GOLF IN THE FROZEN NORTH
Golf in Prince George began in 1925 – 90 years ago.
How did the Shaughnessy Heights GC play a role in the development of the Prince George GC? C.C. “Gee” Ternan can be considered the father of golf in northern BC. After caddying at Shaughnessy GC during his high school years Gee entered the Forestry Department at the University of British Columbia in 1920. (Please note that I had the privilege to interview C.C. Ternan one month prior to his death in 1991. On that afternoon we spoke about many golf topics. Gee talked extensively how he became fascinated by the game after he watched the Vardon- Ray Exhibition match at Shaughnessy in December 1913. At that time I felt he was the last surviving person who viewed this historic match. To satisfy his curiosity he began caddying at Shaughnessy on a regular basis. Gee related enlightening anecdotes about the membership from 1913 – 1920 and golf in Vancouver. He praised the generosity of the members who assisted him to fulfil his goal to attend UBC. Using his savings from caddying and the gifts from members Gee entered UBC at age twenty in 1920. The members provided financial assistance throughout his college years. While at UBC Gee established himself as an outstanding athlete – specializing in rugby. Finally at the close of this incredible conversation he described the events in 1925 that created the Prince George GC)
Upon graduation with degree in hand Gee joined the BC Forest Service. His first posting placed him in the far northland of the province. Basically he acted as a scaler overseeing the measurement of cubic feet of lumber each company extracted from the forests north of the CNR line from Prince George – to Prince Rupert. Prince George served as his base. Very quickly Gee discovered few recreational activities existed – baseball in the summer and curling in the winter. He set out to solve the lack of a golf course. In 1925 about one hundred businessmen lived in the region. With no land for a course and no equipment to use Ternan gathered a group of interested businessmen to start the formation of a golf club.
Two Scottish businessmen quickly solved the equipment issue. Fred Bunton, the Fraser River Hardware Store owner, and Alex Moffatt, the proprietor of the Northern Hardware and Furniture store immediately advertised in the local Prince George Citizen a “new stock of golf clubs, balls, and bags” had arrived.
To satisfy the land question Ternan viewed a tract of land on the Prince George – South Fort George Road. Previously the Hudson’s Bay Fort occupied the property that lay next to the Fraser River and contained the local Indian Cemetery. Today the old course can be found in the area next to the Fraser River in the South Fort George Park.
Gee organized work bees where the locals volunteered their labour and their lawn mowers to transform the land into a rudimentary golf course. From June – September 1925 the local “golfers” experimented on the course in an attempt to learn the game. On September 20th, 1925 the Prince George GC held the first golf tournament in the north.
The Prince George Citizen reported: “At last Sunday’s performance there were almost as many alibis as there were players but the ice was broken and the shyness incidental to the initial appearance has been overcome in most cases.” For the record R.B Carter and CC Ternan were listed as scratch golfers because of their previous experience. Stanley W. George, the City Clerk and Assessor, won with 38 less 7 net 31.
The second event attracted 60 participants. Fred Moffat won with a net 70. The round played by Hiram Carney and Henry Wilson provided the most entertaining account in the newspaper. They started late. After 13 holes the light abandoned them with Carney scoring 136 to Wilson’s 138. Both agreed the game had great potential but they would make a suggestion to the committee that they be allowed to commence before breakfast in order to complete the 18 holes before dark. Like most golfers, the Prince George pioneers, soon learned alibis and post-mortems filled the air after a completed round.
On March 16, 1927 the local golfers met to formalize their Prince George Golf Club. The first executive included: W.K. Nichols – President, Chas A Ryne – Vice-President, and W.L. Armstrong- Secretary-Treasurer. Even at this early period of their development the members debated how their eight-hole course could be extended to a full regulation nine holes. The following anecdote provides an insight into the type of players that enjoyed their leisure time on the primitive layout. An interesting foursome of WL Armstrong, FA Matheson, William Coop, and CN Superintendent Toby played a typical match on June 2, 1927.
“The result was uncertain but two course records were established during the battle. Matheson established one by driving five balls into the Fraser from tee # 5. Coop surpassed the previous performance of Earl Fulmer by tossing his driver an additional twenty-five yards into the Fraser.”
Judging by reports in the Citizen the members clearly enjoyed their 8-hole course.
Golfing in the Frozen North June 1928 Golf Illustrated
In an article titled “ Golfing in the Frozen North” Harry E. Taylor, Prince George’s former chief public entertainer, poked fun of his golfing experiences in Prince George. Taylor published his comments in the June 1928 issue of Golf Illustrated
“The golf course is as rough and primeval as its surroundings. By dodging through the bush, and cross cutting an eight-hole golf course has been obtained, the total distance around which is barely one mile. This small area contains no fairway in the real sense of the word. The few open patches of alleged grass are so cut up with ravines, deep pot holes, and hillocks, that there is not a level ten yards on the whole area. The grass grows long and deep. Weeds and small bushes abound in profusion and after a drive of a hundred yards, the betting is twenty to one on finding the ball.
