Scarlett Woods Golf Course

Etobicoke Lifestyle & Community April 22, 2026

Looking for a golf escape that doesn't require leaving the city? Scarlett Woods is the west end's best kept secret: an executive-length public course tucked along the winding banks of the Humber River, where a full 18 fits into an evening and the price fits into anyone's budget.

Exploring the neighbourhoods along the Humber? Our guides cover them all.

Where the city meets the fairway

Part of Scarlett Woods' charm is geographic. Technically it sits just across the Etobicoke line in York, but it borders our side of the river and serves as a natural bridge between neighbourhoods like Sunnylea, The Kingsway and Mimico and the parklands of the Humber Valley. For anyone living or working in the west end, it's a local landmark and a badly needed stretch of public green.

An executive course for every skill level

Scarlett Woods is an 18 hole, par 61 executive course, roughly 3,800 yards of par 3s and short par 4s. Executive means shorter, and shorter is the point. A full round takes under four hours, which makes a morning game before work genuinely possible. It's also widely considered one of the best places in Toronto to learn the game: small greens and smart bunkering keep experienced players honest on their short game while staying friendly to beginners. And the terrain is beautifully walkable, right through the South Humber park system.

More public golf in the west end:

What makes it special

Designed by Howard Watson and opened in 1974, the course was built as part of a deliberate effort to preserve the Humber Valley's natural beauty. The signature 17th, with water running along the fairway, demands nerve and precision, proof that shorter never means easier. And the land earns its keep year-round: when the clubs go away for winter, the grounds host disc golf and winter hiking, so the valley never stops working for the neighbourhood.

A neighbourhood staple

For residents of Islington, the streets near the new Etobicoke Civic Centre, and the river pockets in between, Scarlett Woods is the lifestyle balance this part of the city does best: affordable, reachable by transit, and wrapped in local history. Whatever brings you, a stubborn handicap or just a walk in the woods with a club in hand, it stays one of the west end's jewels.