Pros Reflect On Millcroft’s Origins

Millcroft back in the news: Burlington Today  September 2025-Chris Arnold

As a teenager, Sean Foley could walk across what was then an open field from his house to Millcroft Golf Course after school to practice his chipping and putting – a luxury he acknowledges gave him an edge over other golfers. However, times have changed in Burlington, he said.
Foley has since gone on to have an extraordinary career in golf coaching, working with 2013 U.S. Open winner Justin Rose, three-time Olympic medalist Lydia Ko, and 15-time major winner Tiger Woods.
“I was 15 when we moved to Millcroft, and we were one of the first families to move there, it was pretty empty,” Foley said. “Back in the day I would leave my backyard with my golf bag on and walk across the field to the clubhouse, there were no houses. When I go back now, I can barely recognize the place. It is unreal.”
Since his parents bought their house 36 years ago, Foley has since moved to Florida to continue professional golf coaching. He is aware of the ongoing issues around Millcroft’s redevelopment, but does not spend any significant time around the course anymore. His parents have since moved, but he will pop into the clubhouse for a drink with friends when he comes back to Canada.

His own coach at Millcroft, Bob DiFrancesco, founded the club’s junior program which has seen some 8,600 young golfers tee up over the years. His program has produced a few dozen division 1 and CIS athletes. The junior program was among the best in the area, and drew young golfers from as far as the other side of Toronto.
The program launched just after the course opened. DiFrancesco lives in the neighbourhood but not directly on the golf course. He said he personally has pretty low stakes in the re-development of the area, but cares for the course itself.
“I was literally in tears when I saw what they did to those trees,” he said. “I helped to create this, and now they have demolished it. The trees looked like downed animals.”
DiFrancesco has lost count of how many times he personally played the course. As a coach, he effectively played daily – at least nine holes.
At nine holes a day for six months of the year for the 16 years he worked at the course, that amounts to approximately 2,900 rounds of golf. The former high school teacher never took a summer off, he said.
“I had eight camps every summer, there was money in it for me but it was not about that,” he said. “Combining the hours worked with those extra, unpaid, it came out to like $12 per hour. I wanted to develop junior golf.”

The junior program, known as eti-kid, no longer exists at Millcroft. In its time, it offered a work-to-play program where youngsters could “volunteer” to clean golf carts or clubs in exchange for tokens to play at the course.
Foley was a part of the program, and earned tokens by cleaning members’ clubs.
“Every hour you worked, you earned an eti-kid buck, and four bucks meant you could play 18 holes,” he said. “We found ways around the system to create more bucks to play a lot more golf, but we won’t share our secrets.”
Foley said seeing the course be re-developed is not surprising. He spoke of global housing markets and demand, while saying North America generally has a profit-over-people approach to things.
“I do not think it is something to get emotional about, at least for me,” he said. “The times have changed.”

Last week, the city of Burlington laid charges on the developer for destroying trees on the course. Millcroft has also been converted from an 18-hole to a nine hole course this year, as the redevelopment takes place.