From the Archives

James Alexander Barclay

Renowned as one of Canada’s pre-eminent golf historians, James Alexander Barclay is most famous for authoring Golf in Canada: A History. This book is referred to as Canada’s finest golf chronicle. Born on October 29, 1923 in Glasgow, Scotland, Barclay moved around the world and was a member of many different clubs: Abadan Golf Club, Iran (1947-1951); Clandeboyne, Northern Ireland (1949-1968); Little Aden, Yemen (1954-1964); Kanawaki Golf Club, Quebec (1968-1980); and St. George’s Golf and Country Club, Toronto (1980-2011). Barclay has other notable works; Canada’s Professional Golfers – The Scottish Invasion of 1881-1933; The Toronto Terror: The Life and Times of Stanley Thompson Golf Course Architect; and St. George’s Golf & Country Club, Celebrating 75 Years (Published in 2004). He was inducted into the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame in 2006, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 2008 and St. George’s Golf & Country Club Hall of Fame in 2011. Barclay passed away on December 3rd, 2011 at the age of 88.

Gayle Borthwick

The daughter of a golf professional, Gayle Borthwick has proven she knows a thing or two about golf over the past 40 years. Gayle moved to British Columbia from Saskatchewan as a teen where she won the provincial title and the Canadian Women's Amateur in 1962. She won the Australian Two-Ball Championship with Betty Stanhope Cole in 1963 and has earned three United States Senior Women’s Championships (1996, 1998, and 1999). She later moved to Ontario, where she has won two Ontario Ladies’ Amateur titles and six Ontario Senior Ladies’ Championships. Gayle now generously donates her time as a volunteer in golf administration and fundraising.

Bruce Forbes

Born on April 18th, 1922 in Branford, Ontario, Bruce Forbes dedicated more than 50 years of his life to administering and improving the game of golf in Canada. He was elected President of RCGA (now Golf Canada) in 1965 and hired as its executive director in 1970. Forbes was also a great ambassador of golf, as he was a non-playing captain for some of Canada’s most successful international teams in 1972 and 1974-77. He forged a new sponsorship direction for the Canadian Open and oversaw the associaitons move to Glen Abbey. Forbes was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1987, nine years after he was elected an Honorary Lifetime Governor of the Royal Canadian Golf Association. Forbes passed away on October 5th, 2001 at the age of 79.

Henry Martell

A fine teacher of the game, Henry Martell led by example with a prolific tournament record that featured wins at four Alberta and Saskatchewan Opens, nine Alberta Amateurs and victories in the Canadian Amateur and two CPGA Championships. His first important win came at the 1935 Edmonton City Amateur when he was 22, while his final victory, the 1971 CPGA Senior came when he was 59. One of Martell’s most famous students was Betty Stanhope Cole, who turned out to be one of Canada’s most successful women amateur golfers. Martell was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1982 and passed away five years later at the age of 74.

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All photos courtesy of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum.