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Golf Course Infrasturcture RefurbishmentEnhancement ProjectLONDON HUNT AND COUNTRY CLUB&

VISION“Our vision is to be one of the premier private golf and country clubs in Canada offering an exceptional total Membership experience.” MISSION“The London Hunt and Country Club is a family focused Club providing it’s Members with an exceptional golf course complemented by first class dining facilities. To enhance the enjoyment of Members, the Club includes such programs as tennis, trap and skeet, fitness and social activities.”VISION, MISSION

OUR STORYThe story of the London Hunt and Country Club is one of vision and commitment spanning over 130 years dating back to March 30, 1885 when a group of stalwart eques-trians formally organized civilian hunting buffs into the London Hunt Club. Over the years, amenities such as golf, tennis, trap and skeet and fitness were added to en-hance the Membership experience. With a history of its Members excelling in business, athletic and charitable arenas, it’s no wonder the Club continues to host guests from all over the world. As you will learn in looking through more than twelve decades of history, times change, but our commitment to providing Members with the most exceptional Membership experience offered does not. Pre 1885The origin of the London Hunt may be traced back to the city’s “garrison period”, and is popularly cited as May 9, 1843. On that day a famous military steeplechase took place that dramatically illustrated local interest in equestrian sports, including fox hunting, which had begun in this area during the previous autumn.

OUR STORY1885 – 1950It was actually on March 30, 1885, though, that the London Hunt Club was formally organized. Hound Kennels and a Clubhouse were soon established in converted farm buildings on Western Road at the present site of the Federal Agricultural Institute. Other early activities of the Club included lawn tennis, bowling and archery. By the turn of the century the Club had moved to a nearby location at the corner of what is now Richmond Street and Windermere Road, and with the provision of a 9-hole golf links was re-designated in 1904 as The London Hunt and Country Club. Tennis was revived in 1906 when two grass courts were constructed. In 1917 the golf course was expanded to 18 holes through the lease of a portion of the adjoining new campus which had been acquired by The University of Western Ontario. The tennis courts were abandoned in 1930 in order to convert the space into a parking lot for the increasing number of vehicles at the Club. Two years later trapshooting was introduced as an off-season activity.

OUR STORY1950 – 2015In 1951, because of the encroachment of residential development surrounding the London Hunt’s property, the Hunt Kennels were moved to a new location east of Hyde Park. In 1965 the same reason forced the Hunt to move to another location, at the north east corner of the Denfield Side Road and the Sixth Concession Road of London Township. Aware that Western’s expansion during the 1950’s would eventually jeopardize its course, the Club purchased from the London Health Association some 275 acres (111 hectares) at the west end of Oxford Street. Robert Trent Jones designed a 27-hole golf course, 18 of which were completed in 1959. The following spring the Hunt Club moved to its present attractive setting. In 1970 tennis courts were constructed and the game rapidly proved popular with a large number of Members again. In 2000, the golf course was renovated by Rees Jones, son of original designer Robert Trent Jones and in the fall of 2014 the Clubhouse underwent its largest renovation to date which was completed in 2015 and included the addition of a terrace, new restaurant, expanded banquet facilities, fitness studio and facility, new locker rooms and a new Pro Shop.

In 1958 the Club engaged Robert Trent Jones Sr. to design a 27 hole course and in 1960 our current 18-hole, 7200 yard championship golf course was completed. Jones was one of golf ’s most prolific architects, creating or remodeling more than 350 courses, including more courses for national championships than any other golf architect. The list of just his US Open venues includes Atlanta Athletic Club, Baltusrol, Bellerive, Broadmoor,Congressional, Hazeltine, Oak Hill, Oakland Hills, Olympic Club, Country Club of Rochester, and Southern Hills.The course was updated and renovated by his son Rees Jones in 2000.Set on 267 stunning acres, the course meets all the classic Robert Trent Jones Sr. characteristics.Trait One: Fairways Framed With BunkersTrait Two: Large GreensTrait Three: Bold Use of Water HazardsCOURSEOVERVIEW

