MAPLE RIDGE GOLF COURSE – CELEBRATES 100 YEARS in 2025
“BC’S OLDEST EXISTING NINE HOLE GOLF COURSE”
In an interview with the Coquitlam Star on May 8th, 1912, John McIver Sr. described his journey from Lewis Island, Scotland to the New World in 1853. The Hudson’s Bay Company actively recruited young ambitious men to work in their Pacific Northwest forts. Their ship landed at Fort Churchill on the Hudson’s Bay. He described his journey on foot from Churchill, Manitoba to the Pacific coast. “He described his wanderings, on land and water. How this experience made the HBC men almost amphibious, about sleeping out in the open for months at a time, and going sleeveless at times because the sleeves of his coat had rotted in the rain.”
Finally, after several month, he and his friend Keith Morrison arrived at Fort Langley. In 1858 he and several of his workmates at Fort Langley found the original gold on the Fraser. This began the famous 1858 gold rush and the birth of British Columbia. He worked as a cooper for the Company until it disbanded. When the Company ceased operations in 1861 at Fort Langley, John McIver and the other employees had a choice: the HBC would pay their fares back to Scotland OR each could accept a land grant from the government. McIver chose the land settlement. He did not choose his quarter section (160 acres) on the south side of the Fraser. Instead, he decided to locate his homestead on an easily accessible bench of land above the river on the north side. He began the task of clearing the heavy timber from the property. He toiled at the job with his motto: “Man conquers as he achieves and achieves as he aspires.” As the transformation from dense timber to farmland progressed, John uncovered a cluster of maple trees on the high ground overlooking the mighty river. He named his homestead “Maple Ridge”.
In 1875 John returned to Scotland to secure a wife to join him at Maple Ridge, BC. The couple enjoyed their homestead and raised a family with seven children. When John Sr died on May 13th, 1913, his eldest John John Jr. inherited the 40-acre original farm.
On October 3rd, 1874, the local citizens met in the original McIver farmhouse to form the municipality of Maple Ridge. A few days later on October 7th, 1874, the first council meeting convened in the McIver farmhouse. Fifty years later, John McIver Jr. served as the Maple Ridge Reeve from 1921 – 1924. Thomas Lowrie, a transplanted Scot, encouraged John Jr. to allow a golf course to be constructed on his forty-acre farm. Because he no longer wished to operate a farm, John Jr. willingly agreed. No one knew if the new enterprise would be successful. A few holes were quickly laid out to test the market. “Golfitis” quickly swept the area. Merchants, bankers, and local businessmen quickly became golfers. The Maple Ridge GC formed in August 1925.
“The annual subscription for the newly formed club was fixed at $15.00 for gentlemen, $7.50 for ladies payable quarterly in advance.” The following officers were appointed for the first year: Honorary President Nels Loughheed, President Reeve JB Martyn, Vice-Presidents TH Buckerfield and Chas finelli, Secretary JT Lowrie, Treasurer HM McCullough and Captain tom Laurie.
On Labour Day, Monday, September 7th, 1925 Reeve JB Martyn’s wife struck the first shot to officially open the golf course. Ex Reeve McIver and Reeve Martyn represented the first group to play the course. Free golf for everyone extended well into the evening hours. “Golfitis” had definitely captured the citizens of Maple Ridge. Interestingly Adam Slicer, the professional at the newly formed Mission Golf Club attended the opening day festivities. He encouraged the Maple Ridge members to invite him for the day to provide lessons on the “finer points of the Royal & Ancient game”.
Mrs. John McIver, for the club’s sixtieth anniversary provided the following names as members who contributed to the club; Gladys Hirshfield Mrs. JL Brown, Mr & Mrs. Jack Edwards, The club’s charted members included: Charter: H. Edmonde-White, Tom Buckerfield, joseph Brown Sr., Mrs. W. Sloan
Clubhouses
After a few months Mr Heynes finished construction of the first clubhouse in April 1927. “The course is a beautiful spot on the bank of the Fraser River at Port Hammond. There are at present nine holes several of which are of the sporty nature.” This clubhouse served the membership and surrounding area as a spot for meetings and gatherings until 1955. Under the terms of the new lease agreement signed in 1986 the lessee had to construct a new clubhouse.
