Joe Knows The 2010 Open

The way Joe Murphy sees it, the recent agreement that brings the nearby Islington Golf Club on board as the practice facility for the 2010 RBC Canadian Open is a good news story for several reasons.

“To have this more as a community offering is great, I think, for golf and it’s great for the local community,” said Murphy, the general manager for the St. George’s Golf and Country Club, the host site of next year’s Open.

“The really cool thing about it is that it gets more clubs involved and it gets them to participate in our national event. I think that’s the real coup here for the host club, which is us, the RCGA, RBC and Islington. I think everyone wins here,” he said.

“I think it’s a really good news story,” added Murphy. “Islington’s got lots to offer, particularly in terms of the setting and staging of the range.

“Their level of conditioning is similar to ours. There are a lot of synergies between the superintendents who can talk and make sure the putting surfaces and the tees and so on are similar to what they’re going to play here,” he said.

It might not have been as easy, had the original plan gone through and the practice facility was housed at Eglinton Flats.

“I don’t know how that would have worked exactly over at Eglinton Flats, which is more of a public domain. I’m not sure how that would have been controlled because it would have been tough for our staff to be carting equipment over there and try to keep that area up to par here,” said Murphy.

With the issue of the practice facility now resolved, more challenges are ahead at a site where fewer people than normal will be able to see the event live on a daily basis. To help ease the problem of tight quarters, part of nearby Islington Ave. will be shut down.

The flip side is that St. George’s and Islington, for that matter, are traditional Stanley Thompson designs that will show well to the world and visiting PGA Tour players.

“Space is at a premium here,” admitted Murphy, adding 22,000 people will be the daily max, well below a typical Canadian Open crowd at other venues.

“It’s going to be different from any other tournament that’s been held, really, in Canada. Even when it went to the (Hamilton Golf and Country Club), that was kind of cool and kind of different, but they’ve got lots of space and they have that extra nine they can work with,” he said.

The last time the Canadian Open was played at St. George’s was 1968 when Bob Charles edged Jack Nicklaus, but the staging of a tournament has become an entirely different matter over 42 years.

“You had some pretty exciting golf there and some great players,” said Murphy. “It’s just, in terms of the crowds, I grew up in Ancaster in the ‘60s and ‘70s and golf was a big part of my life, but it didn’t have the popularity it does today.”

That means plenty of prep work.

“We’re just starting to look a little more seriously at set-up and how it’s all going to flow on our clubhouse side of things. The RCGA takes care of a lot on the infrastructure side of things,” said Murphy.

“(Superintendent) Keith Bartlett works closely with the RCGA in terms of making sure the safety precautions are taken care of, things like tree limbs, and you have to be very careful how you’re moving around 20-22,000 people a day.”

Murphy believes his course will put up a good test for the tour pros, particularly on the greens, while a national and international television audience will get a good look at one of Canada’s most renowned courses.

“Things have stepped up,” he said, adding that about 700 volunteers have come forward, about half of what’s needed. “That’s not strictly St. George’s members, but a number of our members have stepped up.”

The rest will come from other clubs, golf fans and the RCGA’s traditional base of volunteers who are usually on hand when the Open is played in the Greater Toronto Area.

“You can sense that it’s stepping up and I’m meeting more frequently with the RCGA and RBC,” said Murphy.

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