About Us.

The Collicutt Siding Story...

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In May of 1988 the Town of Crossfield, under the leadership of Mayor Ed Murray purchased the W½ of Sec. 23-28-1-W5 from John and Kathleen Cornish for the purpose of using the effluent water from the Town. It was during this process that Council member Keith Adams went to an AUMA meeting in Edmonton and received a suggestion that the most beneficial way to get rid of the effluent was in irrigation of a Golf Course. John Cornish had wanted to build a golf course on this land and had talked to regional planners about the project. When John decided not to go forth, he sold the land to the Town. 

On August 23, 1989 a gathering was held at the Community Hall concerning a proposed Golf Course. On August 30, 1989, Keith Adams, George Schultz, Gordon Snyder, Dave Scott, Jack Beddoes and Darryl McLafferty signed a request to become a society with the objective of designing, building and operating a golf course. Councilor Keith Adams presented three plans to Town Council in November 1989. 1) The quickest way would be for the Town to build the course, possibly starting in the Spring of 1990; 2) By private investor; 3) Having the Golf Course Society develop and build a course. The decision at that time was to go to a private developer. Lease agreements could not be made between the Town and interested parties so the idea was put on hold until 1993. 

On July 21, 1993 a request to again obtain Society status was signed by Gordon Snyder, Bob Wood, Doug Steele, Reita Hurt, Hal Koop and Ed Murray and sent off to the Government Registry. On July 28, 1993, The Collicutt Siding Golf Club was approved and registered as a Society. The name for the society evolved from the connections to the railway. Crossfield was named after an engineer-surveyor who worked on the Calgary/Edmonton railway. Collicutt Siding named after Frank Collicutt, one of the original settlers in the area, was the rail line that went west of Crossfield through Madden and Dog Pound, terminating in Cremona. The land is situated just south of this rail line and borders the existing Calgary/Edmonton rail line to the east.

The original steering committee and subsequent Board Members have dedicated many long hours of planning and labor to reach the point where they are today. The steering committee went out into the community to sell debentures of $1,200.00 to get a start. These were on sale until the end of December. In the process of setting up the Society legal advice was obtained and they were advised that according to the Societies Act, neither the society nor it members can make a profit. The best way to deal with this was to turn the debentures into membership in the society. Letters were sent out to the debenture holders and those people who did not want to become a member of the society were requested to apply for a refund forthwith.

The inaugural meeting of the Collicutt Siding Golf Club was held on Friday, January 28, 1994. As of this date 149 memberships had been sold. It was decided that a yearly membership fee be paid and anyone owning a joint membership would need to have the membership put into one name. The membership must be sold back to the club and redemption of any membership could not take place for five years. A motion was made at that meeting that the next 50 memberships be sold for $1,400.00. A Board of Directors (15 in Total) was elected. This consisted of the expanded Steering Committee plus nominations from the floor. Of the fifteen members, five were elected for a 1 year term, five for a 2 year term and five for a 3 year term. All subsequent members would be elected for a 3 year term so that not all members would be going off at the same time.

Mr. Ed Nolin was hired to oversee the preparation and construction of the first nine holes. Board Members and Community members spent countless hours volunteering to help build the course. Everything from picking rocks to giving their expertise in the chosen profession. Donations of all kinds came in; rocks, sand, loam, fuel tanks, electrical supplies, signs and the offices of the Esso and Shell Bulk dealers when they were forced to move to the industrial area of Town. These two buildings became the Clubhouse and washroom facilities until the new clubhouse opened in 2011. Local farmers would come and put the crop in and take it off with their own machinery on the land not being utilized for the first nine holes. The proceeds would be donated back to the club which helped a lot with early expenses. Don Beddoes was a major contributor; cutting prices on the construction as well as donating culverts and other materials when necessary.

Funds were raised in a number of ways. Members would work the bar at different functions held in the community and then donate the proceeds. Casinos have been a major fund raiser for the club. These started in Red Deer with about 6 people working for 2 long days and nights to make anywhere from two to five thousand dollars. In 1999 we were moved to Frank Sisson's in Calgary and have about 20 volunteers for the two days and pull in as much as $40,000.00. Grants have also been a major source of income to the Club. Several different Board members have worked diligently to obtain the much needed revenue for the construction and operation of the course. Our MLA's were instrumental in this process as well.

In February of 1994 Rob Dyer was hired as Grounds keeper with helpers Cindy Simpson and Ryan O'Hara. In April of 1994 the driving range opened with Frank Heck and Elaine Daley volunteering their time to sit at the Clubhouse.

Darlene Butterfield was hired to run the Clubhouse when the course opened for business in August of 1995. Our Grand Opening was August 27th, 1995 with a tournament organized by the Board Members. In 1997 Dean Dahl took over managing the Club House until the end of August 1999, when George Schultz took the position of Supervisor.

The membership grew and upgrades were constantly being done. New machinery was purchased and a total of 18 power cars were acquired by the end of 1999 (now we have 70). The Club was doing well and plans for the Back nine were underway. With the help of Robert Kains designs, Don Beddoes doing the ground work and Jeff Shaw working out the wrinkles the back nine started to take shape. Work progressed with the back nine and it came into operation in the spring of 2003.  Faces were changing as well. Tim Jochems was hired in 2000 as course mechanic and Bob Choma became the new Grounds Superintendent in January of 2001. Bruce Schroter took over from George Schultz who stayed on to be a grounds keeper and handyman. Joel Monk was hired as Head Pro for the Club in April of 2003.

Money was pretty tight in the early stages trying to build and operate an 18 hole course on a 9 hole budget. Some members loaned $80,000 to the course for golfing privileges as interest and a huge operational grant of $75,000.00 was obtained through the Lotteries Program. Memberships were raised to $2,500.00 with a waiting list of over 150 people. We persevered and got through it.

In 2004 the sewer hook-up with the Town was accomplished again through a Lotteries grant. The Town also hooked us into their water line so we would have potable water for use in the Clubhouse and washrooms. More new faces appeared as the Club grew. Mona Snyder took on the position of Office Administrator replacing Bruce Schroter and Susan Atchison was hired as Food and Beverage Manager.

In 2005 we managed to pay down our debt and start a building fund. In 2011 the new clubhouse opened, offering a full golfshop, 72 seat dining room with full industrial kitchen and a deck that seats 110 guests. Other future plans include the development of another nine holes to the dreamed about 27 Hole course and the building of a maintenance shop and tournament facility.

In 2009 Lyndon King was hired on as general manager and remains here today. The club has grown exponentially over the years into a club that the Town of Crossfield is very proud of. Dean Ross was hired on as superintendent in 2015 and has increased the turf quality to rival many high budget facilities.

We have also gained recognition in the golfing industry and have hosted several Alberta Junior Tournaments as well as a few City Medalist Tournaments. Patrick Murphy and Riley Fleming are proud to call Collicutt Siding home.

Collicutt Siding Golf Club has also been home to the “Dream Junior Golf Academy” which is known as Canada’s largest introduction to golf. Pre COVID there were over 1,000 children attending.

In 2021 we proudly opened the “Optimist L’il Loop” which is 3 holes designed and for children. It is not a practice area for adults, this area is for children only to learn the game of golf and how to get the ball in the hole in the least amount of strokes.