The Course
According to the Chilliwack Progress newspaper, Reginald Meakin, the Chilliwack course designer and professional, laid out a permanent nine-hole course in May 1925.Because of limited funds the members used their own push lawn mowers to cut the greens. One member donated his heavy horse to pull the gang mower to cut the fairways. In 1929 the club had sufficient funds to purchase a used rebuilt tractor to replace their aging horse. Sometime in the 1930’s the club hired their first greenskeeper H. Edmone-White.
By analyzing the course records for 1931 and 1932, the course probably was renovated. In 1931 Dr WS Newitt set the course record 31 for the par 33 course (Par 444 434 334 – 33 Newitt. 434 333 344 – 31). In 1932 the 3rd hole became a par five. WJ Maxwell set the new course record 32 for the renovated nine-hole course – (Par 445 434 334 – 34 WJ Maxwell 444 443 333 – 32)
According to the maps on the scorecards in the Museum collection, the course through the 1950’s – 1960’s showed #4-hole crossing over the #8 hole. Another map on a scorecard shows this situation was probably changed in the 1970’s or 1980’s.
Richard Leisen recalled the 1st hole as a par five. Due to the housing expansion near the course, the club reduced the 500-yard hole to a par 4 for safety reasons. While in high school Richard wrked on the course maintenance with bill Hilton. Richard’s father maintained the heavy rough by cutting the grass with a scythe. Richard recalled the old barn. “The club salvaged the original McIver barn for their maintenance equipment. I remember the walls were twenty-foot trees placed upright into the ground and covered with corrugated metal. The roof was old split cedar shakes. I cut the greens. To transport the mower, I placed it on a wood skid and pulled it behind the tractor. I constantly had to look back behind me to make certain the mower had not fallen off. On one occasion I ran into a tree with the tractor. I did not report the accident to Bill because I didn’t think there was any damage. Next morning, he asked if I had a problem yesterday. Apparently, he noticed the dent to the fender of the tractor.
Professionals
Adam Slicer, Maple Ridge’s first golf professional, was probably not the greatest golfer. In 1924 he laid out the first golf course in Mission. But he did have one niche in the golf community that made him famous during his life and for a couple of decades after he died in 1940. Newspapers across the country published a column “What’s in a name/”. Adam Slicer constantly appeared as one of the names the column featured. “Adam Slicer – golf professional’
Slicer arrived in Canada in the early 1920’s. He travelled immediately to Calgary to work for Bob Smith. Shortly he relocated to Davie Black’s pro shop at the Shaughnessy Heights GC in Vancouver. Adam constructed the first golf course in Mission in 1924. After Maple Ridge opened in September 1925 Slicer became the course professional. Research has not shown Slicer designed the new Harrison course in 1927, but he was their first professional. Next, he served the Revelstoke GC for 2 seasons 1928 and 1929 and spent four years (1930 – 1933) at the Vernon GC. He may have worked in Edmonton for a season or two before moving permanently back to Vancouver in 1935. He died in Vancouver in 1940. But his unique name for a golf professional lived on in the newspapers for two decades.
Wally Devereux arrived at the Maple Ridge course as it’s first post war professional in 1952. Wally Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps as a golf professional. Walter Sr. arrived in BC in the mid 1920’s. He held many head golf professional positions throughout the northwest, plus several years in California. Walter Jr. born in California, began his golf career working for his father during the 1930’s at the Reames GC in Or. In 1939 the Qualicum GC hired Wally for his first head professional position. In 1940 he moved to Nanaimo to open a golf school. During the War years he worked in Australia. In 1952 he returned to BC to assume the head professional job at Maple Ridge.After one season he joined his father at the Grandview Driving Range in Vancouver. During his thirty year career in BC , he worked for many golf clubs including Mt. Brenton (mid 1960’s) and Alberni (early 1970’s).
