Emil Loeffler, who was the superintendent of Oakmont Country Club, built the original 18 holes at Tam O'Shanter in 1929, just before the Great Depression began.
After the Kerins family bought the course in 1948, Jack Kerins started the annual Herald Tam O'Shanter Junior Open, which is a tournament held every June at the course played by junior golfers from around the Shenango Valley area.
On May 31, 1985, a tornado swept through the Shenango Valley and destroyed many trees on the golf course.
In the early 1990s, John and Rick Kerins bought the course from their parents and they continue to operate the course today.
The fourteenth hole, a short par 3, is known nationwide as "Death Valley" because of the many good scores that have died in its depths.