Dundas Valley

Laid out by John Zieman of Trans Canada Construction to a Stanley Thompson design, the course at Dundas Valley Golf & Curling Club was unveiled in 1930. Today, the layout plays to a par of 71 over 6,403 yards.

The following edited extract is from Stanley Thompson and Icons of Canada by James M. Harris:

“Dundas is a small town located at the foot of the Niagara Escarpment near the western tip of Lake Ontario. It is contiguous with Hamilton and is now incorporated into the Greater Hamilton area. The Dundas Valley setting is perfect for a golf course.

So it was that a group of men purchased land and founded the Dundas Valley G&CC in March 1929. Stanley Thompson was chosen to submit a proposal for plans and specifications which he did in May that same year.

Stanley proposed that he be paid on a sliding scale depending on the number of members that subscribed to the future Dundas Valley G&CC. He further proposed that he would supervise construction for 10% of the total project cost.

The directors rejected Stanley’s proposal but at the same time they kept his routing plans and turned them over to a local Hamilton landscape designer. They also hired a local engineer to install a watering system. Within six weeks they realized the error of their ways.

Stanley was re-contacted to superintend construction of the course. Eight holes opened on July 1, 1930 and the full 18 holes in October. It wasn’t until May 1935 that Stanley Thompson was finally paid, but payment came in the form of 30 shares of Dundas Valley G&CC.”