Doug McAlpine began his golf career as one of the promising juniors at the Hastings Park Golf Course under the watchful eye of Bill Heyworth. At age eighteen (1946), he joined the professional ranks working for Bill as his assistant. For the next six year,he learned the pro trade at Hastings. In 1952 he moved to his first head professional /manager job at Beach Grove. There he basically did everything for the club including personally renovating the lounge. After one season he moved to Maple Ridge. In 1959 the Vancouver Parks Board advertised for a new head professional to replace Roy Heisler at Fraserview Golf Course. With no expectations Doug applied. “I didn’t really expect to get the appointment It is a good step up. I am very happy.”
Don Ross, an aspiring young assistant at Marine Drive, replaced Doug at Maple Ridge. Like many young assistants at this time, Don aspired to play on the PGA Gold Trail. The following spring, he moved to California to follow his dream.
Robert Brenkley became interested in golf while his friend Scotty Walker ran the Kingsway Driving Range. Roy Heisler taught him the finer points of the game at Fraserview. Don enticed Robert, who was working at Fraserview, in 1959, to join him at Maple Ridge as his assistant. To encourage a smooth transition, the Maple Ridge Board promoted him in 1960. He served the Maple Ridge Club and moved to Pitt Meadows Golf Club in 1963 with the Ridge members. He served the new club for a decade. Until the original Maple Ridge golf course lease expired in 1970, Dave Smith acted as the head professional working under Robert at the nine-hole course.
Prominent players
Dave Sparling was likely the first championship caliber player from Maple Ridge. By a six-stroke margin, he won the prestigious 1953 Fraser Valley Championship at Peace Portal.
Richard Leisen began his golfing career when his baseball friend said the two should try golf. “In the late 1950’s the Little League baseball was becoming very competitive. It was not as much fun as when we started. A small group of us began hanging out at Maple Ridge. We paid fifty cents a day then the club allowed us to pay $5 a year. Doug McAlpine gave us lessons. We were all pretty athletic kids so we progressed quite rapidly. I was a little hesitant at first, but I soon became hooked.
In 1960 the British Columbia Golf Association and the Canadian Ladies Golf Association (BC Branch) encouraged the various golf associations throughout the province to hold zone and district junior championships. The provincial bodies supplied financial assistance to the regional governing bodies to send players. In 1961 the Fraser Valley Golf Association held their 1st Fraser Valley Championships.
Richard Leisen, the best junior at Maple Ridge, won the Fraser Valley Closed Junior Champion by 6 stokes. He played in the provincial championship at the Vancouver Golf Club. Because of his success he represented in the Canadian Junior Championships at Scarboro. His teammate from Marine Drive Terry Campbell won the national title. After graduating from high school, I worked in the golden Ears Park Forestry reserve. “In 1965 I entered Simon Fraser University. We were the first students to attend the new campus. I earned a degree in Bio-Chemistry. But what could I use it for? Tom Caully asked me to be his assistant at Meadow Gardens. After my first year, the club could see I was capable of operating the shop myself. The Board took the opportunity to fire Tom and give me the job.”
Richard won the Chilliwack Open champion 4 times (1974, 1976, 1977, 1979) and the Squamish Open four times. He served Meadow Gardens from 1971 – 1979; then, moved to Burnaby Mountain until his retirement in 1998.
Mary Lee Ward had a short but impressive golfing career at Maple Ridge. She won the 1963 Fraser Valley Jr Girls Champion. She and Marylyn Palmer represented BC at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship represented BC on the junior girls’ team along with Marylyn Palmer. At the Rivermead GC in Ottawa, the two juniors won the national junior team championship. Her golfing career ended, but a more interesting aspect of her life began. Upon her return to BC, Mary Lee entered the University of Victoria. For her third year she attended the University of Manchester in England. After graduation she joined the Canadian University Service Overseas plan. While working in Zambia, she started the first Girl Guides program in Africa. Her supporters in the Fraser Valley raised the funding for the Zambia girls’ uniforms and supplies. In 1968 she became Mrs. Mary Monckton while serving in Africa.
