Presidents Cup 2024
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Celebrating over
150 years of golf

History

Royal Montreal owes its origins to a decision by eight men, then striking gutta-percha balls on Fletcher’s Field in downtown Montreal, to form an independent golf club in 1873. Scottish born Alexander Dennistoun, the Club’s first Captain, would lend his name to the trophy that currently recognizes the men’s club champion. The first female member to join any golf club in North America, Mrs. William Wallace Watson (née Florence Stancliffe) was admitted in 1891. The Club’s location has changed twice since its initial formation, first to Dixie, in the parish of Dorval, in 1896, and then to its current location in Île-Bizard in 1959.

The Royal Connection

In 1884, the Montreal Golf Club added “Royal” to its title, an honorific awarded by Queen Victoria. In the modern day, 66 true “Royal” clubs across the world share this distinction, among them Royal County Down in Ireland, Royal Dornoch in Scotland, and Royal St. George’s and Royal Lytham & St. Annes in England.

Did you know?

In 1896, Royal Montreal moved to the Dixie location, in the parish of Dorval, where it remained until the pressures of urban growth again dictated a decision to move. The clubhouse at Dixie became Queen of Angels Academy for Girls and is now Académie Sainte-Anne. 

Timeline

A walk through Royal Montreal’s history is a fascinating exercise in witnessing the development of the game on this side of Atlantic: