Our Club History

Golf was first played in Fredericton on September 25th, 1897. Here's an account as told in an early issue of "Golf in Eastern Canada":

     "In the Autumn of 1897, the golf fever reached Fredericton. Some of the professors at the University Of New Brunswick had given evidence of the disease being in their system. By September the disease spread rapidly and within 10 days a club was formed and the rights secured to play over the land enclosed by the old race track."

     The original course included a bizarre hazard - a rifle range. Over the next several years, golf was played in several other locations including a field off Waterloo Row, and a course extending form York to Smythe streets, south of the Hartt Shoe factory.
     In 1916, Fredericton Golf Lands Ltd. was incorporated. Among the shareholders were the active male members, and a few interested citizens, including W.G. Clark, who acquired lands on the north side of what is now the Golf Club road, and leased them to the Fredericton Golf Club. For the first three years at this location, the club had only six holes. It then expanded to nine holes. Land was acquired on the south side of the road where between 1948 and 1952, nine new holes were developed. This new course was engineered by Dr. E.O. Turner and his class from the University Of New Brunswick. In 1953, the members built a new club house and played on an eighteen hole course of 6010 yards.
     The Fredericton Golf Club was a charter member of the New Brunswick Golf Association. Dr. Turner and Gerald Lawson attended the first meeting on April 3rd, 1934 to represent the Fredericton Club. Dr. Turner was elected the first president of the new association. It was also decided at this meeting that the first New Brunswick Championship Tournament would be held at the Fredericton Golf Club.
     The club became a combined golf and curling club in 1980, following construction of a new fully equipped clubhouse. 

The New Era

In 1999 the Fredericton Golf Club entered an agreement to renovate the land that was used as a practice area. Graham Cooke design three new holes on the previously unused land. Incorporating the existing topography and natural landscape, a new par five, par four and par three are currently under construction. In addition, in the fall of 1999 the installation of a course fairway watering system was approved by the membership. Previously, only the tee boxes and greens had a watering system installed, leaving the fairway watering up to mother nature.

The weather being the main factor on completion schedules, the new holes should be in play by the Spring of 2001. The rotation of play will then begin on the present Par 4 hole number 13 and finish on the present Par 5 hole number 12. Holes # 18 # 1 and #2 will be taken out of the rotation. Eventual plans include the development of a pactice facility using holes #18 and #1.

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