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CORVALLIS, Ore. – Trysting Tree Golf Club, Corvallis’ first 18-hole public golf course, is celebrating its 20th anniversary by rolling its golf rates back to 1988 levels.

On June 2 through June 5, an 18-hole round of golf will drop to $15 from $37 and a 9-hole round will cost $8 down from $20. For OSU students the cost is even lower: $10 and $5 respectively, down from the regular rates of $19 and $10.

“We’ve enjoyed such strong support from the Corvallis community and OSU, we wanted to give something back,” said Sean Arey, the club’s head golf professional since 1992.

Giving back is actually the mission of Trysting Tree Golf Club. Founded through private contributions and an affiliate of the OSU Foundation, the club was built to provide an affordable, high-quality course for the citizens of Corvallis and to generate funds to benefit Oregon State University.

A popular course ever since it opened, Trysting Tree recently welcomed its millionth golfer, and over the past 20 years, the club has contributed more than $2.5 million to support a variety of programs and projects at OSU including the alumni center, agricultural sciences, business, engineering, the library, the music department and several athletic programs.

Trysting Tree has had a special relationship with OSU’s noted turf management program, which has educated superintendents of some of the top courses in the country. The club has employed many of the program’s students, loaned equipment to the program, and served as a site for research projects. Trysting Tree contributes approximately $40,000 annually for the turf management program, providing a vital, stable source of funding.

“It’s the cornerstone that we build our program on,” said Tom Cook, the director of OSU’s turf management program. “It’s like having a home course, kind of like a sports team having a stadium of its own.”

Trysting Tree Golf Club is also the home course for OSU’s men’s and women’s golf teams.

“It’s been a huge asset to our teams. We only drive a couple minutes to practice; it’s great for recruiting; and the quality of the course just seems to get better every year,” said Brian Watts, the men’s golf coach. “What makes Trysting Tree so unique and special is that it supports the university, not just athletics.”

While it is only 20 years old, Trysting Tree’s roots are even deeper. The idea for an OSU golf course originally was conceived by former university president A.L. Strand in 1951, and the university purchased 175 acres that year with the purpose of building a golf course. But the project didn’t gain traction until the late N.B. “Nat” Giustina championed the cause in the 1970s.

A 1941 OSU graduate, successful lumberman and golf aficionado, Giustina provided the lead gift for the project and oversaw much of course’s construction. The course was designed by the noted golf course architect Ted Robinson, who also designed Tokatee Golf Club on the McKenzie River in Oregon and the Sahalee Country Club in Redmond, Wash., site of the 1998 PGA tour championship.

Ranked as one of the best university golf courses in the West by Golf Digest, Trysting Tree has played host to many high-level golf competitions including the U.S. Open qualifier, the NCAA regionals and Pac-10 women’s and men’s championships. Trysting Tree has also been home to the Oregon State Activities Association high school state championships since 1989.