Waskesiu Golf Course and Clubhouse

The Waskesiui Golf Course was designed by the renowned Stanley Thompson and built by relief camp workers in the 1930s. 

The beautiful log and stone clubhouse, designed in “Tudor Rustic” style by the national parks architectural division, also dates to this time.

More history the golf course can be seen at www.waskesiugolf.com. 

The annual golf tournament is named after the iconic tree which stands in the middle of the first fairway.

A lobstick tree was used by aboriginal peoples as a marker or sign post. They cut it into a distinct shape by trimming branches off. 

The Lobstick tournament includes events for women, men, seniors, and juniors. Trophies in the clubhouse show the names of many excellent golfers who have won over the years. 

Entertaining stories have come from this tournament including this one about a young woman golfer, Margaret (Esson) Elliott, told by her husband William Elliott in Waskesiu Memories Volume II edited by Dorell Taylor.  

“…Margaret won the Ladies’ Tournament six times in 1938, 1940, 1944, 1945, 1946 and 1947. When she won it in 1938 she had just turned seventeen years old. Her golf history is quite remarkable for she won the senior provincial ladies’ championship for the first time in 1936 only six weeks after she turned fifteen years old. This is a Canadian record, for no woman has ever been a senior provincial champion anywhere in Canada at such a young age.” 

“My parents, Jim and Louise Cripps, lived at Waskesiu for nearly thirty-seven years. Dad was the greenskeeper on the golf course. The course was a source of pride for him. During Lobstick tournaments Dad would be up about 3:30 a.m. making sure the fairways were cut and watered and the greens were like carpets. The watering was done during the night so there were crews of men moving the sprinklers. Another area of his expertise was the flowerbeds around the government buildings. He and his men planted many hundreds of pansies, petunias, marigolds and lobelia.”

Told by June (Cripps) Epp in Waskesiu Memories, Volume II, edited by Dorell Taylor

The signature lobstick tree, planted in 1935 on the first fairway of the Waskesiu Golf Course died of old age.

It was replaced in a community ceremony attended by hundreds of people in September of 2013. 

Engraved slices of the original tree were sold as souvenirs. The replacement tree is being allowed to establish itself before the branches are trimmed to create the iconic lobstick shape. 

Read more about Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe, working, golfing, and winning on this course.