Golfing in Ottawa

In 2006, Ottawa pediatrician Kathy Keely took over as the first female president in the 115-year history of the Royal Ottawa Golf Club (1405 Aylmer Rd., 819-777-3866). Female members were granted the same rights as men—including the right to vote and access to the president’s lounge and parts of the clubhouse verandah—only 10 years earlier, ending a century of discrimination. The exclusive club was founded in 1891 during Queen Victoria’s reign, and given its “royal” designation by King George V in 1912.

To take your own “Mulligans,” you can either play here (check for availability) or at a whole slew of other golf courses in Ottawa and around Ottawa, including:

Eagle Creek Golf Course (109 Royal Troon La., Dunrobin, 832-3400),

The Marshes Golf Club at Brookstreet (320 Terry Fox Dr., 271-1800),

Metcalfe Golf and Country Club (1956 8th Line Rd., Metcalfe, 821-3673),

Pine View Municipal Golf Course (1471 Blair Rd., Gloucester, 746-4653),

Rockcliffe Golf Driving Range (CFB Ottawa North, 746-4957)

Casselview Golf and Country Club (in Casselman, Hwy. 417 E.t, exit 66, about 25 minutes from Ottawa, 798-4653).

For the much smaller version of the game, check out the Game Professional Miniature Golf Course (3708 Navan Rd., 841-2323), Mini Golf Gardens (2 Collonade Rd. N., 723-5359), or Capital Golf Centre (3798 Bank St., 521-2612).

Birth of the Mulligan

A “Mulligan” is a golf term that refers to a “do-over,” or free shot to substitute for a mistake. But who was the original “Mulligan,” the lax linksman who gave the shot its name?

Turns out it was David Bernard Mulligan, who during the 1920s ran the Lord Elgin Hotel on Elgin Street for a while before moving to the United States. Originally born in Pembroke, Ontario, Mulligan was a member of a number of clubs, including the St Lambert Country Club in Quebec. A real comedian, he insisted on repeating failed swings during his games, and for whatever reason, he not only got away with it, it also became a running joke.