It’s unlikely that charter members at Abercrombie Golf Club could have envisioned that their little course would still be up and running a century later.
“There’s been a lot of clubs come and go,” says Jonathan Garron, director of golf at Abercrombie, which is marking its 100th year in 2019.
“To stay around and stay in business – to get to that 100 years and still going pretty strong is a huge accomplishment.”
There are only a handful of golf courses in Nova Scotia that are older than Abercrombie; among them – this is not necessarily a complete list – are Truro Golf Club (opened in 1903), Amherst, Yarmouth Links (built in the 1800s), Digby Pines (1905), Chester, Brightwood in Dartmouth and Lingan, which is in Cape Breton.
“There would be a few older than us,” says Garron, “but I don’t think there’s a lot. It’s the test of time – we’ve been very fortunate. We are still fairly strong and a lot of it comes back to the support of the membership.”
As part of its centennial celebrations, the club will also host the Nova Scotia Men’s Amateur championship on July 5-7.
“There’s a lot of local people from my understanding that wants to register and play,” said Garron, “which will be nice for us, to have a strong contingent who will play and compete.”
He added that the course itself is in great condition.
“It’s probably the best it’s ever wintered. We should open with no (temporary tees or greens). We’re really looking forward to a strong year.”
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Grant Dunlop has been a member at Abercrombie since 1960. It is believed he is the longest continuous-serving member, having started there when he was about nine years old. He still golfs four times a week.
“We father played, my mother played, we all played golf,” says Dunlop, who deserves credit for gathering most of the information in this article.
His brother Allan, who died a few years ago, had been employed with Nova Scotia Archives, and as Abercrombie was approaching its 75th anniversary, he suggested that it might be a good idea to look into the club’s history.
In the early 1990s, Grant Dunlop, started going through microfilm at the library in New Glasgow, poring over old newspapers, piecing together the past. It would prove to be more work than he’d imagined.
“I didn’t think it would take me a year to do it,” he says with a smile.
He figures that Abercrombie has hosted close to 30 provincial and national golf championships (it was home of the 2015 Canadian men’s amateur).
“It’s a nice accomplishment, to still be here a hundred years later.”
IN THE CLUBHOUSE
• Abercrombie has twice had its clubhouse burn to the ground. The original went up in flames in 1956, following a social event held there; a year later, a new one was built at a cost of $29,000, or what would be roughly $250,000 today.
• In 1968, a section was added to the building to accommodate the Bluenose Curling Club. 1968 was also the year the club went from being a nine-hole course to its current 18.
• That clubhouse lasted until 1989, when a fire that started in the clubhouse kitchen destroyed the facility. It was re-built the next year (a trailer was used as a temporary clubhouse for the 1989 season) and the Bluenose Curling Club relocated to Park Street in New Glasgow.
• Dunlop said there are a few original holes on the course: No. 1, which has a rebuilt green, and holes 7, 8 and 9 and what is now the 11th hole. Also, what is now the 10th hole used to be the sixth.
