Bigfork blaze destroys Eagle Bend clubhouse

A fire destroyed the clubhouse at Eagle Bend Golf Club early Sunday morning in Bigfork.

No one was injured in the fire.

Bigfork Fire Department Chief Mark Thiry said the call came in at 2 a.m. when a smoke detector went off. Fire units responded at the same time as a keyholder. When firefighters entered the building, there was heavy smoke. Thiry said firefighters then saw flames and the interior was quickly engulfed.

In addition to Bigfork, 60 firefighters from Creston, Ferndale, Somers-Lakeside, Evergreen and Badrock responded. Thiry said Evergreen and Badrock responded with water trucks to help fight the fire.

Thiry said the fire was under control at about 5:30 a.m.

Sunday afternoon he was waiting on the state fire marshal to arrive so an investigation could begin.

Eagle Bend membership chairman Jim Fagan II said the club and restaurant was closed over the weekend.

“The club is open Monday through Friday and there are generally one or two staff members there if members want to stop in to check on billing or have questions,” Fagan said. “But generally, it is closed on weekends this time of year.”

Fagan said it’s a mystery to him as to how the fire may have started.

“Most of the members have been there a long time and it’s a really disheartening thing to see,” Fagan said.

Fagan said while he hadn’t talked to the owners or management yet, he anticipates the course will be open for play at the end of March or early April.

“Fortunately, only the clubhouse was damaged,” Fagan said. “The course is fine, the carts weren’t damaged and one of the small outbuildings behind the clubhouse wasn’t damaged, either.”

According to a previous story in the Bigfork Eagle, Eagle Bend Golf Club opened Sept. 5, 1984. Mike Felt, now deceased, opened the first nine holes.

“I had a passion for golf,” Felt said in 2009. “We moved here from Great Falls and I thought that the Bigfork community could benefit from having a golf course.”

In 1986 Lon Hinkle became the PGA Tour Representative for Eagle Bend, and two years later he got Jack Nicklaus to play in an exhibition at the course in an event titled “The Bear vs. the Bend.”

While in the area Nicklaus went on a hunting trip with some of the men from Eagle Bend, which became a tradition when he was in town. Nicklaus and his son Jack Jr. later designed nine holes for Eagle Bend.

About four years later, the Lake Nine was added to the original nine holes that were on the ridge and the Bear, or Nicklaus, Nine was debuted in 1995.

Eagle Bend hosted the first Governors Cup Tournament in 1989 and has continued to do so ever since.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.