In 1920, a group of local citizens had a dream to build an exceptional golf course and a state-of-the-art country club in an ideal setting. Their dream came true. Our club has evolved with time but at the heart of every one of our enhancements we are committed to preserving BGCC’s legacy.
After World War 1, a group of prominent local citizens considered local properties in the area suitable for a country club.
Twelve gentlemen from Hamilton and Burlington met at the Royal Connaught Hotel in Hamilton on January 23, 1922 to register the club. The venture was led by L.M. Appleford. A membership share was $250 each.
BGCC hired Stanley Thompson, one of North America’s leading golf course architects, to design the course. Andy Anderson, who subsequently became our club’s first head professional, was hired to build the course.
It was a modern build for the times and was situated roughly where our current clubhouse stands today.
From 1932-1942 the course was reconstructed by Frank Locke, the club professional and greens keeper.
With the growing interest in the sport of curling, BGCC took this opportunity to build a rink with a unique floating slab which housed six sheets of ice.
It was constructed by Wilchar Construction Ltd and the project was overseen by Wilchar’s President at the time, Charles Juravinski, one of today’s leading philanthropists.
As numbers increased drastically, our membership voted in favour of building an even larger, traditional-style clubhouse, which is today’s current clubhouse.
In preparation for the club's centenary in 2022, vast improvements were made to the clubhouse’s interior structure. Award-winning Canadian golf course architect, Doug Carrick, reconstructs four holes (5, 6, 17, 18).
Golf Course architect, Stanley Thompson (1893-1953) was a genius who left his mark on the Canadian landscape and beyond. His ‘larger than life’ persona resulted in an exceptional contribution to the golf world that has passed the test of time as both a golf course architect and even as an excellent player. The Stanley Thompson Society provides a list of 178 courses which Thompson worked on in the years 1912-1953. BGCC is proud to be one of these courses. Thompson died of an aneurysm in early 1953, at age 59, in Toronto. Thompson was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1980, and into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2015, in the builder category.
In celebration of our 75th Anniversary in 2008, a dedicated group of BGCC members researched and developed The BGCC Story. This book details all notable milestones for BGGC from its inception to when the book was published in 2008.
It was the year 1924 when n number of promident businessmen and community members from the Hamilton and Burlington area formed to create the original bylaws for BGCC.