18th Hole, East Course
The Toronto Board of Trade
Celebrates Notable 50-year History by Sean Gunn, Superintendent, The Country Club
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ifty years ago a group representing The Toronto Board of Trade decided to break ground in the small town of Woodbridge. Nestled in a valley aside the Humber River, 400 acres was given to Howard Watson where he sculpted two fantastic championship courses. Thanks to Watson’s vision, we now have the East and West courses being visited by 75,000 plus golfers each season. The Board has built an amazing history in the first 50 years of its existence. It started with hosting the 1967 Carling World Open Championship, won by Billy Casper. Two decades later, it was the host site for the 1986 LPGA Du Maurier Classic (one of the five majors), won by Pat Bradley. Over the years The Board has been blessed to have hosted some of the games greats like Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Gary Player, Nick Price, Lee Trevino, Ben Crenshaw, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Moe Norman, Craig Stadler, Peter Jacobson, Stewart Cink, Jeff Sluman, George Knudson, Vijay Singh, Stuart Appleby, Annika Sorenstram, Lori Kane and countless celebrities. In 1981 the South course was added to
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Gordon Witteveen and his team in 1974.
make the property a 45-hole facility, which it remains to this day. The South course was famous for being open all year long, with many members playing during the winter months. Sadly that came to an end along with the curling rink in 1998. The Board of Trade changed its name to The Country Club in 2006 when ClubLink took over ownership and together the two companies have continued to deliver a great golfing venue.
With its rich history and its deep roots in the game of golf for the GTA region, nothing is more impressive than the long list of people who have served on the Turf Team over the years. George Clarke was the first superintendent, with Bob Heron and Barry Endicott following. However, it was Gordon Witteveen that had the longest tenure as superintendent and acted as a mentor to so many turf managers in our industry today. A member of the Canadian