Royal Mayfair

[Dan Herrmann]

Watching a bit of golf from Royal Mayfair up in Edmonton.  Looks like another Stanley Thompson gem.  

Any info on the course?   Shame the season is so short up there because it looks much more interesting than Liberty National.

[Tyler Kearns]

Dan,

The course was originally designed by Stanley Thompson, although it received a substantial overhaul by Les Furber.  I took a tour of the course when in town for a wedding and all of the ponds and modern bunkers certainly didn't evoke its classic heritage and distracted from what looked like a pretty good course and are not in keeping with Thompson's style.  I don't know if any of the greens have been altered or the routing changes during the renovations.

TK

[Dan Herrmann]

Good info.  Proves you can only tell so much from TV

[Jeff_Mingay]

I'm in Edmonton right now, only a few kilometers from Mayfair (that "Royal" thing is relatively new!).

Trust me, there's no Stanley Thompson left there, at Mayfair, except probably a number of hole corridors he made. Unfortunate, really. Mayfair has potential and a great location, in the heart of one of Canada's most prosperous cities, along the well drained shore of the North Saskatchewan River...

[Dan Herrmann]

OT - But I think the "Empire's" naming of things as "Royal" is pretty goofy.  Who cares if the Queen had lunch there 15 years ago! 

[Jon Wiggett]

Dan,

the 'Royal' thing is only given to clubs with some sort of close association with the royal family not just because someone happened to have lunch there so I am sure the is a good reason .

Jon

[Martin Toal]

Dan,

the 'Royal' thing is only given to clubs with some sort of close association with the royal family not just because someone happened to have lunch there so I am sure the is a good reason .

Jon

I wonder who visited this place in Vegas, then. It was called 'Royal' before Prince Harry's famous visit:

http://www.royallinksgolfclub.com

[Tony Ristola]

Dan,

the 'Royal' thing is only given to clubs with some sort of close association with the royal family not just because someone happened to have lunch there so I am sure the is a good reason .

Jon

I wonder who visited this place in Vegas, then. It was called 'Royal' before Prince Harry's famous visit:

http://www.royallinksgolfclub.com

One is a Commonwealth country, the other not. You can't just up and "Royal" your golf course in Commonwealth countries.

Played the Alberta Am at Mayfair 30+ years ago... all I recall is getting one fried egg after another... new sand in the bunkers before the tournament.

[Don Hyslop]

Here is an explanation from the RCGA about the royal designation.
"The Royal Mayfair will give it more than just a major feel. There’ll be a royal atmosphere. A year ago the club was granted the Royal designation from Queen Elizabeth II, the only club in Alberta and one of just five in Canada able to call itself Royal. Among the requirements to earn the title, a club has to show an association with the Royal Family and for the Mayfair that was as easy as hitting one of its 91 sand traps. In 1927 the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, played the course along with his brother, Prince George. In 1978 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited the club along with sons Andrew and Edward. And in 2002, Prince Michael of Kent was a guest at a club dinner. This year the royalty will be the best female golfers in the world trying to tame the layout originally designed by Thompson and Tommy Morrison and redesigned in 1989 by Les Furber. "

A little more about the history of the Royal Mayfair.

http://www.rcga.org/gc_article.aspx?x=kr4Ze2rQmSzNrZhKqUY4%2BGpDoWGBvFwtOXaKHOJUVkzWYuN7GLHwOKQZe2xymJlPajPRGzjOpYo%3D&view=past

This write up was done prior to th 2007 CN Women's Open.

[Charlie Gallagher]

   As long as Stanley Thompson is being discussed, I have to say that I was unfamiliar with his work until I played St Georges, and Highland Links
three weeks ago. I know that those two courses offer only a tiny sample of his efforts, but I found his thoughtful work on each to be stellar. The routing at both courses is terrific, I think especially so at Ingonish, as the site is quite mountainous. The greens and bunkering, along with the curvature of his fairways offer strategy and high aesthetic appeal. The holes fit into the land seamlessly, which is especially amazing at Highlands, because the site is so rugged.
    I'm disappointed to learn that Royal Mayfair has been denuded of his handiwork. Having seen only two of his courses, I consider Thompson to have elite design skill, right up there with several of the other golden age titans of architecture. Canada is very fortunate to have had him impact course construction nationally.

[Wayne_Kozun]

One is a Commonwealth country, the other not. You can't just up and "Royal" your golf course in Commonwealth countries.

Actually you can, but it doesn't mean that you club is a true "Royal" club.  Examples in the Toronto area of "fake" Royal clubs are Royal Woodbine and Royal Ashburn.

Apparently true Royal clubs have reciprocals - so if you belong to Royal Mayfair you can play for free at Royal Melbourne.  

But I know from experience that it is not very easy to get a true Royal designation these days.

[Tom Forsythe]

I caught on a comment on the CBC broadcast today about Ted Locke having done some recent design changes to the course as well.

