Myrtle Point Golf Club’s course is carved out of the plateau of the coastal mountains and dotted with lakes, streams, ponds and bunkers, and surrounded by trees. Golfers at the location have birdied, bogied, and if lucky, aced their way around 18 holes for 31 years now.
Author and golf enthusiast Hector Beauchesne was a key figure in the construction of the course in the 1990s, along with many others, including the expertise of architect Les Furber. Celebration of the 30-year anniversary of the club happened in 2022, as did 100 years of the creation of the original group that founded the Powell River Golf Club.
“One of our [golf club] members approached me and said that if someone didn’t write about the history of the club, it would be lost,” said Beauchesne. “One reason [they thought I should write a book] was because I was heavily involved in the construction of the Myrtle Point course with a team of a few other people; they are all deceased now, I am the last man standing.”
For three winters Beauchesne worked on what finally became: A Century of Golf in Powell River, 1922 to 2022, with proceeds of the book going to support the junior golf club at Myrtle Point Golf Club.
With the help from information found through qathet Museum and Archives, Beauchesne uncovered a fascinating history of golf on the northern Sunshine Coast.
“The original Powell River Golf Club was formed in November 1922,” said Beauchesne. “Folks started immediately building four golf holes in the Townsite (Tis’kwat) course close to the mill.”
In the 1920s, the pulp and paper mill (first newsprint manufacturer in western Canada) expanded, along with the now historic Townsite neighbourhood (designated a national historic site of Canada in 1995), a professionally planned town with wood-framed houses that climb up a hill behind the expansive and enormous pulp and paper mill (Paper Excellence permanently closed Catalyst Paper Tis’kwat in August 2023).
“At one time the Powell River golf course was on company land close to the mill, and the last holes in Townsite were moved in the 1970s,” said Beauchesne. “The problem was that as the mill expanded, it kept eating up into the [golf] holes.”
The mill in Townsite leased the land to the golf club for $1 a year, which existed for almost 70 years. Beauchesne found out there was a long history of the golf course being reconstructed from north to south, moving the course farther from the mill, and eventually to where the club and course currently reside at 2865 McCausland Road.
Beauchesne began golfing as a youngster and said it was an uncle who got him interested in the sport. He started golfing more seriously in the 1950s while in Duncan, and became involved on the board of the Powell River Golf Club in 1986, and soon started planning construction of the now Myrtle Point Golf Club.
“We [club members] decided to build the 18-hole course at Myrtle Point, “said Beauchesne. “We are the same society and organization, but the name simply changed, and the course moved from one location to another.”
Meaning that, Beauchesne is part of the legacy and history of the original Powell River Golf Club that existed more than 100 years ago. The land was purchased in 1988 and the first front-nine holes opened in 1991, with the back nine opening the following year.
Building, planning and acquiring the land was no easy task.
“First of all the planning involved a feasibility study and market survey,” said Beauchesne. “Then there was the work of acquiring the land and raising money for the construction of the course.”
A Century of Golf in Powell River, 1922 to 2022, is Beauchesne’s first officially published book and includes archival photos (he acquired from qathet Museum and Archives) and some aerial photos he took of the Myrtle Point course. The book can be purchased at Myrtle Point Golf Club, and there is a copy at Powell River Public Library, where the author will be giving a talk about his book on Tuesday, November 14, at 2 pm.
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