Gabriel Ménard, or Gaby for those who know him well, was renowned during the 70’s and 80’s as one of the best golfers in the region. Since the age of 20, he had been passionate about the sport. While he was the owner of a glazing business, he spent most of his time on a gold course, as any dedicated player would, and dreamt of owning a course of his own. In 1980, he purchased over 800 acres of land along the 117 in Saint-Faustin, which belonged to a man named Patry. Shortly after his acquisition, Mr. Ménard put up a trailer and bought an all-terrain vehicle for his children to have some fun with.

One day, he built himself a green with some black soil and fertilizer, just to be able to practice his approach shots and his putting, while remaining close to his loved ones. (That green is now that of the 17th hole!) Later on, he realized that with all of this land, he could build a 9 hole, par 3. But his wife, who was ambitious, knew that he was a determined man and told him "Don’t just do a 9-hole par 3. Go ahead. Follow your dream!" Thus, with the support of his family, Gaby undertook the realization of his dream: to build a golf courser entirely to his liking.

He accumulated lots of pictures taken from golf magazines. "Flip through the magazines and tear out all the pages you find interesting," he said to his wife and 3 children. He had amassed over 300 pictures as a result. In 1983, although he couldn’t afford to contract for a topographical map of his land and the services of a designer, he chose to fly over his land by helicopter to take aerial pictures. Once the pictures were developed, he spread them over the kitchen table and placed them side by side, to get a bird’s eye view of the area. With a pencil, he then started drawing the no. 1 teeing ground, the isle, the fairway, traps here and there, and finally the green. Next, he drew the no. 2 teeing ground, and so on. He would take his pictures with him in the woods and design, in his mind, the golf course we know today as the Royal Laurentien.

In 1985, as market analysis is completed and work is ready to begin, he headed out to meet with bank representatives to ask for a loan to build his golf course. But things didn’t go as expected. None of the institutions would lend him any money! He then thought of a solution: "With my 800 acres, I really only need 200 for my golf course. I’ll sell the land around it and with the money start the construction," he said to himself. He then went back to the banks to explain his new plan. Again, he got turned down, and was told: “When you manage sell a plot to one of your friends or colleagues, you’ll be able to sell more.” But what the banks didn’t realize was that Gaby and Jocelyne wouldn’t be discouraged easily. They set out to call their friends, colleagues and business acquaintances, and met with them. “Buy a plot on my land and some day, there’ll be a golf course... a superb one at that!”, they promised. And since Gaby, as a business man, was known to be a man of his word, they believed him. He sold more than one million dollars worth of land and could then begin construction. It wasn’t until 1987, when 60% of the work had been completed, that the bank realized Gaby was resolute. Thus, the loan was approved, finally!

Golfers first discovered the Royal Laurentien in 1989. From 1989 to 1994, Gaby invested all his finances in improving the terrain, and it wasn’t until 1996 that he designed and built himself a 1.5 million dollar lodge. A year later, the prestigious Canada's Golf Ranking Magazine ranked them the 65th best golf course in Canada, and 10th best in Quebec.

In June 2000, Gaby innovated once more by creating the Chalets Royal Laurentien. These sixteen luxurious cottages at the edge of course not only enhanced the Royal Laurentien as golf course, but also as an outstanding four-season resort. These superb 4-star cottages, the highest ranking afforded to tourist accommodations, won the Quebec grand prize of tourism two years later.

The most outstanding thing in this whole story is that Gabriel, Jocelyne, Charles, Isabel and Julie all participated in the development. They planted trees, shoveled, raked, and did all of the work themselves.

Gabriel isn’t simply the owner of the Royal Laurentien. He’s the founder, designer, constructor, bulldozer operator, shovel operator, truck driver, and the enthusiast!

Things aren’t stopping here, as Charles, Isabel and Julie have been working in the family business for 15 years, since the very beginning. They’ve most definitely inherited the courage and determination of their parents.