[Martin Toal]

Dan,

the 'Royal' thing is only given to clubs with some sort of close association with the royal family not just because someone happened to have lunch there so I am sure the is a good reason .

Jon

I wonder who visited this place in Vegas, then. It was called 'Royal' before Prince Harry's famous visit:

http://www.royallinksgolfclub.com

One is a Commonwealth country, the other not. You can't just up and "Royal" your golf course in Commonwealth countries.

Yes, I knew that (living in the UK and all). It was just a little joke. That course in Vegas may be many things, but Royal it ain't.

Although I did get to play 'The Road Hole' in 100 degree weather, which is unusual.

[Tyler Kearns]

One is a Commonwealth country, the other not. You can't just up and "Royal" your golf course in Commonwealth countries.

Actually you can, but it doesn't mean that you club is a true "Royal" club.  Examples in the Toronto area of "fake" Royal clubs are Royal Woodbine and Royal Ashburn.

Apparently true Royal clubs have reciprocals - so if you belong to Royal Mayfair you can play for free at Royal Melbourne.  

But I know from experience that it is not very easy to get a true Royal designation these days.

Wayne,

Agreed about the reciprocal benefits of a "royal" designation, but it is not automatic.  According to Royal Mayfair's website, the club has reciprocal arrangements with the following royal clubs (no Royal Melbourne);

Royal Ascot Golf Club
Royal Blackheath Golf Club
Royal Calcutta Golf Club
Royal Colwood Golf Club
Royal County Down Golf Club
Royal Durban Golf Club
Royal Eastbourne Golf Club
Royal Golf Club
Royal Guernsey Golf Club
Royal Hobart Golf Club
Royal Jersey Golf Club
Royal Montreal Golf Club
Royal North Devon Golf Club
Royal Norwich Golf Club
Royal Ottawa Golf Club
Royal Perth Golf Club
Royal Port Alfred Golf Club
Royal Quebec
Royal Regina Golf Club
Royal Troon Golf Club

TK

[Wayne_Kozun]

That's strange as the reciprocals listed on Royal Colwood's web site (https://www.royalcolwood.org/Membership/Reciprocal-Clubs.aspx) include Royal Melbourne, and Royal Dornoch.

[Tyler Kearns]

Wayne,

I was surprised too.  I played Royal Melbourne with a couple visiting from Royal Colwood and they explained the reciprocal arrangement between the "royal" clubs and it was along the lines you mentioned in an earlier post.

TK

[Scott Macpherson]

HI,

I don't want to sabotage this thread, but I am writing a book on the golf clubs that have received the prefix "Royal" from the British Sovereigns. Mayfair is in the book along with 64 others. The book will be out early next year.

Mayfair got the title in October 2005.

regards,


Scott

[Wayne_Kozun]

Scott - what was the most recent club to get royal status?  Is it Mayfair or have there been others since then?

[Scott Macpherson]

Hi Wayne,

I will start another thread about this interesting subject soon, but to answer your question, there have been two more clubs to get the royal title since Mayfair, Royal Auckland Golf Club (in New Zealand) and Royal Homburger Golf Club (in Germany) that received the title on 8 April 2013.

regards,

Scott

[Gary Slatter]

I was there last week for the LPGA event, which was excellent, great field, well run, and a perfect course for the world,s best women.
The course looks quite different from the one I played in the 1970s, but it is an IMPROVEMENT everywhere excepting the edges of the water hazards.  It  was also too lush although the fairways were running fast.  Excellent members course!

Jeff. They played for the fairway bunkers from a few tees, better  than the rough.

[Tim Johnson]

Played Royal Ashburn yesterday. Great course. I asked the owner about the Royal and it was granted by the Canadian government and not the royals.

[Don Hyslop]

All appointments are done through Her Majesty's Government which in this case is the Canadian Government. Here is the Royal connection.

In September of 1999, The Royal Ashburn Golf Club was the privileged host of His Royal Highness Prince Andrew Duke of York. Prince Andrew visited our facility to attend the Grove Golf Tournament of Lakefield College School, where Prince Andrew was once a student and continues as a trustee.

The Prince started the golf tournament and launched the millennium bursary for Lakefield College

[Sven Nilsen]

Originally a Ross?  Timing fits, with Thompson arriving later to renovate the course.

Sept. 24, 1920 Edmonton Journal -

[Tyler Kearns]

Sven,


Interesting find.  I took a look at the notes for Mayfair on the Stanley Thompson definitive course list (project started by Ian Andrew, which many of us helped do some research on), and the Canadian Golfer (Oct. 1920) states that the course was laid out by "an expert" but doesn't appear to mention Donald Ross. 


The course opened for play in 1922, however, according to Canadian Golfer (April 1940), it suffered a lack of "certain desirable features in design was recognized and in 1927 Mr. Stanley Thompson was hired to reroute and redesign the course".


Tyler

[Jeff_Mingay]

Donald Ross of Montreal, Canada? Strange.