100 Memories for 100 Years
1926-2026
This year, in 2026, the Rawdon Golf Resort is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the opening of its golf club. As part of the celebrations marking this centennial, the Rawdon Golf Resort is proud of and wants to share the rich history of its golf club. At the request of the Rawdon Golf Resort, the Société d’histoire de Rawdon undertook, in May 2025, a major research project aimed at documenting the history of this golf club known under the name of “Rawdon Heights Golf & Country Club” when it was founded. This history will be recounted by Alain Chaput, Quebec golf historian and collaborator of the Société d’histoire de Rawdon.
Lecture: Alain Chaput, Quebec golf historian
Date: Sunday, March 29, 2026, 1:30 p.m.
Place: Rawdon Golf Resort
3999 Lakeshore Drive, Rawdon
The links below will take you to excerpts from Alain Chaput’s lecture and to the document recounting this story. As the document is quite large (7.72 MB) and contains several photographs and images, it has been split into seven sections, each under 2 MB.
The "History of the Rawdon Golf Resort / Rawdon Golf Club" document
Download the seven sections by clicking on the seven green links for the French version of the document and on the seven blue links for the English version of the document:
A summary of the history
Founded in 1926, the Rawdon Heights Golf and Country Club, now known as Rawdon Golf Resort, is celebrating in 2026 a century of history closely linked to the development of Rawdon and the surrounding area. Born out of an ambitious resort project that started at the beginning of the 20th century, the club became, over the following decades, an inescapable place for social gatherings, sport and community life.
Marked by periods of challenges, transformations and innovations, the club was able to evolve thanks to the commitment of visionary families (the Scotts and the Finlaysons), passionate members and dedicated staff. From its original nine-hole course to the current eighteen-hole course, and from its first log clubhouse to today’s hotel complex, the Rawdon Golf Resort embodies a history of resilience, adaptability and friendliness.
A 148-page (7.72 MB) document traces the milestones of this centennial adventure, highlighting the people, places and events that shaped the unique identity of the Rawdon Golf Resort and opening a window on the vision of the club for the next century.
The beginnings of the history
Among the first golf clubs in Quebec to have welcomed golfers, and probably the oldest golf club in the Matawinie regional county municipality and even in the Lanaudière region, the Rawdon Golf Resort has a fascinating history. This history began nearly 15 years before the club opened, when developers undertook to get the land needed for the layout of the course. These developers had lofty ambitions and planned a major tourism development project, with the construction of a dam, the creation of Rawdon Lake and the layout of a golf course. They bought over 1,000 acres of land and entrusted the planning of its development to renowned landscape architect Rickson Outhet.
This project would not be carried out without its share of difficulties. Because of the laws at the time, the developers had to convince the Rawdon municipal council to authorize the layout of a golf course. They obtained this authorization in April 1925. Following two bankruptcies, the assets of the two companies were purchased by the Rawdon Land & Construction Company owned by George Ainslie Finlayson. Over the years, the Rawdon Heights Golf & Country Club changed names several times but, for all practical purposes, remained the property of two families, the Finlaysons and the Scotts. With the contributions of these two families, the golf club course went from nine holes to eighteen, to the delight of many golfers. The design of the expansion of the course would be entrusted to distinguished golfer and golf course designer Albert Henry Murray. This expansion would, however, result in the elimination of its famous hole no. 7 of more than 700 yards, considered to be the longest hole in North America.
There are many other stories to tell. Other topics likely to be of interest to both golfers and general public include:
- the Municipality’s unprecedented role and an unusual lease;
- the clubhouse and other buildings;
- the Finlayson and Scott families;
- the distinctive features of the course;
- the course designers: Rickson Outhet and Albert Murray;
- exceptional members and staff;
- sporting feats;
- economic impact of project
- and many others.
