WEDDINGTON GOLF HISTORY
The history of the Weddington Golf & Tennis Club parcel is a rarity in Los Angeles, for it has been owned by the same family continuously since the 1890s. The Weddingtons were originally from Iowa, but like many Iowans and other Midwesterners, the family moved to the Los Angeles region to try their hand at farming in the balmy climate of Southern California. Wilson Weddington, formerly a sheriff in Iowa, visited the region in 1890 with his wife Mary and two sons Fred and Guy. On the property that is now Weddington Golf & Tennis the family operated a sheep farm then switched to wheat and finally casaba melons before stopping agricultural operations as Studio City became developed.
Leasing the property from the Weddington Family, Joe Kirkwood Jr., son of Australian professional golf legend, Joe Kirkwood, opened “The Joe Kirkwood Jr. Golf Center” on New Years Day 1956. In 1957, Kirkwood, Jr. sold an option to the course to George McCallister, Sr., a golfer and investor in sporting goods and real estate and his partner and fellow Wilshire Country Club member, Art Andersen, founder of Western Freight and an industrial real estate investor and together they owned and operated what became known as the “Studio City Golf & Tennis Club” until June of 2007 at which time the lease with the Weddington family came to an end. With the promise that the facility would continue to operate as a golf and tennis center open to the public the McCallister and Andersen turned over the business to be owned and operated by the Weddington Family who changed the name “Weddington Golf & Tennis.”
