St. George’s Golf & Country Club
In 1909, Robert Home Smith, an accomplished builder from Stratford, began acquiring lands near the banks of the Humber River for real estate development. By 1927 he had perceived that if a fine golf club could be constructed in the area, it would add considerable extra sales appeal for his properties.
About the same time, a good friend, Sir Edward Beatty, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, had launched the construction of the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, one of the largest hotels in the CP chain. Planned as a convention hotel, the Royal York would need the facilities of a fine golf club, and Home Smith lost no time in convincing his friend that he could provide that facility in Etobicoke — hence the original name, “The Royal York Golf Club.”
Smith brought in one of North America’s most renowned golf architects, Stanley Thompson, to design and construct an 18-hole championship course and to design a further nine-hole course on adjacent lands.
By 1929 the golf course was completed and construction was underway on the unique clubhouse. Designed by the architectural staff of the Home Smith Company, the clubhouse reflects the personal taste of the man, as well as his motto for the Company: “A little bit of England — far from England.”
Robert Home Smith died in 1935 and his executor trustee, Godfrey S. Pettit, became President of the Club, a position he held for the next 20 years. In 1946, when the financial arrangement with CP ended, the Club name changed to St. George’s Golf and Country Club.
St. George’s has been rated as the No. 1 course in Canada and No. 10 in the World outside the United States by Golf Digest Magazine, a fact which generates a great deal of pride among St. George’s members. As host club for the Canadian Open in 1933, 1949, 1960, 1968 and most recently in 2010, the LPGA Classic on five occasions, and the Canadian Senior Open, St. George’s has won much praise from noted tour players over the years for its persistent demand for accuracy and four finishing holes.
In 1957 a curling facility was added, providing six sheets of ice, its own lounge, dining and bar facilities, locker rooms and an office. The first rocks were thrown on Nov. 11th, 1957 making St. George’s a year-round club.
St. George’s has hosted many Provincial and National Curling Championships. From 1963 to 1968, St. George’s hosted the Canadian Farmer’s Championship which included the likes of Bob Pickering, Doug Wankle, and Hec Gervais. In 2008 the Provincial Seniors Championship was contested and in 2009 the inaugural Dominion Club Curling Canadian Championship was held. St. George’s has played host to many of the top curlers in the game including the Richardsons, the Howards, Joe Gurowka, Alf Phillips Sr. & Jr., Marilyn Bodogh, Jennifer Jones, Sherry Middaugh,Ragnar Kamp, Otto Danielli, the Attingers, Ed Werenich, Paul Savage, Pat Ryan, Mike Harris, and Olympic Teams from France, Russia and New Zealand. Hosting the M & M Skins game in late 2003 to kick off celebrations of St. George’s 75th anniversary, the featured rinks were Martin, Ferbey, Stoughton, Burtnyk, Dacey, Howard, Brewster, and our own team Team Middaugh.
We had two families, the Boakes and McCarrels who dominated junior curling with two Ontario championships for both families. The Boake girls finished runners-up in the Candian Championship as did Graeme McCarrel in 1980. Both families were part of TCA championships with a trip to Scotland as the prize in 1981. Later Jane Boake and Graeme McCarrel both played in the World Championships in Kamloops in 1998 – Jane as the lead for Andrea Schopp of Germany and Graeme as Third for Team Middaugh. Graeme had joined the Asst. Golf Pro at St. George’s, Wayne Middaugh and along with Ian Tetley and Scott Bailey formed one of the dominant teams on the World Curling Tour. They won the Brier and World Championship in 1998.
St. George’s was proud to be a host for the Strathcona Cup in 2003, and looks forward to hosting the Scots in 2013.