Nicklaus may not be done with us

Could he design a new home for Canadian Open?

Jack Nicklaus has won 18 golf majors and 73 PGA Tour events, was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, and owns a company that has designed more than 300 golf courses around the world.

He also cannot shoot a hockey puck to save his life.

“No one has ever handed me one of these before,” Nicklaus said on the 7th tee at Glen Abbey Golf Club, after he was given a stick and asked to fire a couple of pucks at a nearby net.

The setup is part of The Rink, a new addition to the RBC Canadian Open this year in which the par-3 7th is surrounded by hockey boards. There’s also a Zamboni near the forward tees and the tee blocks are goalie masks and the marshals on the hole wear referee stripes.

It is corny, yes. But Nicklaus, at 77, knows quite well how to play along. He donned a Golf Canada hockey jersey, asked for some tips on how to shoot, and pushed some pucks in the direction of the net. He asked how to raise the puck. More instruction was given. Pull the puck back, Jack, and move your right hand down the stick. Nicklaus said his right arm has seen better days. It was “dead,” he said. This was not a recipe for a top-corner snipe.

After a couple more tries, Nicklaus surrendered the stick and noted at least he hadn’t missed the net. There were smiles and handshakes and photos. Nicklaus knows the drill: he is the sport’s biggest ambassador now, particularly after the passing of Arnold Palmer, and so everywhere he goes there are demands for him to loan a touch of his star power. He does it with humour and grace. At a ceremony to kick off the RBC Canadian Open on Tuesday morning, Nicklaus asks how many Opens there have been and is told the number is 108.

“I played in most of them,” he says.

But, later, after the hockey stunt, the conversation takes a more serious turn.

“I’m very proud of Glen Abbey,” he says. “It’s hosted, how many Canadian Opens?” He is told this is the 29th. “Twenty-nine,” he says, sounding a little surprised at the passage of time. “That’s a couple. A lot of you aren’t that old. Anyway, I think it’s been good, and it’s contributed a lot to the game of golf in Canada.”

These words were freighted with extra significance, given recent developments.

Glen Abbey, Nicklaus’ first solo design, was built to be the permanent home of the Canadian Open.