Kawartha Golf Club

Laid out on farmland that was originally leased from the Canadian General Electric Company, the inaugural Kawartha course was a 9-hole affair that served the membership for almost a decade before it was expanded to a full 18-hole layout in 1938.

Kawartha Golf & Country Club is a Stanley Thompson design with, as one might expect from its eminent designer, an excellent set of par threes, the first of which is a beast of a 221-yard uphill hole at the 6th. Actually, there are five short holes on the card and, unusually, the final par three is played as the closing hole at the 18th.

The club hosted the Canadian PGA championship in 1961, when Stan Leonard won the 6th of his record eight titles. Stan was the professional at Marine Drive, winning three times on the PGA Tour between 1957 and 1961, and he represented his country on eight occasions at the Canada Cup. He’s second only to Moe Norman for titles won by a Canadian player, comprising a handful of significant amateur events and more than forty professional tournaments.

Respected architect Ian Andrew was tasked with restoring all the bunkers in 2006, the year before the club celebrated its 75th anniversary by hosting the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship. Ian also rebuilt the 5th green and oversaw the removal of 450 trees from the property.