– Crumlin Creek Golf Course

– Crumlin Creek Golf Course

Crumlin Creek/The Airport opened in 1979.

Crumlin Creek Golf Club Interesting Facts and Figures

Address:

1720 Crumlin Sideroad

Ownership:

Frank Lefebure 1979-2011

Zarko Frkovic 2012-Present

Leased land from London International Airport

Year Opened:

1979 – 9 Holes

2014 – New 12 Hole Layout

Designers:

Peter Henderson – 12 Hole Design

Frank Lefebure – Original 9 Holes

Superintendents:

Peter Henderson

Golf Professionals:

Andy Boone 2012

Rick McCormick 2014-Present

Signature Hole:

The Par 3 12th hole tees off from an elevated tee to a two-tiered green guarded by two bunkers.

Underrated Hole:

Original Design pre 2013, Number 5, Franks long 640 yard par 5

Five Best Features:

Affordability

Fun for golfers of all ages and skill level

Innovative 12 Hole Design

Kids Golf Free

Constant improvements, with complete redesign and rebuild over last 5 years

Interesting Facts:

First course in Canada to have a fleet of Golfboards

About Crumlin​ ​Creek​ ​Golf​ ​Course

In​ ​the​ ​summer​ ​of​ ​1979​ ​I​ ​was​ ​working​ ​on​ ​the​ ​course​ ​at​ ​Fanshawe​ ​Golf​ ​Club.​ ​I​ ​was​ ​just talking​ ​to​ ​the​ ​Greens​ ​Superintendent,​ ​Hubert​ ​Ward,​ ​at​ ​the​ ​front​ ​door​ ​of​ ​the​ ​maintenance building​ ​when​ ​a​ ​man​ ​walked​ ​up​ ​who​ ​I​ ​had​ ​never​ ​seen​ ​before.​ ​He​ ​explained​ ​that​ ​he​ ​had​ ​built​ ​a nine​ ​hole​ ​golf​ ​course​ ​adjacent​ ​to​ ​the​ ​airport​ ​and​ ​that​ ​he​ ​wanted​ ​to​ ​add​ ​a​ ​miniature​ ​golf​ ​course​ ​to his​ ​operation…...made​ ​out​ ​of​ ​real​ ​grass.​ ​He​ ​needed​ ​to​ ​know​ ​what​ ​type​ ​of​ ​fertilizer​ ​would​ ​be good​ ​for​ ​his​ ​new​ ​“real”​ ​mini-putt.​ ​Hubert​ ​always​ ​had​ ​a​ ​soft​ ​spot​ ​for​ ​anyone​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​get​ ​into​ ​the business​ ​so​ ​he​ ​spent​ ​some​ ​time​ ​with​ ​the​ ​gentleman​ ​explaining​ ​about​ ​greens​ ​fertilizer.​ ​The​ ​man turned​ ​out​ ​to​ ​be​ ​Frank​ ​Lefebure​ ​and​ ​he​ ​left​ ​with​ ​a​ ​trial​ ​bag​ ​of​ ​greens​ ​fertilizer​ ​slung​ ​over​ ​his shoulder.​ ​I​ ​must​ ​confess​ ​that​ ​we​ ​had​ ​a​ ​chuckle​ ​when​ ​he​ ​left​ ​but​ ​Frank​ ​was​ ​a​ ​determined​ ​guy and​ ​his​ ​real​ ​life​ ​mini-putt​ ​became​ ​a​ ​reality.​ ​It​ ​turned​ ​out​ ​to​ ​be​ ​the​ ​first​ ​of​ ​many​ ​innovations​ ​that led​ ​to​ ​the​ ​business​ ​that​ ​we​ ​now​ ​call​ ​Crumlin​ ​Creek​ ​Golf​ ​course. ​ ​​ ​​ ​The​ ​forerunner​ ​to​ ​Crumlin​ ​Creek​ ​was​ ​simply​ ​known​ ​as​ ​the​ ​Airport​ ​Golf​ ​course​ ​or​ ​“the​ ​Airport”. Frank​ ​Lefebure​ ​was​ ​a​ ​pioneer​ ​in​ ​some​ ​ways​ ​to​ ​the​ ​way​ ​some​ ​clubs​ ​operate​ ​nowadays​ ​as​ ​he never​ ​really​ ​closed​ ​down​ ​his​ ​course​ ​for​ ​the​ ​winter.​ ​He​ ​had​ ​a​ ​small​ ​snowblower​ ​and​ ​would​ ​often go​ ​out​ ​and​ ​clear​ ​the​ ​greens​ ​off​ ​for​ ​the​ ​use​ ​of​ ​hardy​ ​golfers​ ​in​ ​the​ ​winter​ ​time.​ ​Often​ ​I​ ​would​ ​drive by​ ​the​ ​snowcovered​ ​course​ ​but​ ​all​ ​of​ ​the​ ​greens​ ​near​ ​the​ ​road​ ​were​ ​like​ ​green​ ​emeralds​ ​in​ ​a sea​ ​of​ ​white.​ ​Likewise​ ​the​ ​driving​ ​range​ ​never​ ​really​ ​closed​ ​down​ ​and​ ​I​ ​believe​ ​there​ ​was​ ​some type​ ​of​ ​shelter​ ​constructed​ ​to​ ​provide​ ​protection​ ​from​ ​the​ ​elements​ ​and​ ​allow​ ​for​ ​some​ ​type​ ​of heating​ ​system​ ​which​ ​let​ ​golfers​ ​hit​ ​balls​ ​during​ ​the​ ​worst​ ​weather. ​ ​​ ​​ ​The​ ​flatness​ ​of​ ​the​ ​land​ ​in​ ​the​ ​area​ ​was​ ​a​ ​challenge​ ​from​ ​a​ ​design​ ​point​ ​of​ ​view​ ​but​ ​became​ ​a bonus​ ​for​ ​the​ ​course​ ​for​ ​seniors​ ​who​ ​were​ ​unable​ ​to​ ​walk​ ​the​ ​hilly​ ​terrain​ ​of​ ​some​ ​other​ ​local public​ ​courses.​ ​I​ ​can​ ​remember​ ​several​ ​Fanshawe​ ​seniors​ ​who​ ​left​ ​to​ ​become​ ​members​ ​at​ ​the Airport​ ​because​ ​of​ ​the​ ​lack​ ​of​ ​steep​ ​hills​ ​to​ ​climb.​ ​In​ ​the​ ​beginning​ ​there​ ​were​ ​primitive​ ​ways​ ​to water​ ​the​ ​greens​ ​but​ ​there​ ​was​ ​no​ ​fairway​ ​irrigation​ ​of​ ​any​ ​kind.​ ​That​ ​would​ ​seem​ ​to​ ​be​ ​a problem​ ​but​ ​senior​ ​members​ ​loved​ ​it​ ​when​ ​the​ ​fairways​ ​baked​ ​out​ ​as​ ​hard​ ​as​ ​the​ ​nearby runways​ ​and​ ​they​ ​could​ ​get​ ​plenty​ ​of​ ​extra​ ​roll. ​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​The​ ​transformation​ ​in​ ​the​ ​past​ ​few​ ​years​ ​of​ ​Crumlin​ ​Creek​ ​has​ ​been​ ​nothing​ ​short​ ​of amazing.​ ​Plenty​ ​of​ ​credit​ ​goes​ ​to​ ​the​ ​current​ ​management​ ​for​ ​the​ ​quality​ ​of​ ​business​ ​that​ ​is there​ ​now​ ​but​ ​also​ ​plenty​ ​of​ ​praise​ ​should​ ​go​ ​to​ ​Frank​ ​Lefebure​ ​for​ ​his​ ​vision​ ​in​ ​the​ ​early​ ​years and​ ​his​ ​willingness​ ​to​ ​march​ ​to​ ​his​ ​own​ ​drum.

