Rosedale Golf Club

Rosedale began in 1893 as a nine-hole course in Moore Park, moved to Rosedale a couple of years later and settled on its present ground in the Don Valley in 1909, where the members played a Tom Bendelow layout. Donald Ross built the back nine and reworked the front in 1917.

Ross built more than four hundred courses and very few of them in Canada, which makes this one unusual, and the ravine ground he was given here is a long way from the sandy Carolina sites he is remembered for. The restorer John Faught later returned the course toward what Ross intended, working from a 1939 aerial photograph: tree thinning, tee adjustments, bunkers restored or removed and several greens rebuilt, completed in 2010.

What it asks of you

A par 71 across a valley property inside the city, so the round is a sequence of climbs, drops and shots played from stances that are almost never level. The opening tee shot drops into the valley and sets the tone.

Water is in play on half the holes and the fairways are tight and rolling, which puts a premium on position. The green complexes are the feature reviewers single out most often: Ross greens on ravine ground, defended by fall-away surrounds rather than by rough.

It is not long. What it asks for is control of the ball on uneven ground and a clear idea, before each tee shot, of where the approach has to come from.

What players say about it

Guests play by member introduction, so the public record comes from guest accounts and architecture writing. The notes below summarise recurring themes across those public sources. They are other people’s opinions, not ours: we have not played the course, and we do not name or quote individual reviewers.

What comes up in its favour

• Conditioning is described in strong terms across the accounts, and the green complexes draw the most enthusiastic praise of anything on the property.
• The routing is admired: an elevated opening tee shot into the valley, a fine mixture of holes, and a seventeenth green reviewers mention by name.
• The Faught restoration is well received and is credited with recovering what Ross drew.
• Big elevation change inside the city limits is treated as the course’s rarest quality.

What comes up against

• Water on half the holes and tight rolling fairways make it punishing for a higher handicapper.
• The valley walk is demanding, particularly the climbs.
• Access is closed, and the review record is thin as a result.
• It is short by modern standards, and players who measure a course by yardage underrate it.

Getting there and when to go

The club is in the Don Valley in central Toronto, fifteen minutes from downtown and around forty from Pearson, which makes it one of the most central private courses in the country.

The season runs from roughly April to November. Late spring and September give the firmest ground. Guest play is arranged through a member.

Green fees

Guest conditions and rates are set by the club and are not published. See the club’s own site.

How this page was made

The factual frame comes from public sources: OpenStreetMap for the location, Wikipedia and published architecture coverage for the history, the Ross work and the 2010 restoration, and the club’s own site for access. The opinion section summarises public commentary and guest accounts read in September 2026; we report recurring themes rather than individual voices, and we do not reproduce or attribute quotes.

We have not played this course, and nothing here is a substitute for that. The club has not paid for this page, has not seen it before publication and has no say in what it says. If you know the course and something here is wrong or out of date, write to us and we will correct it.