Jock McKinnon – The Laird of Capilano
The Capilano Golf & Country Club – a Stanley Thompson masterpiece that tumbles through a rainforest at the base of the North Shore Mountains in West Vancouver – is a legendary layout. It is one of the most respected and revered private golf clubs in Canada.
Its “legendary” status is bolstered by the fact that, in its 88-year history, it has had only four head golf professionals.
And to state that Jock McKinnon, the young Scotsman who took the helm at the club’s inception in 1937, was also a “legend” hardly does it (or him) justice.
Indeed, McKinnon – “The Laird of Capilano,” as he was affectionately known – was loved by all. He was a natural leader, a mentor, a gentleman, a statesman, and a player of the highest order.
However, while many of his peers and thousands of Capilano members and patrons will remember McKinnon as one of the finest players who has ever held the club professional title, his service to the industry, his commitment to the game, his broad skill set, and his leadership within the PGA of Canada, was also top of class.
In fact, each year the PGA of British Columbia awards the “Jock McKinnon Apprentice Professional of the Year Award” to a young golf professional whose contributions to the game best exemplify an up-and-coming PGA of Canada Professional yet to achieve their Class “A” status. It’s a coveted award that pays homage to one of the most well-rounded professionals in British Columbia’s storied golf history. McKinnon also served four separate terms as president of the PGA of British Columbia, and was the first westerner to be elected as president of the PGA of Canada (1966-1967).
“Jock’s considerations for his members and his warm personality were unmatched,” said Cam McLean, in McKinnon’s obituary in 1983. McLean was a charter member at Capilano who was there to welcome McKinnon when he arrived at the club after his long journey from his hometown of Forfar, Scotland. “He was one of 113 applicants for the job, and he gave his age as 25. He was afraid he wouldn’t get the job if he gave them his real age, which was 21.”
McKinnon had passed away after a lengthy illness on January 27, 1983, at the young age of 68. He had served as Capilano’s only head golf professional from the club’s founding in 1937 until he retired in 1979.
“Jock was one of the greatest pros B.C. ever had,” said Sid Dahl, a fellow professional and the residing president of the PGA of British Columbia at the time of McKinnon’s passing. “He was always a gentleman’s gentleman.”
Another testament of his cherished home club’s admiration for McKinnon is shown on their annual celebration of his legacy, on “Jock McKinnon Day.” On that celebratory occasion, male members are encouraged to wear white dress shirts and blue ties to play. Fittingly, the format for the day is Scotch foursomes. And the beverage on hand to toast the winning team? You guessed it – fine single malt Scotch. This is all done in honor of McKinnon’s trademark classy clothing – he always played in a long-sleeved white dress shirt, dark blue tie, and baby blue cardigan.
“He was the most recognizable golf professional in British Columbia,” was one of many complimentary statements said about him in his lengthy obituary, which was written by another British Columbia legend, the great golf writer and journalist, Arv Olson.
McKinnon’s status as a local celebrity on the Vancouver golf scene went well beyond the gates of Capilano. For example, in 1952 at the nearby Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club, McKinnon was part of a local team of professionals that took on “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias in an exhibition match. Over 3,000 spectators came out to watch the event. Zaharias was one of the greatest all-around athletes in U.S. history and one of the founders of the LPGA. She regularly outdrove McKinnon and the other professionals, but the home team, led by McKinnon, came out on top.
McKinnon’s prowess on the golf course brought him significant acclaim. On his very first round at Capilano in his new role as the club’s professional, on the second hole, which is a strong 404-yard par-4, McKinnon holed out from the fairway with a full 7-iron for eagle. And a remarkable era of incredible golf at his home club had begun.
While McKinnon’s 20 consecutive sub-70 rounds at “Cap” was an eye-popping achievement – and this at a time when persimmon woods and solid-steel irons with sweet-spots the size of a dime were standard – it is his Guinness World Record “eclectic” score that remains his greatest scoring accomplishment. (An “eclectic” score is the best score on each individual hole, over an entire career, that a player records on one golf course.)
His mind-boggling eclectic score of 33 at Capilano – which includes fifteen twos and three aces – certainly the stuff of legend.
“The Laird of Capilano” – It is a fitting moniker for one of the finest club professionals in the history of the game.
In the photo at top: This colorful trio became icons of the B.C. sports and golf scenes. Kneeling is Eric Whitehead, co-founder of the BC Sports Hall of Fame and longtime newspaper sports columnist who would also write a history of Capilano G&CC; standing is Jock McKinnon; with golf club in hand is Dunc Sutherland who, like McKinnon, came to B.C. from Scotland, was the longtime head golf pro at Point Grey G&CC, and was a founding member of the PGA of British Columbia in 1930.