Most people who have played golf know the word Mulligan.

It is the second chance.
The extra shot.

The quiet forgiveness built into a game that rarely gives anything back.

But behind that famous word is a man — David B. Mulligan — and a remarkable Canadian story that begins long before the expression became known around the world.

David B. Mulligan was a famed hotelier, golfer, sportsman, and larger-than-life figure whose name became part of golf history. Born in 1869, his life carried him through Ottawa, Montreal, New York, and some of North America’s most celebrated hotels, private clubs, and sporting circles.

In 1924, while managing Montreal’s legendary Windsor Hotel, David B. Mulligan was introduced to the Country Club of Montreal by his cousin, M. Donald Grant. It was there, during a round of golf, that Mulligan took a second shot — a small moment that would eventually become one of the most enduring traditions in the game.

By 1928, the term had taken hold at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York. From there, the Mulligan spread through golf and beyond, becoming a word understood by players everywhere.

A bad first shot.
A second chance.
A chance to begin again.

That is the Mulligan.

And for me, this story is personal.

As the great-grandnephew of David B. Mulligan, I am currently writing his life and times in a book titled:

This book is not only about the origin of a golf term. It is about the man behind the name — a man whose life connected the grand hotel era, Canadian sport, Montreal golf, Ottawa hockey, New York society, and one of the most human ideas in sport: the opportunity to take another swing.

David B. Mulligan was known as one of the great hotelmen of his era. His career included leadership roles with Canadian National Hotels, ownership of the Windsor Hotel, management of the Waldorf Astoria, and later leadership with Biltmore Hotels and Realty Hotels Inc.

But his life was not limited to hotels and golf.

David B. Mulligan was also part of early Canadian hockey history. During his years in Ottawa, he was connected to the Ottawa Hockey Club, also known as the Ottawa Senators, during one of the most successful periods in the club’s early history. In what would be considered today the role of a General Manager, Mulligan helped ice the Ottawa team that won three Stanley Cups: 1909, 1910, and 1911.

That achievement ties him for the most Stanley Cups by a General Manager in Ottawa Senators history, with three.

The hockey connection becomes even more remarkable when viewed through the wider family story. David B. Mulligan’s cousin, Mike Grant, was one of the great figures of early Canadian hockey and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Between David B. Mulligan’s three Stanley Cups with Ottawa and Mike Grant’s five Stanley Cup victories with the Montreal Victorias, the two cousins were connected to eight Stanley Cups between them.

In 1924, David B. Mulligan’s hockey and hotel worlds came together again in Montreal. While managing the Windsor Hotel, he hosted the Montreal Canadiens’ Stanley Cup banquet at the hotel. At that historic celebration, Mulligan sat at the second table beside the head table, placing him close to one of the defining sporting moments in Montreal history.

That same year, Mulligan became part of Montreal’s golf community through his cousin M. Donald Grant, who introduced him to the Country Club of Montreal. It was there, in 1924, that the Mulligan made its historic debut.

Mulligan later became a member of Club Laval-sur-le-Lac from 1927 to 1931. He also attended the second annual Montreal Canadiens Golf Tournament at Laval-sur-le-Lac. In 1931, while representing Club Laval-sur-le-Lac at the Canadian Seniors Open, Mulligan placed 15th overall and was the top Montreal golfer in the field.

But beyond the titles, hotels, clubs, tournaments, and accomplishments, David B. Mulligan’s story endures because his name came to represent something bigger.

The Mulligan is not just a golf shot.

It is a reminder that life rarely moves perfectly the first time.

That is why the word has lasted.

Because everyone understands the value of a second chance.

As author of The Greatest of Them All, my goal is to tell the fuller story of David B. Mulligan — not simply as the man behind golf’s most famous second chance, but as a Canadian figure whose life crossed business, sport, family, friendship, character, and legacy.

This project brings together family history, archival research, golf lore, hotel history, hockey history, and the remarkable people connected to the Mulligan story.

It is a story about character.
It is a story about reinvention.
It is a story about legacy.
It is a story about a name that became immortal.

For clients and friends of Stuart Graham Financial Services Ltd, this page is simply a personal window into a piece of my family history — one that has become much larger than our family alone.

The Mulligan began as a moment on a golf course.

It became a word.

Now, through The Greatest of Them All, it becomes a story.

At the end of June 2026, I organized a special historical family gathering in Montreal to honour David B. Mulligan, his cousin M. Donald Grant, and the 1924 debut of “The Mulligan” at the Country Club of Montreal.

From June 25 to 27, 2026, members of the Mulligan and Grant families gathered in Montreal to recognize the man behind golf’s most famous second chance and the Quebec roots of one of the game’s most enduring traditions.

For me, this gathering was deeply personal.

This past June, I stood with my cousins on the legendary tees at the Country Club of Montreal, the very place where the Mulligan story began in 1924. To stand where David B. Mulligan took the second shot that gave golf a new word was more than a historical visit. It was a family return to the origin of a legend.

The gathering also included a royal tour of Royal Montreal Golf Club, where members of the Grant family have held important roles, including President and Club Captain. That visit helped connect the Mulligan story to the broader Grant family legacy in Canadian golf.

