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Sturgeon Valley Golf and Country Club History
The Sturgeon Valley Golf and Country Club was established in 1960 and is located north of Edmonton and east of St. Albert in the Sturgeon County.
The current course borders the Sturgeon river on the northwest and Sturgeon Road on the southeast. As part of the golf Club's 50th Anniversary,
a committee was established to build on the Club's history first documented in 1985 to create an updated Club history. The Club has gone through
many changes over 50 years and two constant themes have played a key role. The first theme is dedicated members who volunteer for special projects
or running for the board of directors, their passion for moving the club forward has been instrumental in the Club's evolution. The second theme is
what makes Sturgeon Valley unique by providing a Club "Where Friends Meet!"
60's |
70's |
80's |
90's |
2000's |
Champs |
Presidents |
Management |
Honorary Members
Sturgeon Valley in The 1960's "The Beginning"
"Realizing the need for additional golf and recreational clubs in the Edmonton area, a plan to serve the district of Edmonton and St. Albert, is underway with the development of the Sturgeon Valley Golf and Country Club."
These words were first quoted in a campaign drive for members to form a new golf club. It may have been just a dream at first but five entrepreneurs; Frank Lieber, Harold Londry, Harold Hood, Boyce Green and William Plowman purchased 140 acres of farmland originally homesteaded by Angus Kennedy. So it was on March 2, I960 the Sturgeon Valley Golf and Country Club was born.
Jack Myler, then head of Edmonton Parks and Recreation, was responsible for the design of the Course. With the layout completed, contouring and seeding soon followed and by late July, 1960 the members were able to play on the new fairways and temporary greens. These initial nine holes were located across the road from the present clubhouse. The second nine holes were to be developed later, with four holes in the area where the present first, 10th, 17th and 18th holes are now located. The remaining five holes were planned for the low land to the northwest of the ninth fairway dyke.
At the official opening on April 20, 1963 it was recognized that the cry of "fore" would ring out many times in the Valley of the Sturgeon River.
In 1962 Bill Wright was hired as the first Greenskeeper and the Club Professional was his son, Bill Wright, Jr.
One of the major developments for the Club was initiated on December 12, 1963 at a General Meeting. The Board of Directors were given approval to negotiate an Agreement with the five entrepreneurs for purchase of the golf course. The fina1 negotiations were concluded on February 1, 1964 when the formal signing of the "Agreement of Sale" took place. The members foresaw a bright future for the Club and must be recognized as "The Pioneers of the Sturgeon Valley Golf and Country Club".
Hard times, however, were ahead for the Club. For instance, in the spring of 1965 the lower holes on the back nine were flooded up to ten feet. The flooding was so severe that residents of the area viewed it as the highest water level in fifty years. Flooding again took place during the spring of 1966 but not nearly as high as the previous year. Changes had to be made to this flooded portion if Sturgeon was to remain fully operative. The plans, as prepared in 1965, moved the five holes from the lowest land to a higher area away from the flooding. Realizing that additional funds were necessary for this construction, members were asked to purchase a second share for Two Hundred Dollars. The members' support was gratifying and the necessary money was raised. The newly constructed nine holes opened for play in September 1967.
Development of the Club was slow for the next two years and membership did not increase at the rate projected. With funds very low in 1969 the original entrepreneurs informed the Club that they were going to foreclose due to a lack of payment.
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Sturgeon Valley in The 1970's "Turning the Corner"
Sturgeon Valley Golf Club moved one step closer to disappearing. A dedicated group of members banded together to negotiate a new Agreement and later in 1970 the new contract with revised terms was signed.
Even with the 1967 re-construction of the course the flooding of the Sturgeon River often caused problems in the spring. A step toward control of this problem was taken in 1971-72 when a dyke was constructed along the edge of the present number nine fairway.
In 1971 the Sturgeon Valley Ladies' Golf Club was officially formed, despite efforts from a few wives of members who tried to form a club in 1969. From 1971 on, the Ladies' Club has continued to prosper with membership increasing. Tuesday became "Ladies Day". The Ladies' Club joined the ELGA in 1973 and with this affiliation began participation as executive members and/or players in inter-club, Edmonton City, zone, provincial, and ultimately Canadian competitions. In the 1990's Monday Night Business Ladies were added to the Club.
The year 1974 brought renewed hardship to the Club when a tornado passed through the golf course destroying many large trees and the machine shed. The shed was quickly replaced with the butler building, which is used as a cart barn today.
The dream of the original members came true on a day to remember in October 1, 1975. After fifteen years of struggle and hardships the last payment on the land was made and doors were opened for Sturgeon Valley to forge ahead.
Plans for the golf course as advertised in the promotional brochure of the early '60' stated: "Future plans include building a large and inviting golf clubhouse with all facilities, In the meantime, arrangements have been made to use part of the very spacious adjacent farm home for a temporary clubhouse."
