A pre-cursor to the tournament began in 2002 when four friends decided to go on a golf vacation to PEI. Over the course of the trip, they decided to pair up and have an informal tournament. After missing a year, another tournament took place in 2004 a little closer to home in Southern Ontario.

In 2005, it was decided to organize a larger “guys weekend getaway” for golf and partying so more effort was put into organizing a more formal event. A name was chosen to represent the roaming nature of this planned annual tournament and the diverse geographic regions where the participants in it were coming from.

The Nomad Classic was born on a beautiful summer day as 15 friends and friends of friends converged on Blue Mountain, Ontario to challenge the Monterra golf course. The first formally organized tournament was an enormous success and ended in a sudden-death playoff chip and putt-off. A commissioned Nomad Classic Championship Trophy was awarded for the first time following the 2005 tournament.

Nomad Trivia – Did you know that the first two plaques on the trophy are from 2002 and 2004? This is to commemorate the founding participants in this tournament.

In 2007 “The Sandbagger” trophy was added to the awards given out at the tournament in recognition of the individual golfer who performs best against their handicap.

The Nomad Classic has evolved over time. The tournament has grown from two to three rounds and has varied as a partner and individual player tournament. Handicap calculations have also changed. Most recently, in 2018, an additional Nomad Fall Classic tournament was added after being discussed for several years.

Every year a core group of friends organizes the tournament for approximately 16 participants for the opportunity to get their name on the championship trophy and take it home until the following year. Participants in the tournament come from mainly the Greater Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, and Montreal areas although some have come from as far away as New York City.

While the Stanley Cup is professional sports’ most coveted trophy, the Nomad Classic Championship Trophy is amateur golf’s holy grail.