Orchard Beach Golf Club
History
Orchard Beach Golf and Country Club was originally established in 1926 and opened for play in 1928. The first meeting to establish the Club was held on December 7, 1926 in the Excelsior Life Building in Toronto. The initial Directors were George H. Shaver, William J. Dash and William M. Vickers. An option was submitted by George Hamilton for the Club to purchase sixty-five acres. Shares were valued at $100 and by the end of 1926 there were 32 shareholders.
Although it was widely believed for some time that Conn Smythe, an owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, owned the course, he was only one of the original shareholders. He supported the Club when needed. The silver Conn Smythe trophy is still on display in the Clubhouse
Famous visitors to Orchard Beach include Bob Hope and Tony Bennett. The woman who donated the photos of Bob Hope wrote:
"These pictures of Bob Hope golfing at Orchard Beach were taken around 1956. My brother, Rodger Hymin and 3 other boys were caddies at the Golf course and they were lucky enough to be picked to caddy for Bob Hope & party. He was a guest at Conn Smythe's cottage - as were other celebrities when they were performing at the Ex."
"Another celebrity they "caddied" for was Tony Bennett - who wanted to tip the 4 boys $20.00 - but Stafford Smythe took it away from them and gave them a $5.00 bill to split - saying that "the caddies around here aren't used to receiving that much."
One of the most interesting finds was an old map of the golf course which had names for all the holes. The Club is planning to reinstate the names when new signage is installed.
| #1 Lone Hole | #2 Woodland |
| #3 Upland | #4 The Punch Bowl |
| #5 Lakeview | #6 The Crest |
| #7 Dog's Leg | #8 The Gap |
| #9 Grandview |