, where many stories were being told while listening to the band, Rodeo Drive, eating a piece of cake and having beverages with friends, family, and golf partners.
“It’s pretty incredible; 100 years is a long time,” said the MGC Board of Directors President Brooke Beetz. “My grandfather, John Booth, was the member in the 1950s. He won the club championship in 1954. The club has been part of my family for a long time. I never got to meet my grandfather, but he’s always been a golf inspiration in our family.
“The best part about the Mendota Golf Club is the community. It’s the volunteers. It’s the people who donate. It’s the people who spend their Saturdays at the course having fun and telling stories. If there is a project we need done, someone always helps out.”
During the celebration, Steve Wolf was telling tales he created or witnessed during his 30-year tenure as the club’s superintendent.
Wolf started at the course in 1994, the year it went from nine holes to 18 holes.
“We had to add on because at the time there were almost 300 members for a nine-hole course. They knew they could afford to add the other nine,” said Wolf, who retired in 2024. “There is a lot to being a golf course superintendent. At bigger courses in bigger cities, they have irrigation technicians and mechanics. But when you come here, you’re the irrigation technician and you’re the mechanic. It’s a little different. Organizational skills are very important to the job.
“It was a fun ride. I got into it because I was a golfer. I was a carpenter before but the interest rates went up to 20 percent, so we weren’t building any houses anymore. One day, I was sitting at the golf course in Walnut and the guy who ran the course said he was going to retire. I asked him what I needed to try to get the job. They took a chance and hired me on. I did 13 years there before my 30 here.
“I had chances to go to bigger clubs, but I like it out here. I can come into the club house and have a beer with Brooke, the president of the board. At big clubs you can’t do that, but here we’re all family.”
Carol Erwin moved to Mendota in 1962, her late husband Stan Erwin became a MGC member in 1963 and she followed suite 1970.
To this day, she is known for her driver and being part of the group of ladies, including her friend Renee Stuepfert, who take care of the flowers and pull weeds.
“The ladies had a lot of fun at the golf course. Every Sunday, the men would golf in the morning and we would golf in the afternoon,” Erwin said. “Having a golf course in a town is very important because it brings in newcomers to the community.”
Rockwell “Rocky” Sloter grew up in Troy Grove and became well acquainted with the golf course in Mendota during lunch breaks when he worked at H.D. Conkey & Company and even more when he was the vice president at Spartan Tool.
Although Rocky and his wife Mary Ann live in Florida now, they come back to Mendota and the golf club every summer.
“When I first started golfing here there were only nine holes. I was one of the 12 board of directors when we traded property to add on the back nine,” Sloter said. “We come back every summer to check out the course and see friends.
“Jodi Manning is doing a beautiful job of keeping the course one of the best in the area. She does a great job of promoting, compliments what the club has and draws people in with outings and events.”
Many amazing memories have taken form at the Mendota Golf Course.
Just as important as remembering them is to push for the future so more can be made.
“Our student memberships are higher than they’ve ever been. It’s incredible to see we have almost 50 student memberships. Those are the ones who are not on a family plan,” Beetz said. “The youth is out here. Holy Cross School and other organizations hold camps for kids It gets the young people excited about golf. We are the home course for the Mendota High School golf teams and they bring in a lot of out-of-town golfers and their families. I’m excited because they’re our future. We won’t be around another 100 years without them.
“Everything we do out here is looking toward the future. I think we have a good start. Hopefully, we find the blend of everything that has made it great in the past and try to keep it moving forward as we navigate expenses, aging equipment and other challenges. We’re hoping to find the pleasant blend of business and golf.”
Thank you to Brandon LaChance
