Canadian Golf Professionals Wilson Paterson and Bill Ogle aspired to design and build a world-class golf club in the Toronto area. In 1959 they purchased 225 acres of the most picturesque farmland in the Durham Region and started to build and develop immediately. In the spring of 1962, The Royal Ashburn Golf Club opened as an 18-hole facility and has since developed into a world-class facility, ranked among the Top 50 public golf courses in Canada. Originally opening under the name Whitby Golf Club, the name was quickly changed to Thunderbird Golf Club, as it was known for many years. In the spring of 2000, we changed the name one final time to The Royal Ashburn Golf Club. The name was changed to commemorate our visit from His Royal Highness Prince Andrew the Duke of York in September of 1999 and to tie us into the community of Ashburn, who in the year 2000, were celebrating their 150th anniversary. Hence the name, The Royal Ashburn Golf Club, which is much more suitable to the first-class facility we are today. To further reflect our history and contributions to the game of golf, The Royal Ashburn Golf Club was granted Armorial Bearings (coat of Arms) on September 15, 2006, granted to us by the authority vested in the Governor-General to exercise the prerogative of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada.