Our Championship course has evolved and improved over the years with the last major renovation completed in 2000.Since that time, our irrigation system has shown itself to be severely out of date, the bunker aged sand is well past its replacement date, there remain significant drainage issues, and the grasses composing the greens have developed into a mix of bent and a very young, weak variety of poa – all issues that require addressing in the very near future or the high level of quality that our membership expects will be put at risk.In implementing a new irrigation system it is imperative to be built in coordination with any drainage enhancements, bunker adjustments, course routing changes or golf course design adjustments. To complete an irrigation system in isolation would be an inefficient and ineffective exercise. As a result, the Long Range Golf Course Master Plan Committee was created.In 2017, we reviewed a select group of best in class architects and unanimously chose one that had the experience and the resume to guide us through this journey.Drs. Mike and Chris Hurdzan have guided us through developing our long range plan and will continue to guide us through its implementation, drawing on their years of experience in course construction and restoration.LONG RANGE PLAN

The Mandate of the Committee was to engage the proper experts to work with our first class operations team to create, plan and cost an appropriate plan to address the courses continued weaknesses, being theirrigation system, the bunkering, the drainage, greens reliability and to identify any areas of improvement to the course that may not be apparent to the casual member.Over the past several years, Drs Hurdzan and Club Management engaged and worked with experts in every facet of course operations including the premier drainage experts, irrigation consultants, irrigationmanufacturers, arborists, sand manufacturers, bunker liner manufacturers, and the USGA on several occasions (who reviewed light and shade issues, grass analysis, greens composition analysis, fairway analysis, tee analysis and more).The Committee ensured it kept clear to its mandate and heeded the words of Alister MacKenzie in 1933:“It is a rather extraordinary thing that members of golf committees, themselves men of intelligence, experience and frequently specialists in different lines, when it comes to consideration of the task involved in remodeling the club course, will turn to seek the advice of persons whose only qualification in matters pertaining to golf is the ability to play a good game. Granted that the play of such persons is probably a fitting measure by which to judge the merit of a course, the fact still remains that worthwhile course designing is a matter for specialists in that line. And the stature of the specialist is determined by the character of work which he has turned out.”THE MANDATE

MIKE AND CHRIS HURDZANBorn into the coal and steel proletariat of 1940s West Virginia, Dr. Col. Michael J. Hurdzan (R-USAR Special Forces) found himself well outside the gates of the local country club.Seven decades later, he became the fifth person in golf to achieve the non-playing “Grand Slam” as recipient of the highest honor from his industry’s “Big 3”: the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, the American Society of Golf Course Architects and the Golf Course Builders Association of America. Today, there are now seven on that list: Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson, Robert Trent Jones, Sr., Rees Jones, Pete Dye and Dr. Hurdzan.Dr. Christopher M. Hurdzan was born into golf architecture, a curious fact in that it is one of the few not shared with his father/business partner. He swung his first club at three, joined his father on course construction visits at six, became the youngest participant in an American Society of Golf Course Architects annual meeting (St. Andrews, Scotland) at 13 and joined the payroll of his father’s firm at 15.Patience, observation, and access to his father’s world renowned architectural library replete with the classic texts of “Golden Age Masters” has convinced Dr. Hurdzan that the foundation of all elegant design – be it sports cars, English gardens or golf courses – is “complexity cloaked in simplicity”.MEET THEARCHITECTS

MEET THE ARCHITECTSTHE COURSESThe Hurdzan name is on many of golf’s most famous courses including the following.Country Club of DarienSite of the 2018 PGA Met Match Play ChampionshipErin HillsSite of the 2017 US Open Championship.The Ottawa Hunt and Golf ClubSite of the 2017 LPGA Canadian Pacific Women’s Open.The Philadelphia Cricket Club - Wissahickon CourseSite of the 2015 PGA Professional National Championship.Devil’s Paintbrush and Devil’s PulpitRanked #10 and #25 in Canada in 2020Georgian Bay ClubRanked #48 in Canada in 2020

A MESSAGE FROM THE ARCHITECTS