Even if Mike Weir added a Canadian Open title to the Masters win he already has in his bag, the 32-year-old golfer still couldn't score a membership in one of Toronto's top private clubs until he's in his mid-40s.
Welcome to the rare air of Toronto's most exclusive golf courses, where connections and money just get you on a waiting list. A soft economy and lousy stock market are putting a hurt on many private clubs. But you'll still wait up to 12 years for the privilege of full membership at the venerable Rosedale Golf Club, an 18-hole sanctuary minutes from the downtown office towers.
"Private clubs hit a tough patch over the past year," says Stephen Johnston, who consults to the golf industry at KPMG. "Many courses are struggling to hit the break-even point for members, or are below that level. Clubs such Rosedale and St. George's just sail above these problems."
To understand the appeal of a private golf club, Toronto's 700,000 duffers need only drive down Dixie Road in Mississauga on a weekend morning.
Glance to one side and you take in the pristine fairways of the Toronto Golf Club. A lone golfer might be strolling up to a pastoral green, but chances are the course will look empty.
On the other side of the road, you'll see Lakeview Golf Club, a great public course that has hosted two Canadian Opens. There will be lineups at the tees and golfers ducking for cover on the fairways as impatient hackers drive shots into their slow-moving foursome.
Part of the appeal of private clubs is convenience. Members drive up, change shoes and start swinging. There's no booking tee times and no waiting for a foursome of beer-swilling louts to finish butchering a green before you can chip.
Snob appeal, or social consideration, to be more polite, is an even bigger attraction. Most of the top private courses are family-friendly, stocked with the relatively small community of business leaders who mix fun with networking opportunities.
At Rosedale, club president Bob Dale says the "quality of the membership," a first-class, course and clubhouse, and an unbeatable midtown location keep the waiting list long.
However, staying at the top has its price. Mr. Dale says Rosedale spent $3.5-million last year to buff up the 18th hole on a 97-year-old course, and renovate the pro shop and terrace café.
"There's a distinction between corporate private clubs and clubs that are really private," says David Kaufman, executive director of Magna Golf Club, where 200 members have signed on since it opened in 2001, paying more than $100,000 each to join.
"As interest in golf has peaked over the past few years, people have put a premium on the concept of a truly private club, where rounds take less than five hours to play and there are all the amenities, from the clubhouse to the food and beverage to the course conditions. And in a big city like Toronto, more and more people can afford to pay for that premium."
But money isn't always the determining factor. At the older, traditional clubs like Rosedale and Toronto Golf, being able to write a cheque is only one step in a long process designed to make sure that members are like-minded and make good company.
"You have to be recommended and sponsored to join here," says Glenn Smale, general manager at the Toronto Golf Club. "You don't get into this club just because you have a pile of dough. We want people who respect and enjoy the traditions of golf. And we cater to our members. If you have friends in town who want to play golf, you don't have to call around. You just show up and play."
In a crowd that views $4,000 in annual dues as pocket change or a tax-deductible business expense, multiple memberships are common. Financier Brian Steck, retired vice-chairman of Bank of Montreal, belongs to three of the seven best private courses around Toronto. Doug Bassett, former head of CTV, plays at the blue-chip Toronto Golf Club, but keeps clubhouse privileges at the equally tony Rosedale Club so he can entertain close to home.
Serious golfers with serious cash will also pay $100,000 for a local membership, an additional $40,000 for privileges at a private course in Muskoka, then drop thousands more on a Florida club.
At the highest level, there's long-time Rosedale member Dick Thomson, retired CEO of Toronto-Dominion Bank. He's one of two Canadians who belong to the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., home to North America's business elite and the annual Masters tournament. (Retired Alcan CEO David Culver is also a member.)
Each club and course features its own culture and traditions. At the men-only National Club, there are high-stakes wagers on matches and higher-stakes card games in the lounge. At Magna, early risers bask in the indulgence of a $20-million clubhouse that features chefs who wander up to the tables to take breakfast orders. There's no menu. Golfers simply order what they want.
Who plays where and what's the view from the clubhouse? Here's a look at the best of country-club life in Toronto:
The Toronto Golf Club
The players: Michael Wilson, former finance minister and CEO of UBS Asset Management, grocery magnate Galen Weston, Scotiabank CEO Peter Godsoe, financier Ted Medland, Conrad Black, former BCE executive Lynton (Red) Wilson.
The ticket: A $45,000 initiation fee, with annual dues of $4,500.
The cliché: Your grandfather's golf course, if your grandfather was a mining baron or founded a bank.
