Family and friends of John Collins enjoy the view of the 2nd hole during the Canadian Open Golf tournament at St. George's Golf and Country Club from a scaffold built in his backyard in Toronto ,Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail
It's not easy being a golf fan, schlepping around after the marquee players in a constant and oft-vain quest for a decent view.
It's significantly less difficult being John Collins, whose backyard faces the second green at St. George's Golf and Country Club in Toronto, where the Canadian Open is under way.
The only difficulty for Mr. Collins was the two years it took to persuade his wife, Gail, to let him erect a five-metre-high platform - complete with chairs, a tub of drinks and a food table - from which to take in this week's action.
Since then, the couple and their closest relatives and friends have been drawing envious looks from fans and grins from golfers impressed with their enthusiasm for the game.
"They seem to have got a real kick out of the fact that we've done this," Mr. Collins said in hushed tones on Friday, as play carried on a few metres away.
His set-up is one of the more obvious ones among a scattering of tents and platforms that poke up from properties next to St. George's, which sits in a leafy west-end enclave of grand old homes. The course, which hasn't been host of the Canadian Open since 1968, is nestled more intimately among homes than is typical for professional golf events.
"I've actually got passes for the tournament," said Mr. Collins, a long-time member of the exclusive club, "but I haven't had to use them yet."
And why would he? His professionally erected, dance-floor-sized perch atop heavy-gauge scaffolding affords him a close, unfettered view of the second green and its final approach, plus a decent line to the ninth green and seventh tee.
The only walking required is the occasional stroll down the temporary steel stairs, past the pool and down the stone path to the house for snacks or a bathroom break.
Speaking of the pool, it sits directly beneath the platform, yet remains fully accessible - one of two non-negotiable conditions, along with "don't wreck my plants," laid down by Ms. Collins.
"He's been working on me for two years," she said. "I finally decided it's easier to go with it than fight it."
Ms. Collins doesn't want to know what the platform cost, which pairs nicely with her husband's reluctance to tell her. But she has already enjoyed some of the structure's spin-off benefits.
"He's come home for lunch three days in a row," she said, "and he hasn't been home in nine years."
The celebrity encounters have been fun, too. On Monday, when Canada's Mike Weir held his annual charity game before the Open, a familiar-looking man in a floppy hat and orange shirt came along and noticed the Collins's sweet set-up.
"Samuel L. Jackson came up and said he wanted to come up here," said Mr. Collins, a marketing executive. "She wouldn't let him," he said with a wink, indicating his wife.
When Dion Phaneuf of the Toronto Maple Leafs made a similar request, "I said it would cost him a pair of platinums," Mr. Collins said, referring to the best seats at the Air Canada Centre. "No takers."
The handful of non-famous people invited to mount the capacious stand free of charge on Friday, where they munched barbecued mini-burgers and sipped cold drinks, had better luck.
"I think it's great," family friend Don Schroder said quietly, as he watched Dave Bunker of Woodbridge, Ont., putt for bogey, so near that the delicate shot was audible. "It's pretty phenomenal that you can do this over a swimming pool."
Asked if his wife, Sandy, would consent to something similar in their yard, Mr. Schroder answered no, but his better half begged to differ.
"You know what? I would, because I love golf, too," she said, adding all they need now is a house that backs onto a course.