Maple Ridge Golf Club
A property rooted in Maple Ridge History
1859 — Jon McIver established his farm on a property above port Haney and named it “Maple Ridge” after the maple trees growing along the ridge.
1874 — Maple Ridge’s first municipal council meeting was held in the McIver farmhouse. A commemorative cairn on the ninth hole below an ancient maple tree called Old Amos marks this historic location.
1885 - The first transcontinental train officially pulled into Hammond station following the driving of the Last Spike at Craigellachie.
1925 — THE GOLF COURSE OPENS
Thomas Lowrie and a committee of residents leased part of the McIver farm and established Maple Ridge Golf Course. The course officially opened on September 7, 1925.
1927 — A COMMUNITY-BUILT CLUBHOUSE
The first clubhouse was completed with materials donated by local businesses and construction work contributed by club members. Members also helped maintain the course using push mowers and horse-drawn equipment.
1925 - 1931 -1932 The original course was par 33; it was modified to par 34 in 1932 when one hole became a par five.
Subsequent development and safety considerations eventually produced the current par-33 configuration with no par-five holes.
1957 – YOUTH PROGRAM
The Club started a successful youth program which help develop several accomplished junior golfers including Richard Leisen who went on to compete in Provincial and National titles representing Maple Ridge.
Early 60’s saw a PROHIBITION
Due to problems with evening drinking in premises without liquor licenses, primarily the Stagg Barbershop, council passed a bylaw requiring barbershops to close by 6 p.m. The Golf Club then became the new place for after dinner drinks, prompting City Hall to threaten to revoke its Club status unless it stopped serving at 6 p.m. A new council was elected two years later, and everything returned to normal.
1969 – Ladies Club
The Club started their first official Ladies Club with dedicated times both during the day and in evening during the warmer months.
1970 - The original McIver lease for the Maple Ridge course expired in 1970.
1971 - After a series of meetings, the McIver family sold the 40-acre property to the City of Maple Ridge for $350,000.
Since that time, the City has leased out the operations to various long-time private operators who have further upgraded and improved facilities which continues to deliver revenue to the city annually.
