Glen Abbey Golf Course

Glen Abbey Golf Club is a public golf course in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. It is one of Canada's most famous golf courses and is home to 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.

A distinguishing feature of the Glen Abbey course are the "Valley Holes", numbered 11 through 15. 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 was planning to demolish the golf course in order to build residential and commercial units. The plan was opposed by the Oakville Town Council, which 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. However, in July 2021, the Ontario government became involved in the issue and an agreement was reached for the Glen Abbey Golf Course redevelopment plans to be quashed and the golf course to continue. The Glen Abbey Golf Course is now continuing to operate going forward, recognized as a sports venue of historic importance.

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. In 1937, the property was sold to Andre Dorfman, as a private estate. In 1953, the property was sold to the Jesuit Fathers of Upper Canada, and was used as a retreat. 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.

In 1974, the property was sold to another developer, who developed the property into the present golf course. In 1975, the Royal Canadian Golf Association relocated its headquarters and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame to the golf club the following year. 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.

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.

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.

Redevelopment plan

Clublink Corp first filed an application in October 2015 to redevelop the property. In its plan, there was no provision for a golf course. 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. 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. Eventually, the event was in fact held at Glen Abbey.

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.

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.

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". These would be over and above the planned office space and commercial/retail space.

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.

In July 2021, following discussions with the Ontario government, the Glen Abbey Golf Course redevelopment plans were quashed by Clublink and the property continued as a golf course. With the redevelopment plans no longer proposed, the Glen Abbey Golf Course continues to operate going forward, recognized as a sports property of historic importance.

Scorecard

Notes

References

See also

* List of Jesuit sites

External links

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Golf clubs and courses in Ontario
Golf clubs and courses designed by Jack Nicklaus
Sport in Oakville, Ontario
Tourist attractions in the Regional Municipality of Halton
Canadian Open (golf)
1976 establishments in Ontario