Glen Abbey Golf Course

Glen Abbey Golf Club is a privately-owned golf course in Oakville, Ontario Canada. It is one of Canada's most famous golf courses[2] and is home to the Golf Canada and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. It has hosted 30 Canadian Open Championships, more than any other course, with the first having been in 1977. It was the first solo design by Jack Nicklaus in 1976.

Glen Abbey Golf Club
Club information
Coordinates43.452°N 79.719°W / 43.452; -79.719
Location1333 Dorval Drive
Oakville, Ontario
L6M 4G2
Elevation120 metres (390 ft)
Established1976 (1976)
Owned byClublink
Total holes18
Tournaments hostedCanadian Open[note 1]
GreensBentgrass
FairwaysBentgrass / Poa annua[1]
Websiteglenabbey.clublink.ca
Designed byJack Nicklaus
Par73
Length7,273 yards (6,650 m)
Course rating74.7
Slope rating132
Course record62 - Greg Norman (1986),
John Merrick (2013)

A distinguishing feature of the Glen Abbey course are the "Valley Holes", numbered 11 through 15.[3] On number 11, a par 4, players tee off a cliff to a fairway that is approximately 60 feet below on the valley floor. The second shot must clear Sixteen Mile Creek to the green. Holes 12, 13 and 14 all use Sixteen Mile Creek as a hazard of one form or another. Number 15 is a short par 3 with a sharply-sloping green, after which players climb out of the valley to the 16th hole.

Glen Abbey is owned by Clublink, operated by TWC Enterprises Limited. The company is planning to demolish the golf course in order to build residential and commercial units.[4] The plan is opposed by the Oakville Town Council, which has designated the facility a heritage site. In 2018, the company achieved some success in its efforts against the town after a Superior Court ruled against the town's attempts to block its plan.[5]

History

The property Glen Abbey is situated on was previously owned by a number of groups before it was made into a golf club. The land was originally patented to King's College (the predecessor to the University of Toronto) in 1814.[6] In 1937, the property was sold to Andre Dorfman, as a private estate.[6] In 1953, the property was sold to the Jesuit Fathers of Upper Canada, and was used as a retreat.[6] From 1963 to 1974, the property was sold to another developer, who first attempted to develop the property into a gentlemen's club and golf course; and later into a ski hill.[6]

Nick Price at the 1994 Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

In 1974, the property was sold to another developer, who developed the property into the present golf course.[6] In 1975, the Royal Canadian Golf Association relocated its headquarters and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame to the golf club the following year.[6] Two years later, the course hosted its first Canadian Open. The golf club is presently a rota course of the Canadian Open, hosting the event 30 times since 1977. The Royal Canadian Golf Association purchased the club in 1990 and sold it to Clublink in 1999.[6]

The 18th hole is notable due to its connection to Tiger Woods, who, in the final round of the 2000 Canadian Open, hit a six-iron shot 218 yards from a bunker on the right side of the fairway to about 18 feet from the hole. The shot was over a large pond that guards the green. In doing so, Woods proceeded to defeat his playing partner Grant Waite and won the tournament. The shot is regarded as one of the most spectacular both of Woods' career and in recent PGA Tour history.[7]

In 2009, Mark Calcavecchia set a new PGA Tour record with 9 consecutive birdies in his second round of the Canadian Open. After having started the round on the 10th hole, he birdied holes 12 through 18, then holes 1 and 2 of the front nine.[8]

Redevelopment plan
Glen Abbey's golf course in November 2016.

Clublink Corp first filed an application in October 2015[9] to redevelop the property. In its plan, there was no provision for a golf course.[9] The Town of Oakville Council responded in August 2017 by declaring the golf course a heritage site under the Ontario Heritage Act. This would make it more difficult for Clublink to develop the area as it had planned, with 3,222 housing units. 69,000 square feet of commercial/retail space and 107,000 square feet of office space.[10][11][12] Golf Canada was also concerned, since they could not predict whether it could get the necessary permit to hold the Canadian Open at Glen Abbey in 2018.[13] Eventually, the event was in fact held at Glen Abbey.[14]

