Crow's Nest Golf Association Men's Championship Trophy
GOLF ALONG THE CROW
The research for this article was instigated because the BC Golf Museum was given a trophy with the following inscription: Crow’s Nest Golf Championship presented by Chester O. Staples. On the reverse side of the trophy the winners of the championship appear from 1920 – 1966.
We embarked on a research project to expand the Museum’s historical information for the region from Kimberley in the west, Lethbridge in the east, High River to the North and the US-Canadian border in the south.
I hoped to further my belief that the expansion of golf in this area would be consistent with other regions of the Pacific Northwest. I firmly believe that every small town had a golf course prior to 1940. Until every local newspaper is read we may never know the true answer to this question. For this article I used the FERNIE FREE PRESS, CRANBROOK HERALD, FORT MACLEOD GAZETTE, KIMBERLEY DAILY BULLETIN, LETHBRIDGE DAILY HERALD.
The Crow’s Nest Golf Association became part of a collection of regional golf associations in British Columbia. The Inter-club Golf Committee of Vancouver formed in 1913. Next came the Crow’s Nest Golf Association and the Victoria District Golf Committee followed. By the 1930’s British Columbia had associations such as the Victoria and District, the Fraser Valley, the Interior, the Northern, the Upper Island, the Peace, and the Boundary. Research for all these defunct associations is now complete. In subsequent blog postings the Museum will publish the championship records for these associations.
What caused the demise of this successful golf association? In the thirties golf in Alberta and British Columbia began to separate along provincial lines. The provincial associations gained in strength and dominance. Finally in the mid-fifties Gordon Bowers, President of the British Columbia Golf Association introduced zones to the province. The Canadian Ladies Golf Association BC Branch soon followed with a system of districts. The regional championships conducted by the East Kootenay Golf Association, which had been formed in the thirties, were now placed under the supervision of the governing zone committee. The Crow tournament was relegated to a simple regional tournament with little prestige provided to the winner. The more popular Wood Valence tournament conducted at Kimberley began to draw the players who normally would have participated in the Crow. Hence the final event was conducted at Fernie in 1966.
If anyone has any memorabilia, pamphlets, pictures, trophies or recollections from this event, the BC Golf Museum would like to hear from you. In the future, the Museum would like to incorporate this information and material into a display outlining the history of golf along the Crow. The BC Golf Museum is located at 2545 Blanca St., Vancouver, telephone # 604-222- 4653.
CROW’S NEST GOLF ASSOCIATION CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS
DATE WOMEN’S MEN’S SENIOR
1920 F.H. LAWES (F) ALEX WATSON (F)
1921 F.H. LAWES A. GRAHAM (F)
1922 A. WATSON
1923 D.G. MACKENZIE (B) D.G. MACKENZIE
1924 F.H.LAWES A. WATSON
1925 F.H.LAWES A.WATSON
1926 P. HARRISON (L) H.HAYNE (F)
1927 M.A.BEALE (C) TOM EVANS (L)
1928 J.S.IRVINE (F) A.WATSON
1929 B. SELLON (B) J.B. WILSON (B)
1930 F.H.LAWES TOM MARSHALL (L)
1931 F.H.LAWES TOM MARSHALL
1932 E. HUGHES (F) FRANK WILMONT (L)
1933 E. HUGHES FRANK HUGHES (F)
1934 C.R.WARD (C) FRANK WILMONT
1935 E. HUGHES CHARLIE MCKILLOP (L)
1936 E. HUGHES FRANK HUGHES
1937 E. HUGHES FRANK HUGHES G.PASSMORE (B)
1938 E. HUGHES BILL PRENTICE (K) J. SMITH (K)
1939 E. HUGHES EARL FOX (L) J. WILSON (B)
1940 W.A.FERGIE(C) BILLPRENTICE J.CONNICK (F)
1941 W.A.FERGIE A.BARNSLEY
1942 W.A.FERGIE BILL PRENTICE (M) J.O’NEILL (K)
1943 CANCELLED
1944 E. HUGHES LESLIE WAUGH (P) F. TURNER (B)
1945 E. HUGHES BOB DUNLOP (L)
1946 W.A. FERGIE R. REDDING (K)
1947 PHIL KIRKHAM (L) T. MCCREADY (L)
1948 T.LAWES (M) TERRY HUGHES (F) T. MCCREADY
1949 J.STEWART (M) PHIL KIRKHAM
1950 J.STEWART FRANK FERGIE (C)
1951 P.DEROME (B) J. MARAASCO (F)
1952 R. HUNTLEY (MAC) D. GREENE
1953 W. A. FERGIE CHRIS ROCKLEY (K)
1954 R. HUNTLEY G. THOMPSON (W) 1956 A. GLASGOW (F) R. REDDING (K)
1957 G. SCOTT
1958 G. PUDER
1959 NO NAME ON TROPHY
1960 NO NAME ON TROPHY
1961 NO NAME ON TROPHY
1962 A. JOHNSTON (C) D. THOMPSON (W) J. SIMON (L)
1963 G. THOMPSON (W)
1964 J. WHITELAW
1965 J. LITTLER A. SHERWOOD (F)
1966 D. THOMPSON
KEY: B-BLAIREMORE; C- CRANBROOK; F- FERNIE; K- KIMBERLEY;
L- LETHBRIDGE; M- MICHEL; MAC- MACLEOD; P – PEARCE;
PC – PINCHER CREEK
GOLF COURSES CONSTRUCTED ALONG THE CROW PRIOR TO 1940
1895 – FORT MACLEOD G.C.
1913 – LETHBRIDGE C. C.
1915 – CRANBROOK G.C., INVERMERE G.C.
1917 – BALFOUR G.C.
1918 – FERNIE G.C., LETHBRIDGE G.C. (MUNI)
1919 – PINCHER CREEK G.C. BLAIREMORE G.C. (CROWE’S NEST G.C.)
1920 – WALDO G.C., VULCAN G.C., MEDICINE HAT G.C.
1921 – FIELD G.C., TABER G.C., NANTON G.C., COLEMAN G.C., BLACKIE G.C. (MOUNTAINVIEW G.C.), HIGH RIVER G.C. (HIGHWOOD G.C.)
1922 – LUNDBRECK G.C., STAVELY G.C., MOERMERE G.C., RETLAW G.C., WATERTON G.C., CHAMPION G.C., RAYMOND G.C., FISHBURN G.C.
1923 – WINDERMERE G.C., TRAVERS G.C., CLAREHOLM G.C., COALHURST G.C.,
1924 – KIMBERLEY G.C.
1925 – COWLEY G.C., HILLCREST G.C., BELLEVUE G.C., COUTTS G.C., FOREMOST G.C., CARMANGHY G.C.,
1926 – LUMBERTON G.C., NEW DAYTON G.C., WARNER G.C., MILK RIVER G.C., SPRING COULEE G.C.
1927 – CONNAUGHT G.C. (MUNI MEDICINE HAT)
1930 – WARDNER G.C., FORT STEELE G.C., SUNSHINE G.C.
1936 – IRVINE G.C., MONARCH G.C., TURNER VALLEY G.C.
1937 – CRESTON G.C., TURNER VALLEY G.C., CANMORE G.C., MAGRATH GC, SHELBY G.C.
1939 – NANTON G.C.