Describing something as "local” or “family owned” usually carries, in some respect, a warm, friendly and relatable connotation.
Imagine, for instance, bundles of rhubarb being sold at a market a mile away from where they were grown, or a diner with faded newspaper clippings on its walls that have pictures of the current owner’s grandfather. Both of those can be seen as unequivocally rooted to where they are.
Residents of Orofino in north-central Idaho see their 9-hole golf course through a similar lens.
Orofino Golf & Country Club opened in 1968, under no real special circumstances. It hadn’t recruited a world-renowned architect or been the life’s work of a deep-pocketed aristocrat, it simply was founded and designed by a coalition of local families on unused land. The result was a flat yet rolling collection of holes that could challenge golf rookies and veterans alike.
Almost 50 years later, the course has grown into a member-owned golfing outpost of the surrounding area. It has a restaurant and is also available to book for weddings, graduation parties and other local celebrations. To those ends, it is simply a gathering point for the common Idahoan nearby.
Absent from its structure, though, are tee times, and Orofino also lacks a head golf professional. But what it does have is a nine-person board of directors, of which Misty Barton is president.
Misty and her mother, Handicap Chair Teena Gortsema, are just two people of many involved with Orofino’s local charm. Teena had begun her association with the course via her own father, who had begun working there as a groundskeeper. Teena became clubhouse manager, and throughout the entirety of Misty’s life, some form of association with the course has been the norm.
“I have aunts and uncles who have worked at the course, and my mother and stepfather and brother and nephew, cousins and my kids, my grandkids,” Misty says. “So it's just multi-generational.”
Reflecting its member-owned nature, the golf course has 300 shares available. But by no means is the golf course limited only to the members who purchase them, a fact Misty appreciates. Orofino attracts clientele from quite a large distance away as, there aren’t many golfing options in the area.
“We've been told we get a lot of people because we're more family-oriented,” Misty says. “We're not governed by anybody but the board. We have a lot of families that have young children that come and play, and they're not required to play golf to be on the course.”
That quote encompasses a larger identity to which Orofino holds itself. The nine holes at Orofino are designed and built for widespread enjoyment, and those who have enjoyed it consistently repay the favor with their own hands.
“The people,” Misty answers without hesitation, when asked what she believes the best part of her involvement is. “When we're in trouble, when we haven't had enough money in the past, they made sure that we stayed afloat, especially in our offseason when we have no income being generated.”
Beyond simply pulling out their wallets, the locals pull weeds too, and more. Springtime in central Idaho means droves of people, their children and their grandchildren strolling out to the course ready to maintain it to their best ability.
“Every fall and spring, members will come out and bring equipment and donate their time,” Misty says. "It is truly a family affair.”
Misty balances her presidential board position with a full-time remote accounting job at the Kootenai Health Hospital in Coeur d'Alene. Describing herself as “in the weeds” when it comes to leadership at Orofino and admitting her schedule can feel rather packed, Misty is nonetheless focused on some of the shared goals of the board and members.
“We would like to update the irrigation system,” she says. “I would like to see some new equipment on the course, meaning mowers and turf equipment. Every year the board decides what our priority is.”
There might be a teensy bit of rust on some of the mower blades, but what Orofino continues to provide is more than sufficient for those who value it – a welcoming facility predicated on family ownership and community value.