The Town of Oakville formally rejected the plan to demolish the golf course in a unanimous vote by the Planning and Development Council on February 12, 2018. In summer 2018, Clublink was awaiting a Superior Court decision on its plan to request a demolition permit and, in the meantime, the Canadian Open took place at the course. On October 25, 2018, Justice Edward Morgan ruled that Clublink had a right to take its demolition application to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT), in spite of the town's previous denial of this step. The city council subsequently voted unanimously to take the issue to the Ontario Court of Appeal.[15]

On December 11, 2018, the Ontario Superior Court ruled against the conservation plan and bylaws which had been enacted to stop the Glen Abbey development plan. Judge Edward Morgan said that the effort exceeded the town's legal rights and was made in bad faith. The Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) will hold an eight-day hearing in June 2019 on ClubLink’s appeal of the town’s updated official plan and amended bylaws and later in 2019, another hearing later about ClubLink’s development application appeal.[5]

A report at the time of the October 2018 hearing clarified the owner's plan: building "3,222 residential units, including nine apartment buildings between nine and 12 storeys in height".[16] These would be over and above the planned office space and commercial/retail space.[4]

The 2019 and 2023 Canadian Open were scheduled to be held at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club but the event may again be held at Glen Abbey in some future years if the redevelopment is not allowed to proceed.[17]

Scorecard
Glen Abbey Golf Club[18]
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Black 74.7 / 132 5024141564175274371974334583541 44345220555845714151643652437327273
Gold 72.2 / 127 4833931233795044061423914083229 37543918752936712249439648433936622
Blue 70.6 / 123 4603801233454523951353913833064 36943515248133011545236546131606224
Handicap Men's 1511391751173 10281241814616
Par 54345434436 4435435453773
Green 73.6 / 132 4602881233454523471353583542852 36936215241532511535336542928855747
Red 70.4 / 125 38928895271411347943583542607 32936211841532510435330442927395346
Handicap Ladies' 5913715311171 14410618161282

Notes
  1. Glen Abbey Golf Club has hosted the Canadian Open on thirty occasions, in 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018.

References
  1. "RBC Canadian Open" (PDF). GCSAA. Tournament fact sheets. July 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  2. Passov, Joe (June 20, 2010). "Travelin' Joe's Guide to Canada Golf Courses". Golf.com. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  3. Thompson, Robert (July 21, 2013). "Course review: Glen Abbey Golf Club". Canadian Golfer. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014.
  4. "This year could be Glen Abbey's last as owners plan redevelopment for condos and offices". thestar.com. July 20, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  5. "Town of Oakville dealt another courtroom setback in fight to save Glen Abbey Golf Course". Inside Halton. Metroland News. December 12, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018. Conservation plan and related bylaws struck down by Ontario Superior Court of Justice
  6. "41: 1333 Dorval Drive, RayDor Estate & Glen Abbey" (PDF). Laurie Smith Heritage Consulting. Town of Oakville. 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  7. Phillips, Randy (June 6, 2012). "Tiger Woods's greatest shot was at Canadian Open". The Gazette. Archived from the original on July 8, 2019.
  8. "Calcavecchia has 7-under par 65 Rd.2 at 2009 RBC Canadian Open (video)". PGA Tour. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  9. Milner, Brian (October 27, 2015). "ClubLink files to redevelop Glen Abbey into residential community". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  10. Lea, David (July 18, 2018). "Superior Court justice to decide if demolition request for Oakville's Glen Abbey valid". Oakville Beaver. Metroland Media. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  11. Gazze, Mary (August 21, 2017). "Oakville council unanimously votes to give heritage status for Glen Abbey". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  12. Lucs, Ieva (August 22, 2017). "Oakville city council unanimously votes to designate Glen Abbey golf course a heritage site". CBC News. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  13. Boekhoff, Iain (August 23, 2017). "Heritage designation raises questions about Glen Abbey's future". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  14. "Past Champions". Golf Canada. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  15. "Fight for Oakville's Glen Abbey Golf Course heading to Ontario Court of Appeal". Toronto Start. Metroland News. November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  16. "Oakville's Glen Abbey Golf Course appears 1 step closer to demolition". Inside Halton. Metroland News. October 26, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  17. "Canadian Open returning to Hamilton in 2019, 2023". CBC Sports. June 6, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018. Applebaum said Golf Canada has not ruled out returning to Glen Abbey in the future but is "speaking with a variety of people" about hosting 2020, 2021, and 2022.
  18. "Glen Abbey Scorecard" (PDF). Clublink. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
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