If you live around here, you have likely driven by it, and never been inside.
You may have noticed the handy sign that reminds us how much longer a lease winter has on the green grass — at last count it was nine weeks.
You may have passed by the more than 100-year-old Midland Golf & Country Club as a place to visit in all seasons.
One of the reasons for this, according to Stephen Sagar, the clubhouse manager and executive chef, is that people don’t know the club is public.
It was funded and built by local businessman and golf aficionado James Playfair in 1919 as a nine-hole course. At the time it was not private, but by invitation-only, making it very exclusive.
The first nine was designed by well-known course architect Nicol Thompson and the second nine holes were designed and built by Englishman Robert Sandow with support by local dentist Dr. John Parrott. The second nine opened in 1967.
The course is accessible to all skill levels with different tee decks.
“If you’re a novice, and you’re new to the game, or more advanced, there’s something for everyone,” says Sagar. “You don’t have to be Tiger Woods to golf here.”
However, Sagar is quick to point out the club regularly hosts major tournaments for golfers from all over Ontario and outside of Canada.
Last year, for example, the club hosted a women’s amateur championship with close to 50 to 60 amateur champions participating over the course of a week.
“We strive to do better constantly. We’ve brought more people into the Georgian Bay area, and
put ourselves on the golf map,” Sagar said. “We are quite proud.”
Sagar says the club has always been member-driven and member-focused, and it is always changing and expanding.
“It was designed for higher income individuals, and as the business grew, it morphed,” explains Sagar.
Some members have been golfing here all their lives. Their parents and grandparents were members.
“People talk about this as their childhood nostalgia home,” explains Sagar, “It’s old school. It’s an old-fashioned golf course.”
That gives the clubhouse a warm feeling, and it is the original cottage-style clubhouse that was built over 100 years ago.
“As you walk into the clubhouse, it’s the exact same bar as it was 100 years ago. There’s high wainscoting. It has an old quaint, cottage feel,” says Sagar. “Come in and catch of glimpse of the history of the place.”
In the early 1970s, the club expanded the dining room and added a new deck in 2008.
“The deck is a hidden treasure, and a great spot for dinner or drinks,” says Sagar.
Fundamentally, Sagar says the club is a member-owned, semi-private course open to the public for dining and golf services.
“We are a forward-thinking, progressive organization set on a historical site. We are open to families.
“We’ve become increasingly busy over the years,” says Sagar who started working at the club in 2008.
After Sagar joined the club, he helped the club start offering its beautiful setting for weddings and other special events.
“When local people come in for events, so many people tell me they’ve lived here all their lives and never been inside,” says Sagar.
Once the snow starts to melt, Sagar points out the clubhouse is open for lunch prior to the start of the golf season for a few weeks.
As the executive chef, who has worked at some fine dining establishments in Toronto — like Barberian's Steak House and the CN Tower — Sagar describes the food as fresh and accessible.
“If you’re looking for high fine dining, you’re not going to find it here,” says the chef. “Everything is homemade and not over the top.
“At our core we are an everyday, bistro-style restaurant. When you finish a round of golf, we have good burgers with fresh salads and fresh-cut fries, homemade soups and great steaks.”
While the club does not offer winter golfing, and the kitchen is closed until early spring, the Midland Ski Club grooms the course for cross-country skiing in the winter.
Tickets for the course are available at MountainView Ski Centre at 9266 County Rd 93 in Midland.
For as little as $20 a day, less for younger and older skiers, you can enjoy the beautiful snow covered rolling hills of the course while communing with nature on the gentle glide of your skiis.
For more information about the golf club, click here.