Indeed, this house, built in I924, was known as the snug and friendly clubhouse of Sturgeon Valley for 16 years.
On February 6, 1977 the members agreed to the financing of a new Clubhouse. Ground was broken early in the spring of that year. July 22, 1977 marked the closure of the original clubhouse and the opening of the new facility. Sturgeon Valley had outgrown the farm home and the new clubhouse featured a Pro Shop, club storage, locker rooms and full lounge and dining facilities.
There was only one direction that Sturgeon Valley was moving now as the Alberta economy was experiencing some of its best years. In February 1979 a full ten year Master-Plan was accepted by the members for course development. Then on May 28, 1979 at a Special General Meeting, a motion was passed to enter into an Agreement with Fernwood Construction Canada Limited, to trade the property across the road for another parcel of land along the river. Many legal problems delayed start of construction but in 1980 work began on 10 holes that were designed by Bill Robinson.
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Sturgeon Valley in The 1980's "The Continuing Evolution of the Course"
In the late 1970's work began to sell the remaining shares to get to the optimum number of 279 shareholders. The share price was set at $1,500 and proved to be a tougher sell than first anticipated but by 1981 the shares were sold and the Club was set to move forward with a full membership base and a new golf course.
On September 18, 1981 the new course was opened. Members, quests and many others who had figured in the building of Sturgeon Valley, were invited to enjoy golf on the new layout. This new course, complete with a fully automatic watering system, sand base greens and numerous hazards moved Sturgeon Valley to rank among the top local golf courses.
Replacing the remaining older dirt greens started in 1984 with the construction of a new 6th green (which was built behind the original green) and redevelopment of the 8th green in the original location. In addition to this work, board member Martin Kachuk worked with Ducks Unlimited to build a dyke along the right side of the 4th fairway to prevent flooding. In exchange for this work the Club set aside land on the river side of the dyke as a nesting sanctuary for ducks. What made this project special was the price - no cost to the Club.
1985 was the Club's 25th Anniversary which was a wonderful celebration and also introduced a new golf tournament to raise funds for cancer research while having fun on the golf course. The "Fighting Cancer from the Fairway" started as an initiative from the PGA of Alberta and clubs from all over Alberta held tournaments. While other clubs no longer have this type of tournament, Sturgeon Valley continues to run a tournament annually and in 2006 the Canadian Cancer Society recognized the contribution the Club has made. It is estimated that in 24 years of holding the tournament the Club has raised over $100,000.
One major highlight for the Club was the hosting of a celebrity golf tournament in 1986. Hollywood came to raise funds for Shining Light / Child Abuse Charity and the tournament was a great success and lots of fun for the players and the public that came to see the stars. The Stars included Tom Posten, Fred McMurray, June Haver, David Doyle, Robert McCloskey, Leslie Nielson, Jack Kruschen and Mickey Jones.
The 9th green was relocated in 1987. The green was moved back approximately 40 yards and a water hazard was added on the left side of the fairway and left side of green. Bunkering in front and behind protected a small domed green. The river on the right added additional concern for approach shots.
In 1989 a project was started to replace the 2nd and 13th greens improving two short par 4's that had problematic greens. The pond on the right side of 13 was expanded and brought into play on the approach shot and to get material for the green construction. It was also decided to build new tee decks on the 14th hole and new back tee on 15. When the old greens were removed the fairways were re-contoured and excess materials were moved to the 9th fairway which was also reshaped and drainage was installed to address wet fairways. The holes were opened in early 1990.
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Sturgeon Valley in The 1990's "More than a Golf Course"
1991 was time to invest in the clubhouse and a major $800,000 - 11,000 square foot expansion was planned and approved to start in September and opened on April 25th, 1992. The expansion included a new pro shop / club storage area, new locker rooms for men and ladies as well expanding the food service areas to include the "Valley Lounge" and an expanded "Sturgeon Room". A sluggish economy helped keep construction costs lower than budgeted but the biggest saving came when our General Manager, Jerry Fisher put on his deal searching hat and found a restaurant that was going out of business and clubhouse furniture, kitchen equipment and the blue bar were purchased for a fraction of the cost.
Also in 1991 a new maintenance building was built on the north end of the property to replace the aging butler building that was converted for power cart storage.
Flooding in 1997 brought water levels to the valley that hadn't be seen since the 1960's. For most of the first two months of the season the course was a 16 hole layout. The forth hole tee was completely under water and the hole was shortened to a par 4 and the 8th and 9th fairways were flooded. For part of May the 6th hole fairway was also under water but the water receded enough for the hole to be played by the time the course opened for the season. Members made the best of a bad situation and some even suggested the 16 holes had some benefits; scores were lower and they weren't as tired after the round.