The original Crumlin Creek Layout, 2011


Crumlin Creek layout 2011, just nine holes

The first 12 hole layout, 2014

The current layout, 2018


The current layout of Crumlin Creek in 2018.

Crumlin Creek Current Scorecard

 

Current scorecard for this coming season

Golfland/Crumlin Creek Scorecard, 1990's

 

Crumlin Creek/Golfland scorecard, 1990's

Golfland Mini golf scorecard, front page

 

Front page of the Frank Lefebure designed grass miniature golf scorecard

Golfland "mini putt on real grass" scorecard [in feet]

 

Mini golf scorecard

Crumlin Creek Photos

2 flags in each green at Crumlin Creek

golfboards

Crumlin Creek 19th hole

In the short span of just the last five years, Crumlin Creek has morphed from a small time, fringe golf operation to a big-time, competitive, mainstream golf business. Technically it is not the first 12 hole golf course in the area. Thames Valley was a 12 holer for a short time back in 1926 and it now appears that Fairmont Golf Course also featured a dozen holes but only for a short time and not long before its demise. It is not likely to be the last and already the Bluffs Golf Course in Port Stanley has opened with 12 holes for the 2017 and 2018 season.
The most important single factor in the recent success of Crumlin Creek is that they are unafraid to change. to try new things and to keep improving. If something doesn't work out as well as hoped for such as the sale of ice cream cones from behind the counter of the pro shop, then they simply dust themselves off and head in another direction. When I first saw those ice cream cones, I thought they were a fabulous idea but I guess not too many were sold. Seems like in a battle between ice cream and ice cold beer on a sweltering afternoon......the beer is tough to beat.
I know for a fact that many new golf course improvements are planned for the future. One nice advantage for Crumlin Creek is that there is plenty of land available on the site to change things or try out new ideas. You can rest assured of one thing and that is that Crumlin Creek will not stand pat for very long.....if at all.