An early reference to the possibility of establishing a golf course in Fernie appeared in a 1916 edition of the Creston Review. Then on April 12, 1918, several curling club members met in the law offices Herchmer & Martin and decided to create a golf course at the north end of the town. A committee of volunteers was quickly formed to lay out and to construct the course. Donations from local citizens raised $500 that allowed the work to begin on land donated by the Crows Nest Coal Company. The Fernie Free Press asked for volunteers to help build the course and it was reported that many citizens turned out to help.
| Fernie Free Press Articles Trace the Fernie Golf Club’s Beginnings in 1918 | ||
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The original course consisted of nine holes located just south of a Great Northern Railway spur line. Today, a line of tall fir trees along the southern edge of the Fernie High School marks the location of the old railway line. Prentice Park, with the high school playing fields, now occupies the site of those original holes. The opening of the course was commemorated with an 18 hole match with Sandy Watson and R.M. Young defeating Alan Graham and Sherwood Herchmer. It is likely that these founding members carried the love of the game from their Scottish heritage.