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The Rink at RBC Canadian Open is ready to rock. Will 2025 deliver the first hole-in-one?
The Rink at RBC Canadian Open is ready to rock. Will 2025 deliver the first hole-in-one?
One year ago, during the third round of the RBC Canadian Open, Canadian golfer Mackenzie Hughes arrived at the par-3 13th hole at Hamilton Golf & Country Club and described the scene as pandemonium.
Before he could hit his tee shot, the fans at The Rink, the hockey-themed hole wrapped in boards on both sides of the tee, goalie helmets as tee markers, a goal on the tee, and a Zamboni ice-resurfacing machine nearby, serenaded him with Canada's national anthem.
'The hair on the back of my neck stood up,' Hughes said.
They sang 'Hey, Baby!' before Trace Crowe teed off and John Denver's 'Take Me Home, Country Roads,' in between groups, while Rory McIlroy was treated to a Ryder Cup-esque 'Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole!' When the pounding of hands slapping the boards slows down, there's organ music just like they used to play at the old Maple Leaf Gardens (now Scotiabank Arena) and DJ Summer Knocks, the official DJ of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs added some authenticity this year.
The Rink, born eight years ago, might see its first hole-in-one
It was a hare-brained idea that debuted eight years ago and is now part of the fabric of the RBC Canadian Open. This year, The Rink is slimmed down from 230 yards a year ago and is set up at the downhill, 144-yard par-3 14th hole at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley (North Course) in Greater Toronto's Caledon, Ontario, and some players say this could be the year for the first hole in one at The Rink.
'It's on a shorter par-3 and there's a couple pin locations (including back left) where you could see an ace and hopefully a lot of birdies and give the fans something to cheer for and get loud for,' said Canadian pro Taylor Pendrith, who dunked one on just his third swing of the day during charity scramble last summer.
Credit goes to the executive director of Golf Saskatchewan, who suggested a hockey-themed hole to combine Canada's most popular pastimes, golf and hockey. It debuted originally in 2017 at Glenn Abbey.
The first year, rowdy fans lined the hockey-style boards, which replaced traditional roping, on one side of the seventh hole. The next year, at St. George's, the boards were positioned on both sides of the 16th hole, which created a different vibe, and it just keeps growing with a double-decker tent lining the left side of the hole last year.
Former RBC Canadian Open tournament director Bryan Crawford told PGA "I don't think anybody could have dreamed when that idea was brought forward that it would have grown to what it is today.'
Shades of TPC Scottsdale's 16th hole
It creates an electric atmosphere that is shades of the infamous 16th at TPC Scottsdale's Stadium Course during the WM Phoenix Open, only these fans tend to be buzzed rather than three sheets to the wind and while they slap the boards and singalong to their heart's content, it becomes quiet enough to hear a pin drop before a player tees off.
"They get it," two-time RBC Canadian Open champion Rory McIlroy once said.
So, too, do the pros, who have bought into putting a slice of Canada's national pastime into the act, wearing their favorite hockey jersey. Mike Weir has worn a Detroit Red Wings jersey. Dustin Johnson, a past champion before departing to LIV, used to rock an Edmonton Oilers jersey of his father-in-law, 'The Great One,' Wayne Gretzky. Former touring pro Graham DeLaet used to sport a Calgary Flames jersey.
Three years ago, Golf Canada introduced The Rink at the Canadian Women's Open, with Brooke Henderson donning a sweater of her hometown Ottawa Senators and Nelly Korda a Chicago Blackhawks jersey, the team that her boyfriend played for at the time.
And the players aren't the only ones dressing the part. The volunteer marshals rock the black-and-white vertical-striped shirts and black shorts resembling referees, and have dubbed the area around the tee "The Penalty Box." Just like at a hockey game, the fans booed and chanted 'Referees suck,' when one of them confiscated a plastic hockey puck that was being toss in the stands. It's fast become one of the more unique experiences at a professional golf tournament without feeling too contrived or the fans getting too out of control.
'On that Rink, there's like no space. It's just like the boards are right there on the tee and they're banging and they're screaming,' said Hughes, who wore a jersey as a tribute to a late friend last year. 'Walking on that tee, again, just a total hair-raising moment where, I mean, I'm trying to play it pretty cool, but inside I'm thinking this is really, really cool.'
