Members are open to The Open
If you like golf and enjoy watching the Canadian Open live, you’re going to love the news that came out of Hamilton Golf and Country Club Tuesday evening where members voted in favour of throwing open its gates to possibly host our national championship twice in the next five years.
This means the 2019 and 2023 events could be held at the historic Ancaster course which previously hosted in 2003, 2006, 2012 and way back in 1919.
“The vote doesn’t mean it’s a done deal,” says Golf Canada’s director of communications Dan Pino. “It just means it’s working toward a positive outcome.”
Pino says other clubs are still in play but this clears a hurdle by allowing for more-serious discussions between Golf Canada, the PGA Tour, title sponsor RBC and the HGCC executive, knowing the members are on board.
A final decision is expected within four months.
One thing Hamilton has going for it is familiarity.
Those three times hosting over the past 15 years means everyone knows the place well and understands that a tournament could succeed there.
“It’s a proven property, there’s no doubt,” Pino says. “There have certainly been strong Opens at Hamilton.”
All this might suggest it’s an easy sell for the members when they’re asked to give their blessing but a thumbs-up is never guaranteed when Golf Canada comes calling.
Voting to host the tournament means members lose access to the course for several weeks right in the middle of the short Canadian golf season.
Not to mention, playing on a significantly more-difficult setup for much of the summer as the rough is grown out and construction of bleachers and other tournament infrastructure goes on for weeks.
No doubt some will scoff at this perceived hardship to the wellheeled members. However, that’s not fair as this is indeed a sacrifice for those who are paying not-insignificant annual fees to use their facilities.
Though the course does receive payment for making itself available, a number of members over the years have said the broader good drives their decision to vote yes again and again.
That impact is substantial. The event always turns into a weeklong festival of terrific PR for this city. Players rave about the course that is consistently ranked among Canada’s best and the TV cameras that project an image of Hamilton that isn’t always seen, love the 102-year-old tree-lined track.
There’s also a reported $25 million injection into the local economy over the course of the
week which never hurts.
While the vote was to bring the Open here twice, the significant date is the first one as it would mark the 100th anniversary of the first time the national championship was held on site.
Back in 1919, a 17-year-old Bobby Jones finished second to James Douglas Edgar in the first Canadian Open after a four-summer absence for the First World War.
Yet it could be the 2023 contest that becomes the most-intriguing if new PGA commissioner Jay Monahan’s publicly stated hopes of a schedule change come to pass.
For years, the Canadian Open has been played the week after the British Open which hurts the field as many players want to take a week off after a major tournament, especially one played overseas.
However, if our national championship found a new spot on the schedule — particularly if it was a little earlier and seen as a tuneup — it could potentially draw a more star-laden field.
Which could make Tuesday’s vote even more impactful.