An inconspicuous Jewish country club just became the site of Canadian sports history
Founded in 1926 when private clubs had a strict ‘no Jews allowed’ policy, Oakdale Golf and Country Club has kept a low profile until it hosted this year’s Canadian Open golf event
TORONTO — It’s a cringeworthy Toronto Star headline from 1926: “Hebrews buy farm; build golf course.”
Ninety-seven years later, one can only imagine what those “Hebrews” — a group of Jewish businessmen who created the Oakdale Golf and Country Club because all the private golf clubs at that time adhered to a strict “no Jews” policy — would think of the headlines about their club today.
Oakdale was front-page news in Canada on June 5 when for the first time ever it hosted the PGA Tour’s Canadian Open golf tournament — the world’s third-oldest national championship, behind only the U.S. Open and British Open — and subsequently became the site of one of the biggest moments in Canadian sports history.
With the club’s immaculate greens and fairways lined by tens of thousands of fans, one of the longest droughts in Canadian sports was ended when Nick Taylor dramatically sank a miraculous putt in a playoff to become the event’s first Canadian champion since 1954.
The club, which today remains predominantly Jewish, has virtually gone overnight from being nearly invisible to now being part of Canadian sports lore.
“Our club really feels excited and privileged to host this event, to show the world who we are,” said the club’s previous president Mark Sadowski, who played a key role in bringing the Canadian Open to the club. “And dare I say we are a little prideful.”
From the day it opened, Oakdale has been firm in its stance against discrimination of any kind. While the club’s memberships are passed down in families from generation to generation — making its Jewishness as strong as ever — anyone can join, so the club also includes plenty of non-Jews. There never has been — and Sadowski insists there never will be — a question on the application form about religious affiliation or any other identifier.
To join the ritzy club, there is, however, what Sadowski describes as “one very specific piece of Jewish DNA” in the application.
“It’s about tzedakah,” he said, using the Hebrew word for charity. “Do you give to the community — not necessarily financially, but are you community-minded? So, the two pillars of our club are that we are a family-focused club and that we expect our members to be giving back in some form.”
Sadowski also noted how the club — surrounded by a largely economically disadvantaged citizenry in northwest Toronto — has made it a priority to hire most of its staff to be either within walking distance or a short commute. In addition, the club hosts programs that bring local children on-site to learn the game of golf.
At the same time, the club’s conservative, attention-averse membership has wanted to stay out of the limelight.
“The club has always been very low-key,” said Molly Jagroop, the club’s general manager, a Guyanese immigrant who stresses how comfortable she has felt at Oakdale from her first day working there more than a decade ago.
“We haven’t been in the spotlight because that’s just not something that is of major interest to our members. But we’re turning 100 years old in 2026, so we just felt that it was time that we elevated our profile, if you will, and let the world come see us,” Jagroop said. “When you look at the golf course and the condition that it’s in, the clubhouse, and all the work that we’ve done with our amenities over the years, we sit very well. So why not open things up? The timing felt right to do something big like host a Canadian Open.”
That required reaching out to Golf Canada — the governing body that runs the Canadian Open — to see if they were interested. Many officials and elite players had never even heard of the club. But Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum was not one of them. He knew lots of Oakdale members, having first played the course as a guest more than 30 years ago.
“We go through a multi-year, multi-tiered process to see if a prospective host has all the aspects we want in what is a PGA Tour event,” said Applebaum, who joined Golf Canada as CEO in 2017 after spending much of his career in the sporting goods industry. “And Oakdale continued to surprise us at every level. Do they have a strong membership? Yes, 1,000 families. Do they have a golf course that could be exquisite inside the ropes? Yes, we took the best 18 of their 27 holes to build a composite course.”
Applebaum added that as Golf Canada went through the rest of its checklist, which included the ability to hold an on-site concert and accommodate food, beverage, and hospitality options, the club was consistently up to the task.
“Every time that we came forward with something we needed, Oakdale came forward and were collaborative,” Applebaum said. “This club has just welcomed the world with their open arms and shown a spirit of togetherness that is really inspiring.”
Membership approval came in at about 75 percent — one of the highest levels of support any club hosting the event has ever had.
With all the preparation work done with time to spare, the club was handed over to Golf Canada in advance of the competition. Despite wildfire smoke, rain, and a highly controversial bombshell announcement about Saudi Arabian investment into the PGA Tour, everything turned out fine during the four-day tournament. The historic win by Taylor was just an unexpected bonus.
Members did have to make a lot of sacrifices, most notably giving up their club for a few weeks during peak playing season. But Sadowski is confident that when the reviews are all done, members will see how the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks. And, assuming there’s membership approval for another round, the club will host again in 2026 to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
“This was a step out of their comfort zone, but they sort of approached it with: ‘Can we do it? Do you think we can do it?’ said Applebaum. “They gained the confidence that they could and then they blew it out of the water. So, I just think we’ve been very lucky to find this gem of a club called Oakdale and we look forward to being back in 2026.”
