In 1995 four (4) Niagara Golf Professionals initiated a Ryder Cup style of Competition among their Clubs. From the beginning it was quite evident that only a few seniors over 55 years were able to qualify for their club’s teams. The younger players dominated, probably because of their length off the tee. In 1998 only one senior made the Port Colborne CC. team as an alternate. Art Stead and Barry Patterson began talking to area seniors about a Regional Senior Ryder Cup Competition. The idea was well received by four clubs.

An inaugural meeting was held on October 20, 1998 among Art Stead and Barry Patterson of Port Colborne CC., Whitey Nichols of Bridgewater CC. and Ralph Warren of Twenty Valley. The four reviewed a draft format and after several hours of discussion the Niagara District Senior Men’s Ryder Cup was formed. Allan Shaw of Lookout Point CC. was contacted and a Four-Club Event was finalized for 1999. The organizing group for the inaugural year was:

Art Stead - Port Colborne CC. Barry Patterson - Port Colborne CC. Ralph Warren - Twenty Valley CC. Allan Shaw - Lookout Point CC. Whitey Nichols - Bridgewater CC.

The 1999 Senior Ryder Cup began with four (4) clubs, six (6) players per team. Each club hosted one event. Six (6) tee times for the twenty-four (24) player Match Play Competition. The team with the most accumulated points won the honor of having their names engraved on the plaque donated by Art Stead. The inaugural year winners from Lookout Point were:

Don Atkinson Bob Davis Keith Lenahan Cam Mudie Wayne Triano Don Tronko

The popularity of the event saw an expansion to eight (8) Clubs in the year 2000, thanks to George Leclair of Rockway Glen CC. who organized Division “B” consisting of:

Rockway Glen Niagara-on-the-Lake Beechwood Sawmill

Teams progressing to a four-club play-off were Lookout Point, and Port Colborne from “A” Division and Rockway Glen and Beechwood from “B” Division. The Port Colborne team accepted the challenge winning the championship on their home course. Year 2001 saw further expansion to twelve (12) Clubs with the acceptance of a third division, Hunter’s Point, Welland, Willo-Dell and Trafalgar from Oakville. Dave R. Smith from Bridgewater provided direction as chairman of the new executive committee. The 2001 Championship at Trafalgar was won by the team from Bridgewater. The fall of 2001 saw further expansion and administration refinement. A new amended and organized procedure manual with rules and regulations was drafted and a further expansion to sixteen (16) clubs was approved for the year 2002 with, three (3) clubs from outside the Niagara Region and one (1), from within: (Thanks to the efforts of Cliff Dobson)

Dundas Markland Woods North Halton Peninsula Lakes

On the administration side an Executive Committee with officers was implemented. Dave R. Smith was elected to serve as First President of the Senior Cup; Ralph Warren as Vice-President and Art Stead as Secretary/Treasurer. Expansion continued in 2003 with four clubs approved in an integrated schedule. The Senior Cup was pleased to welcome the following clubs from Western New York State, Briarwood, Niagara Falls Country Club, Niagara Frontier Country Club and the River Oaks Golf Club. 2004 saw the further development of the SENIOR CUP to include two (2) super seniors on each club team and increase the teams to eight (8) players for each match. The fall of 2005 saw another expansion of teams and one(1) more division was added consisting of the following clubs, Brampton, Cutten Club, Beverly (Thanks to Reg Finlayson of North Halton) and the return of Peninsula Lakes after an absence of two years.

Now in April 2008 we have five (5) new clubs joining us:  Wyldewood, Credit Valley, St. Catharines, Springville, and Summit.