Past Glen Abbey champions worry about venerable course’s uncertain future
For over four decades, the Glen Abbey Golf Club has been synonymous with the Canadian Open. When the lone Canadian stop on the PGA Tour gets underway next week, it will mark the 30th time the venerable course in suburban Toronto has hosted the event.
It might also be the last. Glen Abbey’s owner, ClubLink Corp., announced plans to redevelop the site last year and the future of the venerable course — the first ever solo design project by the legendary Jack Niklaus — is in doubt.
The idea of the distinctive course in Oakville, Ont., with a parkland-style upper portion and an infamous 11th hole that leads into a steep drop into a valley, being bulldozed over for condos and offices does not sit well with some of Glen Abbey’s past champions.
“It’s a terrible idea,” said Chez Reavie, who won the 2008 Canadian Open at Glen Abbey. “All the people spent all that money to live on a golf course and they should still be on a golf course. It’s sad when you see pretty golf courses like that get torn up.”