Laval-sur-le-lac (Green)

Established in 1917, Laval-sur-le-Lac is a private golf club situated a couple of miles to the north of the prestigious Montreal Golf Club. Almost all of its members are French-speaking Canadians and if you need reminding of this, the sign on the first tee, “Les joueurs sont priés de toujours remplacer les gazons abimés” (players are reminded to always replace divots) will do just that.

The club has hosted many national competitions, such as the Canadian Amateur in 1934 and 1978 as well as the Canadian Open in 1962 when Gary Player – the newly crowned USPGA champion at the time – was disqualified for recording a wrong score at the 10th hole in the first round.

Laval-sur-le-Lac really made its mark on the golfing world stage when it became the venue for the 2nd Canada Cup (the forerunner of today’s annual World Cup) in 1954.

Argentina had won the event the previous year in an eight team field at nearby Beaconsfield but, just twelve months later, twenty five nations took part in the fledgling tournament. This time, the Australian pairing of Kel Nagle and Peter Thomson held off another strong challenge by Argentina to beat them by four shots, with the USA pairing of Sam Snead and Jimmy Demaret trailing a further five strokes behind in third place.

The modern day club is a 36-hole facility, offering two high quality courses, the Green and the Blue.