Nestled against the Credit River, within shouting distance of Lake Ontario and a mere 17 minutes (without traffic, of course) from downtown Mississauga, lays one of the country’s most iconic and celebrated layouts, The Mississaugua Golf and Country Club. In late September, the same design that Percy Barrett/George Cumming/Donald Ross/Stanley Thompson designed will once again be the site of the World Junior Girls Championship.
How about that for a murderer’s row of golf-course designers?
“The Mississaugua Golf and Country Club has always had a large amateur tournament every four or five years if you look at its history. We are always looking for amateur events to host, and for the World Junior Girls, it was a no-brainer,” explains Mississauga’s Head Teaching Professional Nick Starchuk. “From a member’s perspective, it’s pretty special.”
Six-time the Canadian Open has been played in The Mississaugua Golf and Country Club, with the first two championships won by Walter Hagen (1931) and Sam Snead (1938). Names like Jones, Hogan, Player, Palmer, and Nicklaus have also played the historic links. The club celebrated its centennial year (2006) by hosting the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, which Richard Scott (his third) won.
With such a mountain of great champions in its history, The Mississaugua Golf and Country Club’s pedigree is not lost on those hoping to take the club back to the top.
With a par of 71, 6,100 yards from the back tees (but a more realistic distance for the World Junior Girls is likely to be under 6,000 yards), the course incorporates classic Stanley Thompson greens that will surely challenge and excite anyone who plays. Girls will find it particularly challenging to navigate the holes that meander through the Valley. According to Dennis Firth, Director of Golf, holes four through 15 are particularly strong.
Since 2014, when discussions first began about possibly hosting the event after Angus Glen and The Marshes the last two years, Mississauga has been all-in. Mississauga hopes one of its own will make it to the field as well, not just Brooke Henderson Effect.
The venerable club’s member, Chloe Currie, has joined Team Canada after winning prestigious junior tournaments. Starchuck says, if she makes the team, her Oakville private school will likely take a day off to watch her play, which will be “huge for the club.”
Before his arrival five years ago, Mississauga didn’t have a junior program. Today, it is one of the most successful clubs in the world.
“Many of our juniors compete in regional competitions as well as international competitions. We have a junior program that is not after-school,” he says. “You will be a part of a program that involves playing tournaments, and you will win. Kids at the club have won 10 games this year alone.”
Starchuck claims the team can’t wait to begin the season, regardless of whether Currie makes the team.
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