Royal Montreal Golf Club

The Royal Montreal Golf Club (French: Le Club de Golf Royal Montréal) is the oldest golf club in North America, and the oldest in continuous existence. It was founded in Montreal by eight men in 1873. Permission was granted by Queen Victoria to use the prefix "Royal" in 1884.[2]

The Royal Montreal Golf Club
The Royal Montreal Golf Club group, Dorval, 1907
AbbreviationRMGC
Formation1873,[1] 148 years ago
Typegolf club
Legal statusactive
HeadquartersMontreal, Quebec, Canada
Region served
Montreal, Quebec
Official language
French, English
Parent organization
Royal Canadian Golf Association
AffiliationsRoyal Canadian Golf Association
Websitermgc.org
Royal Montreal
Location in Canada

History

The Club's first course was a 9-hole layout on Fletcher's Field in Mount Royal Park, which the red-coated golfers shared with the public on the then outskirts of Montreal. The first woman to join, and the first female member of any golf club in North America, Mrs. William Wallace Watson (née Florence Stancliffe), was elected in 1891. The Ladies' Branch of the Royal Montreal Golf Club followed.

The Club moved to Dixie in the parish of Dorval in 1896; three years later the Ladies moved into their own clubhouse. The main clubhouse there is now the Saint Anne Academy, formerly Queen of Angels Academy for Girls.[3] Charles Murray served as the head professional at Royal Montreal from 1905 until his death in 1938.[4]

In 1959 the pressures of urban growth once again dictated a move, to Île-Bizard, Quebec. Forty-five holes were constructed by American golf course architect Dick Wilson.[5] The Blue Course is routinely cited as a preeminent Canadian golf course and among the best in the world.[6]

Royal Montreal was one of the five founding Clubs of the Royal Canadian Golf Association, established in 1895 as the governing body of golf in Canada. Among other duties it organizes the major national championships, including the Canadian Open, the first of which was played at Royal Montreal in 1904.

Royal Montreal hosted the Presidents Cup in 2007 and the Canadian Open in July 2014. The Presidents Cup will once again be presented on the blue course at Royal Montreal Golf Club in september 2024.

Club professionals
  • Willie Davis (1873)
  • Bennet Lang
  • Tom Smith
  • James Black
  • Charlie Murray
  • Kenneth Murray
  • Pat Fletcher
  • Bruce Murray
  • Bob Hogarth
  • Scott Dickson
  • Dennis Firth

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-25. Retrieved 2012-12-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. The Royal Montreal Golf Club 1873-2000. 2001. p. 1.
  3. https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/west-island-gazette/new-private-school-to-welcome-students-at-old-queen-of-angels-campus
  4. "Albert Murray". Golf Historical Society of Canada. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  5. The World Atlas of Golf.
  6. "100 best courses outside the U.S." Golf Digest. Retrieved 16 December 2013.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.