Obviously, there are no golf courses in our beloved Leslieville. What we do have in Leslieville and the east side of Toronto, are two fantastic places to tune-up your golf game… Lakeshore Links and The Docks Driving Range.
Throughout the winter when I get the golf itch and I’m not selling real estate with www.mattandben.ca. I like to go to Lakeshore Links (located on Lake Shore East @ Logan). If you’ve never played in one of their golf simulators, you would be shocked! The accuracy that the simulator offers is apparently 95% accurate. If you’re “shanking” the ball into the woods in your real game, you will enjoy similar results in the simulator. You have the choice to play 20 different golf courses including Pebble Beach and Harbour Town. They also have driving range settings so you can practise on your own. You can bring your friends and have a foursome. It’s a fun way to spend some quality time with friends in Leslieville.
The facility at Lakeshore Links is immaculate. It has friendly staff, a fully licensed bar, food, clean washrooms and ten simulators. Frankly it’s quite a swanky joint! I recommend booking a tee time in advance because it’s quite often full. The phone number for Lakeshore Links is 416 405-9888. For many years I have been working with one of their certified professional golf instructors, Jason March. He has worked wonders for my game and I highly recommend him. Jason can be reached via email at jasonmarch71@gmail.com.
The Docks Driving Range located on the west side of Cherry Street, just south of Polson Street, is our only central/east Toronto outdoor driving range. In summer months, it also doubles as a drive-in movie theatre. The range features two levels to hit balls off Astroturf mats. The range is almost 300 yards long, so even you big hitters can pull out your driver! When I leave my RE/MAX Hallmark office at 785 Queen Street East in Riverside for an afternoon break, I unwind at the Docks. There’s nothing like getting your mind off of real estate for a few minutes in the afternoon. Business continues at our office www.mattandben.ca even when I’m golfing, as my business partner Ben Ferguson is always available, plus my Blackberry (being a true Canadian) is always within reach.
The facility at The Docks is not the prettiest. Due to the dual use of the range, it is covered in fine gravel. The balls in many cases seem to have spent some time in Lake Ontario and are quite discoloured. In the Docks defense, they have recently bought a lot of new balls to offset the waterlogged ones. They have a full bar, a major mini putt course and golf lessons provided by their golf pro Susan. I’ve had many lessons with Susan and experienced good results. I would highly recommend her to anyone.
Matt Casselman, RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd, 785 Queen Street East, Toronto, ON, M4M 1H5 matt@mattandben.ca Phone 416 465-7850
