During a time when Soviet space dominance rattled our nation, conflict in the Koreas was settling into an uneasy peace, and a movement for civil rights for blacks was looming on the horizon, two family men from the area of Ferry Pass in Pensacola, Florida were selling the deeds to their dairy farmlands for the development of a new country club and golf course. In September of 1957, Mr. Fred White and Mr. Leon Jones sold a combined one hundred twenty and a half acres to Scenic Hills Country Club, Inc. The large plot of land has been home to family farms, a prison trash dump, and small turpentine distilleries.

Constructed to rival the overcrowded and restricted Pensacola Municipal Golf Course, Scenic Hills Country Club and Golf Course was desegregated for both membership and housing. Longtime residents of the Scenic Hills community do not recall many minorities taking advantage of the opportunity, but that does not devalue the historic nature of the establishment's progressive approach. Upon opening, the 18-hole course was an icon of late '50s lifestyle, and along with the building of the University of West Florida and the conversion of Ellyson Field can largely be viewed as a major contributor to the population boom in the surrounding area.

Home to the 1969 Women's U.S. Open Championship, won by LPGA Hall of Fame member Donna Caponi, former U.S. Open Champion Jerry Pate redesigned the course in 1992. Scenic Hills remains the only course in the state of Florida to host a U.S. Open event. Damaged in Hurricane Ivan, the golf course was closed for several months. The clubhouse reopened in 2008. The history, beauty, and challenge of the par 71 championship Scenic Hills course has much to offer golfers of every skill level.

Today, Scenic Hills is owned by the University of West Florida.