Photo above (contributed by family): Chris’ father, Gordon de Laat, opened family-run Mayfield Golf Course in 1978.
“It breaks my heart,” said Chris de Laat earnestly when I called him last week about the announcement.
In late November a message appeared on the website of Mayfield Golf Club, a fixture in Caledon since 1978, announcing that construction of a new subdivision meant that the Club would be closing permanently:
“Construction on a new subdivision will commence in early summer 2025. Despite our best efforts to propose a path to include Mayfield in future development plans, the new owners have decided they could not prepare the site for construction while a golf course was operating. Sadly, this marks the end of our 46 years of serving the local community.”
Chris’s father, Gordon de Laat, opened the course in April 1978 and as Chris puts it, “these 171 acres have been my home ever since.” It is currently a family-run business with Chris at the helm as president and director of operations.
In 2022 the family sold the business and land to a developer, and they were very optimistic about the possibility of the new subdivision being built around the existing golf course. Chris says these discussions recently ended with the developer indicating they did not wish to proceed in that manner.
“Although we are sad that Mayfield is closing, we are very grateful that we were the only family that operated the Golf Club from start to finish,” Chris added.
The website says that over the next few weeks, the Club will contact customers who purchased Passes and Memberships for the 2025 Golf Season and begin to issue full refunds. The website will continue to be used to provide more information and updates as they are available.