The golf course became the focus again in 1998 with construction of new tee boxes on the 3rd and 18th holes and partial replacement of the 18th green.
In 1999 the shareholders approved a club management restructure that introduced a Director of Golf position and transition of the pro shop ownership to the Club.
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Sturgeon Valley in The 2000's "Taking the Club to the Next Level"
In 1999 a project was started to determine what options the Club had in addressing a river erosion problem that was threatening the 9th green. Over the years the riverbank was becoming unstable and a safety issue by the green became a major concern. After reviewing several options the Club elected to rebuild a new green, reconfigure the ponds and connect them with creeks. New tee decks were constructed on the 8th hole including a new forward tee. The riverbank erosion was addressed by installing a rock system and a new signature hole was opened in 2000. The golfing community in Edmonton area soon discovered the new hole and it was recognized as the best 9th hole in the Edmonton area in an Edmonton Journal article. The final product is not only a golf hole that plays tough but is also appealing to look at with the water falls, ponds and river views.
In 2000 the Club began the planning for a major project that had been on the plans for years; paving of the parking lot. In 2001, the membership debated and approved the project which started and was completed in the fall of 2001. The project included the parking lot, cart paths from 9th hole to clubhouse, cart staging area by pro shop and cart path to first tee. Asking golfing members to invest $700,000 for paving was a difficult task but the response after the project was complete suggested this one change alone had moved the Club to a new level in the golfing community.
For next few years the club faced challenges with drought conditions and growing concern with the availability of water particularly from the Sturgeon River. After reviewing several options in 2003 a new reservoir was built between the 3rd and 4th holes and was connected to the main reservoir and as well a back tee deck was added to the 4th hole. This reservoir expanded our water supply to 3 times what was previously available which is equivalent of watering the course for 30-40 days even in drought conditions.
In 2004 the board decided to move forward with a new 17th hole. Concern over a retaining wall that needed to be replaced and needing to address drainage issues from the 10th green area, expanding the pond and replacing one oldest dirt greens on the course lead to a project to rebuild the hole from tee to green. The new hole was officially opened on July 1, 2005 and is considered by many to be the signature hole.
In 2006, a member, Dave Rudge, brought a proposal to the board to redevelop the garden area by the first tee. The staff and volunteer members worked on the project the final result is an area that is inviting and welcoming to public and members. The area also includes a stretching area which is truly unique to Sturgeon Valley Golf and Country Club.
In 2006, the club moved forward with some renovations in the clubhouse with the purchase of new furniture, new paint and carpeting.
In the fall of 2009 the Club started the replacement of the irrigation system as well as the construction of two new forward tees on 9 and 18 to bring the course to a par 72 from all tee decks.
As the Club ends the 2000's work has begun on developing a golf course and club house master plans to define where the Club needs to go in the future.
There are two consistent themes that have kept the club moving forward. The first is a commitment to continuous improvement and the second has been the theme since the club was established to provide a place "where friends meet".
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Fun Facts - This and That's"
Over the years green fees have increased at Sturgeon Valley: in 1962 an eighteen hole ticket was $1 or a day pass $2. This compares to the 1985 fee of $15 and in 2010 fee of $58 for eighteen holes.
One of our Junior Ladies Club Champions is a member of a Ladies Professional Golfers Tour. Samantha Richdale will play on the LPGA tour in 2010 and was the Junior Champion in 1996 and 1997.
How many of the current holes were part of the original 18 hole design? The answer is four. The 10th hole is the original hole with the original dirt green. The 17th hole although rebuilt in 2005 is in the same location. The 18th hole is in the same location but slightly longer (from 436 yards to 440 yards) and the front portion of the green is the original green. The 1st hole is in the same location and the green is original but the tee decks were extended.
How many times has the 9th green being moved? Three times. Original location was a short 315 yard slight dog leg left par 4. In 1987 the hole was moved back approximately 40 yards and a small domed green guarded by bunkers and water left a short but challenging approach shot. In 2000, the green was moved to the current location.
Members play an important role in the changes at the club. The on course washrooms were planned and construction was monitored by Brent Hodgins, the 1st tee project was the idea from Dave Rudge are two examples.
Although some things change, some remain the same. In the documentation from the first 25 years it stated: "In the past twenty-five years the face of Sturgeon Valley has seen many changes from that of a ploughed field to a lush green meadow beside the Sturgeon River. Many of the members can recall highlights that have occurred at one time or another; others can remember the hardships that this club has faced and overcome. Regardless, when all is said and done, the members are proud to proclaim that, they belong to the Sturgeon Valley Golf and Country Club . . . "Where Friends Meet."" Twenty five years later, this still applies. Members recall all the changes the club has made and are proud to proclaim that they are members of Sturgeon Valley Golf and Country Club.
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