Questions as Abbey, Hamilton chart new courses
The announcement this week that the RBC Canadian Open, starting next year, will be held the first week of June, prior to the U.S. Open, has created excitement and perhaps even a slight sense of urgency at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club.
The 2019 Canadian Open will be played at Ancaster the week of June 3-9 compared to this year’s Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club the week of July 23-29. That’s six weeks earlier. “We’ve lost some time, but we can manage it,” says Scott Shannon, who was announced this week as the Hamilton G&CC committee chair.
Shannon served on the organizing committees of the 2003, ’06 and ’12 Canadian Opens at Hamilton so he brings a wealth of experience to his new position.
Shannon says he senses a great deal of enthusiasm at the club for next year’s event and that will only be heightened by the announcement of the earlier date, just before the U.S. Open and the potential that has for a better field including some players who seldom play in the Canadian Open because of its date stuck between the British Open and a WGC event and that includes possibly even some European Tour players.
“And the other thing the membership will appreciate is that when the tournament is over, say June 10, we get the golf course back from that point forward,” said Shannon.
While Golf Canada and the Hamilton Golf and Country Club start to gear up and announce their plans for next year’s tournament, the City of Hamilton remains strangely quiet on its involvement.
With Hamilton G&CC scheduled to host the event in 2019 and 2023, that begs the question if this is the last time we will see the tournament at Glen Abbey in Oakville which has already hosted the championship 29 times.
Laurence Applebaum, CEO of Golf Canada, was asked that question directly at a media conference Tuesday. He danced around it and in the end gave no answer to the question.
Bill Paul, who is in charge of professional tournaments for Golf Canada, was only slightly more forthcoming when The Spectator asked him privately afterward if Glen Abbey was on their radar at all.
“Never say never,” said Paul. Meanwhile, the Oakville Beaver reported this week that the future of Glen Abbey as a golf course could be decided as early as July 16 or 17.
ClubLink, which owns the course, wants to redevelop it into housing and apartments as well commercial, retail and office space.
The Town of Oakville opposes the move and has taken the unusual step of declaring the golf course “A property of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest.”
ClubLink is claiming that the town is improperly using the Ontario Heritage Act. That claim, according to the Beaver, will be heard in Ontario Superior Court in Toronto on the 16th and/or 17.
Another court hearing will be held on Sept. 13 and 14 to rule on a challenge by ClubLink and by the Building Industry and Land Development Association on Oakville’s conservation plan and bylaws.
And then there is an Oakville local planning appeal tribunal pre-hearing on Nov. 29 and Nov. 30 for ClubLink’s Glen Abbey development application.