George Meeker was a relatively newcomer to tournament golf in 1963. But he certainly was not your common competitive golfer. His middle initial “Q” stood for “Queentin”, but he told everyone it stood for “quirky”. He every shot with a hook. “When I miss shots, I make certain i miss’em straight.” He was a constant cigar chain smoker usually consuming at least ten per round with several Cokes. He was no slow poke. He and Moe Norman would have made great bedfellows. “Why wait? I hit’em and run.” Twenty seconds seemed to be his rule for concentration. He reached the finals of the 1963 City Match Play. But,his strange playing style made him a gallery favourite on the local golf scene. He moved to Pitt Meadows with his golfing buddies so Maple Ridge no longer received the press coverage.
In 1963 the original members of the Maple Ridge golf course fulfilled their dream to have an eighteen -hole golf course. The new Pit Meadows Golf Club opened. The new club continued to operate the original Maple Ridge course until the lease expired in 1970. As the lease began to expire, Mary McIver received many offers from developers to purchase the forty acres golf course. The McIver family decided to sell the course to the municipality on the understanding the property must always be used for recreational purposes, preferably a golf course. The Municipality purchased course in 1971 at a discounted price of $350,000. In 1971 the City leased the course to Rick McCartie , Pitt Meadows Driving Range owner and Terry King. Around 1975 George and Marnie Radul joined the two partners. George had experience in the restaurant business. At Maple Ridge he was noted for making large quantities of steaks on the barbecue. At the 60th on Nov 13, 1985 Maple Ridge celebration, Mike Furlong “had just recently joined the partnership.”
In 1986, the Maple Ridge Council decided the golf course lease should be opened to public tender. the Maple Ridge golf course lease up for tender. The Council advertised the lease opportunity on August 24th 1986. Mike Furlong was fully aware he was purchasing a one- year-old expiring lease in 1985. In case he was not the successful bidder he placed all assets for the Maple Ridge operation up for auction on Feb 18 1987 He also revealed his plans for a new clubhouse if he is awarded the 15-year lease. The City awarded the new lease to John Kastelein, owner of Hackers Haven course, plus John’s daughter and son in law, Christy and Bruce McPherson. Immediately a lawsuit arose. “Can the municipality award a lease over 5 years for recreational property without taking the proposal to referendum.” The local Solicitor believed the Municipality had the right because in the case of the Maple Ridge purchase the governing body used funds on hand to purchase the golf course. The Municipality did not ask the taxpayers for money through a referendum.
Over the 100 years of operation the golf course has remained popular because there is less congestion, the rates are reasonable, and the quality of the course appeals to the beginning golfer.
Due to the lack of reporting on the activities of the Maple Ridge course after 1990, this article is definitely incomplete. The museum would like to add information about the later years If you could assist us please contact the museum at
Email: office@bcgolfhouse.com
QUESTIONS REQUIRING FURTHER RESEARCH
When the first 15 year lease expired in 2002 did Kastelien renew?
In 2005 Norm Pilloud is listed as the Manager. Was he also the lessee?
Who is the present operator?
Presidents.
1925 – Reeve JB Martyn
1926 – Knotts
1927 – noble G. Knotts fruit farmer
1931 – JM Edwards
1932 – JM Edwards
1933 – JM Edwards
1934 – joseph F. Brown
1935 – Joseph Brown
1936 — RJ Cameron
1937 – William Storey
1938 – Joe Krogseth
1939 – T. Buckerfield
Krogseth
HS Ross
C Clitheroe
Jordan
WL Marrs
C McLure
William Clappton
1958 – Monty Ward
1959 – Monty Ward
Dr. L. Alexander
Holes- in- Ones
1931 – GP Peacock secretary 5th 175 yards FIRST hole in one at Maple Ridge
1935 – Miss Vera Graham 7th 135 yards
1937 – Ed Wamboldt 7th 135 yards
1938 – 5th 210 yards
1953 – Paul Roque 7th 135 yards
1955 – Percy Musson 7th 135 yards Bob Blake 7th 135 yards
1960 – Dave Voth 7 th 135 yards
1961 Aug 31, 1961 3 holes-in-one one the same day
Richard Leisen Hal York 6th hole Al Liberto 5th hole
1969 Dave Barker 3rd hole 204 yards
2007 – Judy and John. Jones (husband and wife) hole in one on same day.