The Chesnee Country Club isn’t the easiest place to find. The 9-hole course North of Chesnee on 221 has been around since the 60s.

Jim Hodges had the land and the community was interested in having a golf course.

Along with A.Z. Jolly and dozens of supporters, some who never played golf pitching in to help, Hodges built a few holes and then a few more with the help of the working men around Chesnee.

“Working men built this course and it has always been a place for them, it wouldn’t be here without what they did,” said Len Hodges, the son of the founder.

Now around 60 years after it opened, the club has remained a working man’s golf course and proud of it.

The parking lot is full of trucks with tool boxes on their sides.

Members trade their work boots for golf shoes in the parking lot and often times their golf attire is a give-away for the kind of work they do.

You can see blue jeans, cargo shorts, tee shirts and hats that don’t say Titleist or TaylorMade all over the course.

Chesnee is private and if you want to play you need to find a member to take you around.

Chances are if you call ahead Pee-Wee, Three-Foot, Chunk or Buzz should be around to give you a game.

Former USC golfer Keenan Huskey, now playing mini-tour golf, was a guest at a recent dog fight.

Asked what the difference was between Chesnee and Quail Hollow in Charlotte where he had played in the Wells Fargo tournament, the 2015 SCGA Amateur champ had a simple answer.

“They have 18 holes at Quail Hollow,” he said and drew a good laugh from the gathering.

It is easy to list everything the club does not have, but when it comes to the most important ingredient for a successful golf club, Chesnee has it to spare.

“It always has been the members who make this place special,” said Dale Godfrey, a long time member. “The golfers enjoy the course and each other and know they will have a good time here,” he added.

The club has about 80 members and would like to add a few more, but not at the expense of changing the back home laid back atmosphere at the club.

While golfers play the course all day and many members play every day, the Tuesday night Dog Fight is the biggest event of the week.

“We like to think the members enjoy coming to have fun, but it usually has a lot to do with the free Ike’s hamburgers all the players get,” he joked.

The course is not long, but bombers don’t have an advantage because the fairways are tight. Golfers get to use all the clubs in their bag.

If you intend to ride when you play you better know a member, because the club only has one cart.

The membership owns their own carts and there are a few dozen sheds next to the course where they house their carts.

The sheds rent for about $100 a year and when added to the very reasonable membership dues, being a member at Chesnee is a pretty good value.

“Not every member has a cart here, a lot of them haul them in when they are going to play, and some of them are pretty fancy,” said Godfrey.

The club doesn’t have a pro, instead club members and board members are usually around to get walk-ins started and to do the tasks of running the club.

The clubhouse is what you’d expect, nothing fancy, snacks and drinks.

There is no trophy case for records instead there are newspaper clippings and old scorecards on the walls.

The club does not sell beer, but no beer, no problem. The club has no restrictions on bringing your own with you when you play and a lot of golfers don’t see that as a negative.

And before you get the idea Chesnee is filled with a bunch of hacks keep in mind past club champion T.J. Hines has won a couple of SCGA Tournament of Champions events.

Kevin Roberts began playing at the club on his way to winning a bunch of Spartanburg County titles as did Bill Gee and Bill Hayes.

Golfers at Chesnee can golf their ball!

It isn’t just fun playing at Chesnee, competition can get serious.

At a recent Tuesday night Dog Fight, two teams tied for low score and went to a putt off to determine the winner.

It was a good thing the green near the clubhouse had a street light just off to the side, because the playoff started in daylight and ended up four rounds later under the street light in the dark.

The little nine hole course off 221 isn’t for everybody, but then again neither is Thornblade or The Cliffs.

With the Hodges family, first with Jim, then Len and now with Jay, the course has stayed true to its founders goal of having a good place for working men to play golf.

“It all started with a couple of neighbors who had a sports magazine that showed how to build a couple of golf holes. My father and our neighbor decided it would be something good to keep the two family’s boys out of trouble and it is still here today,” recalled Len Hodges.

The friendship, fellowship, camaraderie whatever you call it that lets everyone drink a beer, bust some balls, and generally have fun is what makes a club a success.

“Its always been the members that make this place special. It was that way when it started and it still is that way today,” concluded Godfrey.

Additional information about the Chesnee Country Club can be obtained from Jay Hodges at 864-706-7057.