Rivermead Golf Club

Founded in 1910, Rivermead Golf Club started out with a 9-hole course designed by Albert Murray, the two-time (and youngest ever) Canadian Open winner. Having acquired more land shortly after opening, the club commissioned George Cumming to extend the course to an 18-hole layout.

Rivermead hosted the Canadian Open in 1920 and a decision was taken to present the winner with a trophy as the victor had previously received only a gold medal. The Rivermead Challenge Cup was duly introduced and claimed for the first time by James Douglas Edgar, who retained the Open title he had run away with the previous year when he won at Hamilton by 16 shots.

A new tournament sponsor instigated its own trophy for the national open in 1936 (The Seagram Gold Cup) and the Rivermead Cup was then awarded to the Canadian professional with the lowest Open score up until 1961. For some reason, this presentation fell by the wayside until resurrected in 2007. Three years later, Golf Canada announced all the winners from 1962 to 2006 would also have their names added.

In 1948, Rivermead, Ottawa Hunt and Royal Ottawa formed the Ottawa District Golf Association, which later became the Ottawa Valley Golf Association. The three clubs host the prestigious Alexander of Tunis amateur tournament – named after the Governor General of Canada in 1950, Lord Alexander of Tunis – on a tri-annual rotation.

Rivermead’s original nine-hole course was designed under the direction of Charles Murray in 1910. The course was then expanded to 18 holes in 1915 by George Cumming (associate of Stanley Thompson). In 1989, the golf course underwent a significant renovation by architects Ken Skodecek and Ken Venturi.

2023 marked the end of a 5-year course improvement project led by architect Jeff Mingay, returning the golf course to it’s Golden Age-era roots and strategic layout with reimagined bunkering, expanded short grass areas, and the addition of multiple new tees.