St. George'sSt. George'sIn 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. more... See more text