From the earliest stages of life, children are taught to respect their elders. The same philosophy, apparently does not apply to professional golf.
Glen Abbey Golf Club, the historic site of the RBC Canadian Open, appears to be destined for real estate development, sending one of the oldest events on the PGA Tour schedule packing and in search of a new home.
Clublink, which owns and operates more than 50 golf facilities in Canada and Florida, including Glen Abbey, wants to build 3,222 residential units and offices on the property, including nine high-rises ranging from nine to 12 stories each.
The city is trying to block that plan, but Clublink's proposal received a boost recently when a judge said the owner can take its demolition plan to the local planning appeal tribunal.
Clublink first expressed its plan to redevelop Glen Abbey in 2015. Since then, the property was designated by the city as a historic site, protecting it under the Ontario Heritage Act. City leaders, including Mayor Rob Burton, say that designation precludes Clublink's plan to redevelop the property. Earlier this year, Oakville's town council passed amendments to its zoning by-laws and a conservation plan and in February voted to reject Clublink's redevelopment plan.
Clublink made its appeal to Canada's Superior Court of Justice in July. Justice Edward Morgan issued an opinion on Oct. 25 allowing Clublink to appeal its case.
Morgan wrote in his opinion: "The evidence is that the golf course was constructed in accordance with Jack Nicklaus' professional design. It is not raw land, and it is substantially more than a landscaped garden. As ClubLink points out, portions of the course have been renovated and rebuilt over time, and like all such constructions these features have a limited life.
"Counsel for ClubLink emphasizes the evidence in the record of substantial irrigation infrastructure, subsurface drainage construction, earthwork spectator mounds or berms, artificial reservoir ponds, complex designed greens constructed in accordance with specific United States Golf Association standards, engineered bunkers, paved cart paths, etc. All of these features require installation, physical maintenance, periodic renovation, and elaborate construction. ClubLink submits that features that need to be constructed are structures that can be demolished."
The status of the golf course became a topic of debate in the recent Oakville mayoral race that concluded with Burton winning a fourth term on Oct. 22. His opponent Julia Hanna favored a plan that included converting the entire property to a green space for public use.
The tournament has been played at Glen Abbey 30 times since 1977, including the past four years.
Under Clublink's current proposal, at least 12 acres of the current Glen Abbey site would be designated as a park.
John McLaughlin, the third candidate in the mayoral campaign, said town officials were only waiting until after the election to get behind Clublink's plan, claiming that a clause in a 2006 planning report says the golf course can be redesignated for real estate development for "no valid reason."
To that end, Burton has said that Clublink's development application could still be approved as long as the heritage elements of the land are preserved in the plans.
The RBC Canadian Open is one of the oldest tournaments on the PGA Tour schedule. The tournament has been played at Glen Abbey, a 1976 Jack Nicklaus design, 30 times since 1977, including the past four years.
Co-organized by Golf Canada and the PGA Tour, the Canadian Open has been played annually since 1904, except for 1915-18 and 1943-44, when it was interrupted by World War I and World War II, respectively. Among current professional tournaments, only the Open Championship and the U.S. Open have a longer history.
The 2019 RBC Canadian Open will be played 30 miles away at Hamilton Golf and Country Club.