The Golden Golf Club has a long history, darting back to 1935 when the first club was formed.
The club opened its first 5-hole golf course south of town near Reflection Lake in 1942. The Golden Golf Club was incorporated as a non-profit society 20 years later, and continues to operate that way to this day. The club is governed by a board of six directors, and managed by the director of operations, the office/financial manager, and the head superintendent.
Golden Golf Club director of operations Graeme Kreiner said that in small towns, it is fairly common to have non-profit golf clubs. All of the money they make from membership and green fees go directly back into the course for improvements and maintenance.
“It’s similar to a lot of small towns. A bunch of people got together however many years ago, and decided ‘let’s build a golf course,’ and then they society was formed,” Kreiner said.
More than 50 years ago, golfers travelled past Golden for official tournaments. During the ’70s, the Golden Golf Club attempted to develop another course, but were unable to secure funding.
The desire continued to grow, and the golf club came up with a Guinness Book of World Records idea for a fundraiser to golf “the longest hole” from Parson to Golden in September of 1984.
The longest hole ever played was 20.25 miles by four golfers in 271 strokes.
In 1985, the original 9-hole golf course opened exclusively for member play. Memberships cost $5 and rounds were only $5 each. May of 1986 marked the official opening of the Golden Golf Club.
Since then, the course has become known as a hidden gem in the Kootenays. People travel from all over to play in Golden, and locals enjoy inviting them to the course.
“People absolutely love our golf course,” Kreiner said. “You see people walk in, and they’re just so excited because maybe they haven’t played in two years and it’s their favourite course. They go out and play, and they’re excited when they get back. People are just excited to be here.”
