Bowden Golf Course

The course was designed in 1938 by John C. Cotton, a Macon professional golfer, and built by labor supplied by the Works Progress Administration on the site of a former airfield in east Macon, known as Miller Field.^[1] Most of the growth in golf courses between 1933 and 1942 came from New Deal initiatives, changing the face of golf in the United States. By early 1937, more than $12 million of work at about 368 courses had been completed throughout the country. Macon was able to take advantage of this program, securing $55,000 of the $70,000 needed to develop the course. The local Junior Chamber of Commerce raised much of the rest through contributions and the sale of memberships.^[7]

The course was completed in September 1940. The property consisted of approximately 229 acres with an 18-hole course, a driving range and a putting green. Several cobblestone benches that were installed when the course was built are still present at some tees. New structures, including a replacement clubhouse, a golf cart shed, and maintenance buildings, were built in the 1970s and are not historically significant. Holes 1 and 10 are at the site of the former Miller Field.^[7]

In 1961, Bowden Golf Course became the first public facility in Macon to become racially integrated.^[8] In March 2015 the course was added to the National Register of Historic Places.^[9][5]