The cachet: Competes with Rosedale as the most private and blue-blooded of Toronto's golf clubs. Even though it's just over the boundary in Mississauga, most of its members are from Toronto, although more are coming from the Oakville area. It's cheaper than most of the area's private clubs, but that doesn't make it easier to get into. The waiting list is about four years long, you need eight members to vouch for you, and there's no way to skip the line.
Rosedale Golf Club
The players: Retired TD Bank CEOs Charlie Baillie and Dick Thomson, Royal Bank CEO Gord Nixon, former McDonald's CEO George Cohon, hernia doctor Bernie Shouldice. Former CTV head Doug Bassett has a clubhouse membership for entertaining.
The ticket: The initiation fee is $60,000, with annual dues (in 2002) of $3,500. And don't forget the GST.
The cliché: You are a mining baron, you run a bank.
The cachet: Puts a new spin on the term "waiting list." From the day you get a member to vouch for you to the day you become a senior member, count on a 12-year wait. A moment's drive from your Rosedale mansion, which is nice. A beautiful, green oasis in the heart of the city, blends into the neighbourhood seamlessly. How old-school is it? Women members (they call them ladies) have restricted tee times; men get first dibs. Holes don't have tee markers. If you have to ask where the next hole is, you don't belong.
Beacon Hall Country Club
The players: Deal-making lawyers Gar Emerson and Peter Dey, retired banker Brian Steck, Ontario Power Generation chairman Bill Farlinger, money manager Ira Gluskin.
The ticket: A one-time $10,000 fee, then an equity membership likely selling for upward of $60,000. Annual dues are $5,990.
The cliché: A serious golfer's course, but one where you don't get looked at funny if you bring your kids.
The cachet: All the benefits of Toronto or Rosedale, without the complicated approval process. Opened in 1988 in Aurora and catering to new money and those who have opted to leave the city for some country living. It also has the advantage of being one of a handful of equity clubs, meaning that you have a good chance of recovering your initial investment if you leave. Membership is capped at 241, meaning no tee times or waits to play.
The National Golf Club of Canada
The players: BNP Paribas banker John Usborne, Michael DeGasperis, president of Arista Homes, and Jordan Bitove, youngest of the clan's five children.
The ticket: Equity memberships $50,000, annual dues $4,500.
The cliché: If you enjoy the company of men, gambling and believe in the sanctity of urban sprawl, this is your golf club.
The cachet: Perennially ranked one of the top golf courses in Canada, and often ranked among the world's best. Has become the club of choice for construction and land development types, with a strong representation among the Italian-Canadian business community. Does not accept women members.
Oakdale Golf and Country Club
The players: Financier Lionel Schipper, Senator Jerry Grafstein, RBC Dominion Securities CEO Chuck Winograd, Fasken Martineau rainmaker Stephen Erlichman, MDC founder Miles Nadal.
The ticket: $125,000, with family dues of $7,726.
The cliché: The place to be if you are part of the Jewish elite, whether or not you golf.
The cachet: The 27-hole layout designed by respected golf architect Stanley Thompson is secondary to its role as the Toronto Jewish country club. It has 580 families as members and has recently undergone an extensive renovation. The only caveat is the club is on Jane Street, just south of Sheppard Avenue, making it uncomfortably close to the Jane-Finch corridor for the BMW X5 set.
St. George's Golf and Country Club
The players: Bankers Rod Pennycook and Tom Healy, real-estate developers Colum Bastable and Kenneth Field.
The ticket: $65,000 initiation fee, as well as a $5,000 refundable debenture. Annual dues $4,250.
The cliché: Playground for Etobicoke's rich and famous.
The cachet: Rated by ScoreGolf Magazine as the top course in Canada and regularly ranked in the top 100 courses in the world. Its location -- it straddles Islington Avenue just south of Eglinton -- and the course make it a popular choice. With 450 full members and 180 limited members, it lacks the easy access to the tee of some other clubs, but the four-year waiting list suggests the quality of the golf is a powerful lure.
Magna Golf Club
The players: Bank of Montreal CEO Tony Comper, Toronto Maple Leafs Mats Sundin and Tie Domi, money manager Kiki Delaney and husband Ian, CEO of Sherritt.
The ticket: $125,000, with annual dues of $10,000.
The cliché: For those who will pay anything for privacy, which explains why 17 former or current National Hockey Leaguers are members.
The cachet: Easily the most opulent clubhouse in Canada. If the Four Seasons were a golf club, this would be it. Often a second or third club for members, which suggests that the prices (the membership can be resold) aren't really an issue with this crowd. Pace of play is superb as is the service. The course itself doesn't carry quite the weight of those at the National or St. George's, but the amenities make up for it.
Andrew Willis