The course also contains the following, to bring joy to the golfer’s heart; one deserted set of Hudson Bay buildings this being the old Fort George of the 1890’s, one Indian graveyard fenced and dotted with the innumerable house-like structures that the Siwashes erect over their dead, one huge straddling derrick for the now abandoned river ferry, one ploughed field containing bushy topped potatoes and another field of long waving oats, a long row of high, fat telephone poles, plenty of bush and tangled undergrowth. On top of all this, the first tee is only ten yards from the high cut bans of the mighty Fraser River, half a mile wide, which flows south for hundreds of miles to the Pacific Ocean. This river parallels the first three holes of the course, and constitutes the finest mental hazard imaginable.
The greens are about thirty-five feet square. They are fenced with barbed wire to keep out the numerous cattle and horses that graze over the course. Grass greens are out of the question; a mixture of coarse sand and crude oil is used. Each green is about two to three inches thick. Wooden scrapers are provided for each green and a pathway is smoothed between the ball and the hole before putting.
After twelve months of this course one will be either a very proficient golfer or a gibbering maniac. In driving if one deviates a yard from the straight and narrow path, the issue is on the lap of the gods. If you don’t hit a fence post or a telephone pole, and bounce into the river, you will probably ricochet from a hillock into the graveyard, or be lost forever amongst the oats or potatoes. If you are fortunate enough to drop onto the alleged fairway, you may be lucky and find your ball nestling cosily beneath the branch bone of a deceased moose or buried in the cold ashes of and Indian campfire. In the summery evenings you go around to the accompaniment of the shrill of the coyotes from across the river.
Par for the course is 28. By playing careful billiards, and knowing the laws of tangents and rebounds some player may eventually achieve a niche amongst the immortals by going round in par.”
In fact on June 10th, 1928 CC Ternan did just that. Playing with Dr. Laishley of Giscome he made the eight holes in 27. Ternan started badly taking a 5 on the first hole. His scorecard read 533 333 43 score 27. The Prince George Golf Club may have been the joke of the Caribou, but it is indeed the first.
Gee Ternan left the area in 1930 fully satisfied he had contributed to the establishment of golf in the north. On Thursday April 24th 1930 Lady Willingdon hit the first shot to officially open the Willingdon Links in Quesnel. Courses soon followed in Williams Lake and Smithers. Because Prince George created the first course the members consistently wanted to maintain their leadership role. This expansion caused the Prince George GC under the leadership of RB Carter to expand their links to 9 holes and improve the playing conditions. In 1934 the club finally managed to secure additional land from the Canadian National Railway (CNR) to expand to a full nine-hole layout.
COURSE MAP WITH SCORECARD. 1934
As in the beginning the members gave their free time and lawn mowers to assist in improving their “palatial retreat” on the banks of the mighty Fraser River. The call to the course was a simple announcement in the Citizen. “A WORK BEE IS BEING HELD ON FRIDAY EVENING. BRING YOUR SCYTHES OR A PUSH MOWER IF YOU OWN ONE”.
With the Great Depression in full effect the club maintained the yearly fees at $5 for men, $2 for women and juniors free. The course supplied the community with the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors next to the river. Suddenly on May 16th, 1935 a clubhouse appeared next to the first tee. Soon volunteers utilizing donated lumber constructed a veranda with screens. This little structure served the golfers until the course’s demise in 1947.
The Caribou Championships that rotated between Prince George, Quesnel and Williams Lake provided the impetus for Prince George to constantly attempt to improve their links. The club had this deep desire to always remain the best course in the north. Under the leadership of Carter, James and Pettis the course was lengthened and consolidated in 1936 – 1940. The first and fifth greens became one, the 7th hole was lengthened by 50 yards closer to the 6th green. The 4th tee was moved northwards by 50 yards. The Prince George team led by Dr. C. Ewart and L. Woods dominated the team competition of the Caribou Championships winning each year from 1934 – 1938.
Difficulties for the club arose in the late thirties when gas rationing cancelled the Caribou Championships. On March 29, 1945 the Prince George Citizen published an article titled “Seek to create Interest in Golf Course”. The club attempted to raise $1850 to improve the course. Quesnel and Williams Lake Golf Clubs refused to travel to the course to play unless conditions improved.
Finally on April 10, 1947 the Prince George GC decided to abandon their old site in favour of the City recommendation to move to the old city airport site.
“A good golf course is the responsibility of the City as well as the Club because a golf course is only as good as the city it’s located in. This being a tourist Mecca we need a high-class golf course to go with our great city.”
Congratulations to the Prince George Golf & Curling Club on the 90th Anniversary of their formation.