Together with my cousin, I also took part in a historic tour of Le Windsor, the legendary Montreal hotel where David B. Mulligan served as manager and later owner. In 1924, while managing the Windsor Hotel, David B. Mulligan hosted the Montreal Canadiens’ Stanley Cup banquet at the hotel. At that historic celebration, he sat at the second table beside the head table, placing him close to one of the defining sporting moments in Montreal history.

We also visited Club Laval-sur-le-Lac, another important part of David B. Mulligan’s Montreal golf story. Mulligan was a member of Club Laval-sur-le-Lac from 1927 to 1931 and attended the second annual Montreal Canadiens Golf Tournament held there. In 1931, while representing Club Laval-sur-le-Lac at the Canadian Seniors Open, Mulligan placed 15th overall and was the top Montreal golfer in the field.

For the Mulligan family, the gathering included Leighton H. Coleman III, the grandson of David B. Mulligan, travelling from Long Island, New York. David B. Mulligan was Leighton Coleman’s maternal grandfather and my great-granduncle.

Members of the Grant family were also part of the story, including descendants of M. Donald Grant, whose role remains central. Donald Grant was David B. Mulligan’s cousin and his guide to Montreal golf. He was the man who introduced Mulligan to the Country Club of Montreal, where the famous second chance began.

The gathering brought together descendants from both sides of the story — the Mulligan family, whose name became immortal in golf, and the Grant family, whose Montreal sporting legacy reaches across golf, hockey, football, Wall Street, and Major League Baseball.

The Mulligan story is also the Grant story.

M. Donald Grant was born in Montreal in 1904, the son of Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman Mike Grant, one of the great figures of early Canadian hockey.

Mike Grant was one of hockey’s first great rushing defencemen. He played for the Montreal Victorias and Montreal Shamrocks and was part of the Victorias team that won or retained the Stanley Cup five times during the challenge era.

Donald Grant grew up surrounded by Montreal sport and was himself an accomplished athlete. In 1924, Donald had the opportunity to sign with the Montreal Canadiens, but instead chose to move to New York City and enter the hotel business — following advice from his older cousin, David B. Mulligan.

That decision changed the course of his life.

Donald Grant later built a successful Wall Street career and became closely connected to Joan Whitney Payson. He eventually became Co-Founder, Co-Owner, and Chairman of the Board of the New York Mets, serving as part of the organization during its 1969 World Series championship season.

Donald Grant’s role in the Mulligan story is not secondary. He is the bridge between Montreal golf, Montreal hockey, the Windsor Hotel, the Country Club of Montreal, Royal Montreal Golf Club, Club Laval-sur-le-Lac, Winged Foot Golf Club, Wall Street, and the New York Mets.

The Grant family’s broader sporting legacy is equally remarkable.

Donald Grant’s brother, Kenneth “Kenny” Grant, was a lifetime resident of St. Lambert, a member of the Country Club of Montreal, and one of Montreal’s notable all-around sportsmen. He made Canadian football history as the first player in CFL history to catch a forward pass for a touchdown in a Grey Cup final, when the MAAA Winged Wheelers defeated the Regina Roughriders 22–0 in 1931. He was also an accomplished boxer and a Canadian amateur boxing champion, further adding to the Grant family’s extraordinary sporting legacy.

The family’s golf legacy also includes the Honourable James A. “Jim” Grant, a longtime member of Royal Montreal Golf Club and Mount Bruno Golf Club, a Past President of Golf Canada, and a Past President of Golf Québec. Jim Grant was also part of this remarkable sporting family — the son of Mike Grant and brother of M. Donald Grant — carrying forward the Grant name in Canadian golf leadership.

Together, the Mulligan and Grant families represent a remarkable Canadian sporting and social history.

Long before the word “Mulligan” became known in golf, the Mulligan and Grant families had already left their mark on Canadian sport.

David B. Mulligan helped guide the Ottawa Hockey Club through a championship era that included three Stanley Cups in 1909, 1910, and 1911.

His cousin Mike Grant was part of five Stanley Cup victories with the Montreal Victorias.

Between them, the two cousins were connected to eight Stanley Cups.

That is an extraordinary family connection to the earliest years of Canadian hockey — and it adds another layer to the life of the man whose name later became known around the world through golf.

David B. Mulligan’s story is not simply the story of one second shot. It is the story of a Canadian family deeply woven into the country’s sporting history.

Ottawa hockey.
Montreal hockey.
Montreal golf.
The Windsor Hotel.
The Country Club of Montreal.
Royal Montreal Golf Club.
Club Laval-sur-le-Lac.
Winged Foot Golf Club.
And eventually, the entire golfing world.

All of it connects back to one name.

Mulligan.

The Montreal gathering also marked the beginning of a larger historical moment.

In 2028, the golf world will return to Winged Foot Golf Club for the U.S. Open — 100 years after the Mulligan took hold there and began its wider journey into golf history.

For the David B. Mulligan family and brand, the road to Winged Foot in 2028 represents a centennial celebration of character, heritage, and the second chance that became a legend.

Some names fade.
Some names echo.
Mulligan became immortal.

All photographs, images, and visual materials associated with David B. Mulligan are the strict property of David B. Mulligan & Co. LLC and Leighton H. Coleman III.

These images are protected and may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, published, edited, displayed, shared, or reused in any form without prior written permission from David B. Mulligan & Co. LLC and Leighton H. Coleman III.

Unauthorized use of these photographs is strictly prohibited.