A.V. Macan


Arthur Vernon Macan, Jr. was an Irish immigrant to Canada who designed golf courses in western North America, primarily in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. He won the Pacific Northwest Amateur in 1913.
A lawyer by trade, Macan was born in Ireland, the son of Dr. A.V. Macan, a noted physician who was knighted.

Early years

Macan's mother died in 1886 when he was four; he was raised in Dublin, then attended the Shrewsbury School in England and Trinity College in Dublin. Introduced to golf around age nine, he became one of the top players in Ireland, and quickly tired of the legal profession. He moved his family to western Canada and settled in British Columbia at Victoria in 1912.

World War I

In his early 30s, he volunteered for service in World War I in 1916 as an officer in the Canadian Expeditionary Force of the Canadian Army, and was wounded by a shell casing fragment in 1917 at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in France. Blood poisoning in his left foot resulted in the amputation of his lower left leg. After the war, he returned to Canada and continued to play competitive golf and design courses.

Courses designed

Canada

British Columbia

Qualicum, Royal Colwood, Cowichan, Marine Drive, Gleneagles, Gorge Vale, old Shaughnessy Heights, Stanley Park Par-3, University, Victoria, Manito Country Club, Cowichan, Kelowna, Nanaimo, McCleery, Richmond, new Shaughnessy, Capilano, Penticton, and Queen Elizabeth Park.

United States

Washington

, Chehalis, Waverly, Rainier, Glen Acres, Fircrest, Broadmoor, Seattle, Overlake, Sun Willows, Yakima, Everett, Lake Spanaway Municipal, and Sunland.

Oregon

, Alderwood, Astoria, Illahe Hills, Colwood National, Lloyds, Gearhart

Idaho

, Purple Sage Municipal

California

California Golf Club, Contra Costa, San Geronimo
Source

Death

Macan died at age 82 in August 1964 on the Olympic Peninsula in Sequim, Washington; he suffered a fatal heart attack while working on site of what was to become the Sunland Golf Club.

Honours

Macan was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 2018.