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HIGHLAND COUNTRY CLUB

The Highland Country Club is a private golf and curling club in London, Ontario, Canada. The golf club was built in 1922. The golf club is presently a member of Golf Canada and the United States Golf Association and has hosted several competitions including the London and District Amateur, Ontario Amateur Championship, and the Canadian PGA Tour.

HISTORY

In 1922, John M. Moore, an Ontario Land Surveyor, and architect, came up with the idea to have a golf course in the south end of London. Moore designed the London Life building and in 1926 was elected mayor for a two-year term. He passed away in 1930.

The Highland Country Club course was designed by Stanley Thompson, a noted Canadian golf architect. Highland paid Thompson $1,000 for his expenses and $5,000 to design, construct and seed nine tees and greens. Thompson won the Canadian Amateur in 1923, reportedly using borrowed clubs. After the war ended in 1919, Thompson visited and played many of the top courses in the British Isles. Thompson became a full-time golf course architect, going into business himself by 1923. Thompson got his design start with George Cumming, the professional at the Toronto Golf Club. The two had known each other since Thompson's boyhood as a caddie at the club. From 1912 to 1952 Thompson designed courses, mostly in Canada. Courses included the Highland Links in Cape Breton, Westmount in Kitchener, St. Georges in Toronto, Banff Springs, Jasper Park, and Capilano in West Vancouver., Thompson believed in preserving the natural lay of the land. The Stanley Thompson Society keeps Thompson's legacy alive.

In the words of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Honoured Member Sandra Post:

“100 years ago, when Stanley Thompson was building golf courses, he had limited machinery when shaping his courses. So, when I play courses like Toronto Ladies’, Thornhill, or Oakdale in Toronto with their natural terrain and with at least one stream going through the course, I get to see how beautiful the land was in the GTA. The same can be said for Cape Breton Highlands, Nova Scotia; St. Thomas, Ontario; Jasper and Banff, Alberta courses - Stanley Thompson framed each and every hole like masterpieces.”

The land chosen was in Westminster Township, as London’s city limits were Emery Street in the south. The land was farmed and the original clubhouse was a farmhouse on the Johnson property on Commissioners Road, also called Highland Road. The barn was the club’s first locker room. The original Highland Clubhouse was renovated in 1926 and was located near Commissioners Road and Wortley Road.

The course opened in 1922. The diagram dated May 31, 1923, was created by John Moore, Ontario Land Surveyor. The first and second holes are the same as today, as well as the stretch of holes from 12 to 18. Over the years there have been changes to the numbering of the holes, the design of the holes themselves and to the drainage of low areas to make the course more playable. Originally, after playing the first and second hole, the third hole is today’s ninth hole. The original fourth hole was a much different par 3, but in the same general area as today’s 10th hole. The original fifth hole was the 11th hole played as a par four. The original sixth hole is today’s third hole played to a green tucked away to the right against the fence. The original seventh hole is the 4th hole today, but was played as a par 5 from a tee that still exists left of today’s third green. The eighth hole is the current fifth hole with no design changes. The original ninth hole is the original sixth hole which is no longer in use due to the construction of the range. The tenth hole is the old seventh hole, hard dogleg left instead of a gentle dogleg right. The eleventh hole is the current eighth hole but played as a par five to a green behind and to the right of the present green. The seven holes from holes 12 to holes 18 inclusive remain remarkably intact.

The crash of the stock market in 1929, when Variety Magazine reported: “Wall Street Lays an Egg” was the signal for the Great Depression to begin. Highland teetered on the edge of bankruptcy and nearly folded. But a membership drive in 1935 brought Highland's finances in order. In the 1940s and 1950s, Highland hosted the London and District Amateur. Nick Weslock and Moe Norman were early winners who went on to be elected to Canada’s Golf Hall of Fame. In 1951 Harry Anderson, the founder of cable T.V./community television and erected his first antenna on what is now the 6th hole. In 1959, Charles Gillin designed the new clubhouse which featured a roof similar to the Stratford Festival Theatre, with its many peaks and valleys. Costing over $300,000 and built by John Hayman & Sons, the new clubhouse has a six-sheet curling rink. 1993 and 1994 saw offers being made to buy some or all of the golf course land and the creation of a new course. Members decided not to move the club. The clubhouse was renovated in 2018 and a second-floor patio was added.

OTHER INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT HIGHLAND

The signature hole is #16, par 4, a sharp dogleg to the right with a deep valley and to a tiny green. The most underrated hole is #18, par 4, out-of-bounds right off the tee with heavy rough on the left off the tee. The original Highland scorecard has a “stymie gauge” at the top of the scorecard. Apparently, the rule was that a player was permitted to move their ball the six-inch distance in order to better put around their opponent’s ball. In 1958, Highland changed the design of their scorecard and the same design and layout has been used for over 60 years with minor changes. The club has continued with golf tournaments. In 1957 Highland hosted the Ontario Amateur, a match play event. Recently, the club has hosted the PGA Tour Canada Championship, sponsored by Mackenzie Investments. The series of tournaments is commonly referred to as the Canadian Tour. Annually, Highland hosts the Highland Best Ball and attracts leading amateurs from Southwestern Ontario. The following ten people have golf professionals over the past 100 years:

John Innes [1922-1923]
Charles Nixon [1924-1929]
Walter Meyer [1930-1940]
Jarv Taylor {1941-1958]
John Henrick [1959-1961]
Merv Costello [1962-1973]
Ken Fulton [1974-1975]
Wilf Homenuik [1976-1977]
Mike Silver [1978-2016]
Rick Pero [ 2017 forward].

REFERENCES

1. https://wiki.riteme.site/wiki/Stanley_Thompson

2. https://www.stanleythompson.com/

3. https://www.stanleythompson.com/golf/thompson-member-courses#!directory/map

4. https://www.pgatour.com/canada/en_us.html

5. https://wiki.riteme.site/wiki/PGA_Tour_Canada

6 Highland Country Club, The First 75 Years

EXTERNAL LINKS

Ofﬁcial website (http://www.highlandcountryclub.com)