Point of Interest 7 of the Rawdon Lake Aquatic Tour
The Rawdon Golf Resort can be spotted on the lake by its large pier; the pier is located on the east shore, upstream from the beach and Nichol Park.
According to the Rawdon Golf Resort, it is the largest pier in the Lanaudière and Laurentians regions. Visitors can dock there and access the golf course restaurant.
Located directly on the shores of Rawdon Lake, the Rawdon Golf Resort has become a year-round tourist resort, combining golf, lodging and various outdoor activities, such as hiking, cross-country skiing and relaxation in nature. This versatility allows the resort to attract visitors throughout the year. (1)
History of the Golf Club
Around 1910, Montréal developers began planning a major resort project (2). This project spanned across 1,000 acres of land. They entrusted the planning to landscape architect Rickson Outhet. Trained at the school of Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of landscape architecture, Rickson Outhet developed a concept that included several green spaces, including a nine-hole golf course (outlined in red on the plan).
The project faced several obstacles. The “Rawdon Heights Golf and Country Club” did not open its nine-hole course to golfers until 1926.
Among this select group of century-old clubs, the Rawdon Golf Resort is the oldest golf club in the Matawinie regional county municipality, and perhaps even in the Lanaudière region.
Its clubhouse has undergone several changes over the years. Alain Chaput, a specialist in the history of golf in Quebec, has extensive knowledge of the clubhouses built during that era. He confirms that this clubhouse can be described as “very beautiful, even magnificent.” At the time, it already offered lodging and dining services. Around 9 p.m. on Saturday, October 21, 1950, a fire broke out and engulfed the clubhouse. Unfortunately, the firefighters were unable to bring the blaze under control. In less than an hour, the fire had completely destroyed the building. It was rebuilt in a more modern style and expanded on more than one occasion.
Over the years, the Rawdon Heights Golf & Country Club underwent several name changes but remained, for all practical purposes, the property of two families, the Finlaysons and the Scotts.
In 1981, Gordon Scott made the Finlayson family’s dream a reality. He added 9 holes to the course, bringing it to 18 holes—the standard worldwide (2)(3). The design of this second 9-hole section was entrusted to Albert Henry Murray, a golfer and distinguished course designer. However, this expansion led to the disappearance of the famous hole no. 7, which was over 700 yards long and considered at the time to be the longest in North America (3).
Sources
- Rawdon Golf Resort. Other summer activities, Website accessed May 4, 2026. URL : https://rawdongolfresort.com/fr/activites/club-nautique
- Société d’histoire de Rawdon. Section 1 : Introduction and Corporate history. p. 3-19. Website accessed June 12, 2026. URL : https://www.histoirederawdon.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Golf-de-Rawdon-Introduction-et-histoire-corporative.pdf.
- Société d’histoire de Rawdon. Section 2, The Golf course, p. 25. Website accessed June 12, 2026. URL: https://www.histoirederawdon.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Golf-de-Rawdon-Introduction-et-histoire-corporative.pdf