In 1906 Oak Bay became a Municipality; a year later the Club had to pay taxes of over $250.00. The taxes, as is usual in the middle of a building boom, went up each year, threatening the financial future of the Club. Fortunately a stalwart leader was at hand.

Francis Rattenbury, well known as the architect of the Parliament Buildings and the Empress Hotel, had served on the first Oak Bay Council from 1906 to 1908. From the beginning he stressed the dangers of too rapid, unplanned urbanization which he had observed in other cities. By 1913, he decided he must take action to stop such dangers penetrating Oak Bay, and, in particular, to prevent the Golf Course from being sold to greedy developers. In the January elections, he stood for Reeve, and Rattenbury and his supporters formed a majority on the new Oak Bay Council, safeguarding the Links for ever.

Quoting from Terry Reksten’s admirable biography of Rattenbury:

He was running to save the golf links, he said. The continued existence of Oak Bay’s magnificent waterfront golf course was threatened by rising municipal taxation. At that time, only land was assessed for tax purposes and if some members of Oak Bay Council had their way the golf course’s hundred acres would be assessed at the same rate as land used for housing. The owners of the land, the Gonzales Point Land Company, were bound by an agreement made at the time of purchase, which fixed the rental charged to the golf club at a maximum of $3000. If the assessment were to go beyond the amount of rents collected, the Gonzales Point Land Company would subdivide the property....

“....The beautiful beach drive through the golf links and along Shoal Bay has been a favourite walk in Victoria for years, and there are few drives in the world more beautiful and with such rich and glorious scenery.

 

To force the links into the ordinary, though perhaps lucrative, building subdivision – destroying this lovely drive –  would be a calamity to Oak Bay and to Victoria, and every effort must be made to avoid this occurring.”

In 1913, the British professionals Harry Vardon and Ted Ray toured North America, winning all but one of the 40 golf matches arranged for them.

At the Victoria Golf Club they played a challenge match against two local club professionals, Willie Moffatt of Victoria, and R. Johnstone of Seattle. The English professionals won the match 5 and 3.

On Sunday morning, Vardon played another round against the best ball of the three amateurs, Biggerstaff Wilson, Arthur V. Macan and Harvey Combe. This time the margin was much smaller. Vardon was only one up.

By the end of the tour, they had won 39 matches. The only one they lost was the equivalent of today’s U.S. Open, when a self-taught 20-year old caddy, Francis Ouimet, defeated the British pair in a play-.off. This was the catalyst for an explosion of interest in the game which had hitherto been dominated by the British.

 

VGC operated for its first ten years without a Professional. Then, after nearly a year of negotiations, a Mr. Jacobs was appointed to the dual role of Professional and Greenkeeper at the monthly wage of $25.00.

“He was clearly expected to work long hours: he was to be available for teaching between 9 and 12 a.m., and between 1 and 5 p.m. (the maximum charge for a lesson to be $1.00), and the rest of his time had to be devoted to tending the links.”

After several short-term professionals had come and gone – some to fight in W.W.I, others resigning for reasons unknown – a Club Member going to England was asked to find a suitable Professional from that country. Very wisely he recommended Phil Taylor, an experienced and talented golfer with 11 British Opens under his belt. (Although he never won that major he had played with many of the now legendary figures of the day including James Braid, Harry Vardon and Ted Ray.) He came to Canada in 1921 and remained at Victoria as Head Pro for a record 38 years. He did, in fact, accept an offer from a club in the U.S.

“but then discovered that formal entry into that country was going to be far more difficult than he had anticipated, and he decided to drop the offer and settle down permanently in Victoria.”

Within three years, he had introduced Members to steel-shafted clubs, and most Members increased the number of clubs they carried in their bag with his guidance. He was popular as a teacher and the instruction usually involved a playing lesson. In those days, one helpful custom had arisen; the Pro never waited on the tee to drive; he was automatically waved through by the group in front, a privilege which lasted at least until Paul Trapp’s era as Professional, 1965 - 1984. Paul maintained that this enabled him to teach three 18-hole lessons in one day.

 

The earliest map of the golf course, published in an 1897 edition of Western Recreation,  shows that for at least two holes the tee was on one side of Beach Drive – then known as Mount Baker View Avenue – and the green on the other. At that time, there were no automobiles in Victoria and few bicycles; the problem lay with the nannies and their ‘perambulators.’ Golfers clearly considered they had right of way; nannies, the babies and their parents thought the opposite. It appears no incident was ever reported, but by today’s standards it was “an accident waiting to happen”.

 

The golfers scoffed at the danger; they were used to it. The course was so cramped that they themselves had to play across other fairways to reach their green at several holes, and often had to wait patiently until the course was clear. As late as 1920, the 1st hole went from outside the clubhouse diagonally across the course almost to Mount Baker View Avenue, crossing two other holes on the way. Before that time, at the 12th, golfers  had to drive across the road AND two other fairways to reach the green. If they could avoid danger by waiting patiently, so could the perambulators.

 

No one expected the club to change its layout during wartime, but by 1920 the vehicular traffic had increased to such proportions that the situation had to change. Even so, it took three years and a realignment of the road  – at the club’s expense – before playing over the road was classified as “out of bounds”.

By the time the Club was approaching its 30th birthday, many of its early members were finding that their former success in Club competitions had been taken over by the younger generation and they sought a cordial for their bruised pride. 

 

In 1923, eleven Victoria members met with three sympathetic Royal Colwood members and the Seniors Golf Association was formed for golfers over 55 years old. The concept spread rapidly; at a second meeting 40 golfers, from ten different clubs banded together (just under half were Members of Victoria,) and formed the Seniors North West Golf Association. Captain J.V. Perks, Secretary of the Victoria Club, was appointed Secretary of the new Association, a post he held for 20 years. Although he came from the Scottish area which contained such courses as Troon and Western Gailes, he himself never played golf.

 

“At first, the tournaments were held in November. The initial entrance fee was $2.00 and the charge for dinner $5.00. In the early days, too, the annual tournament alternated between Victoria and Royal Colwood for 20 years, but since the 1940s it has been played exclusively on the Victoria course.”

 

The course receives extra special attention during the weeks leading up to the annual competition and is always in tiptop condition. To make up for the loss of their course from midday Sunday to noon Thursday, the Association pays a green fee for each Victoria member to play once at another local course, and the Pro Shop staffs of all clubs concerned cooperate in offering tee-times for Victoria Members.

1910 - 1925

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