Fans have already flocked to the Rink. masks for goalies. Boards. Nets. The penalty box. Zamboni. Everything you might find at a hockey game, save for the fact that they are positioned around the tee box of the par-3 13th hole at Hamilton Golf and Country Club rather than inside.
Greetings from the RBC Canadian Open’s rink hole. Here, golf’s homage to hockey takes on a decidedly Canadian flavor. The tee is surrounded by white board. Tee boxes are changed to goalie masks. Past the tee box, to the right, is parked a Zamboni.
The Rink debuted in 2017. In seven years, the back nine par-3 has grown in size and allure, even when the national open has changed venues.
Golf Canada reports that this year’s Canadian Open had the largest crowd in the competition’s history. This was, not unexpectedly, the most popular site on the course for spectators and golfers alike.
Adjacent to the boards, fans are seated or standing. The “penalty box” is an additional section of seating located on the right side. On both sides of the green are grandstands. There are plenty of libations. Sapporo, vodka lemonade, Sleeman. The fact that there are so many people in this small space adds to the humidity.
As each group approaches the tee, fans bang the boards and cheer. Like after a big hit in a hockey game.
“Come on,” when a golfer’s shot is not up to their standard.
“Club up,” when the tee shot comes up short.
Rory McIlroy and Tom Kim are on their way to the Rink. The fans start doing the signature Viking clap on the boards in anticipation.
“We want Rory,” the gallery belts out.
As McIlroy walks to the tee, he looks out to the green, takes a deep breath and smiles. This is his fourth year experiencing the Rink.
It’s become timeless for the two-time Canadian Open champion.
“I feel like an honorary Canadian at this point,” McIlroy says.
Having never been to a hockey game, McIlroy says he is glad that the Canadian Open is incorporating one of the country’s national sports. The hockey motif was adopted by other golfers.
Frenchman Victor Perez wore an Auston Matthews jersey on the tee, drawing loud “Go Leafs Go” chants from the crowd.
“Go Stars,” yelled Ryan Palmer, a native of Amarillo, Texas, to a group of four people standing at the tee box. There were boos. “Let Go Oilers” was chanted by the section to cheer Edmonton over Dallas.
“McJesus saved my life” one fan screamed before Palmer teed off, referring to Oilers superstar Connor McDavid.
There are many reasons spectators migrate to the rink hole. To see their favorite golfer up close. For the chance to get on live TV. To soak in the sun, eat food and drink beverages.
Before his wedding in two weeks, Brandon Neild planned to enjoy his bachelor party with his closest friends. Neild traveled less than two hours from Bradford, Ontario, to Hamilton Golf and Country Club. He arrived at the golf club disguised as a safari guide. He had on a beige shirt, a navy captain’s hat, and a sash that read “Groom To Be” in gold letters all over him.
His pals had on zebra-print shirts. They arrived at the Rink in the morning and spent the entire day in the same location, which was directly next to the left boards. As they put on their referee uniforms, they began to applaud and conversed with other spectators and the volunteers. They even covered the boards with a Canadian flag.
“The Rink is home,” Neild said.
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, on Canada’s east coast, is the hometown of Darcy Connors. In order to experience the Rink, he and a friend took a plane from Halifax to Hamilton. Connors wanted his attire to honor his home province, which has a long history in hockey. He chose to wear a Dartmouth Whalers shirt in support of a minor hockey team in Nova Scotia.
“If you’re from Nova Scotia, you’ll get the reference,” Connors said.
Some fans wore hockey helmets. Others had red and white Canada jerseys. Even Toronto Blue Jays kits were spotted. A group of guys created “Hayes is a fraud” shirts, poking fun at Toronto-based sports radio personality Bryan Hayes.
Zachary Mark and his pals had the most inventive golf outfit at the Rink. Mark, who is from the adjacent city of Kitchener-Waterloo, made the decision two weeks ago to attend the Canadian Open with his friends.
When they got to the Rink, they wanted to make an impression. The solution is to mimic Augusta National and the Masters by dressing entirely in white caddy bibs. The names of several Canadian golfers, including Mike Weir, Nick Taylor, Corey Conners, Adam Hadwin, and Mackenzie Hughes, were written on the back.
The group arrived at the Rink at 9:30 a.m. A volunteer saw their outfits and directed them to the front seats along the right boards. A fitting spot for their fits and cheers to be seen and heard.
It’s early evening and the sun is poking through the clouds. The energy at the Rink is now boisterous. The wave spreads around the boards. Fans begin tossing hockey pucks from both sides of the boards. They sing, from “Hey Baby” to “Sweet Caroline.”
A fan gets booed for heckling Conners.
“Kick him out,” the gallery yells.
The atmosphere reaches pandemonium when Hughes reaches the tee box. Hughes, like every Canadian who plays this tournament, gets treated to a rowdy rendition of “O Canada.”
It was extra loud for Hughes, who grew up less than 10 miles away in Dundas, Ontario.
Hughes waved to the audience after making his tee shot, encouraging them to continue applauding. He wore a black hockey shirt in remembrance of his family friend Bill Bath, who passed away earlier this year, as he made his way to the green.
When Hughes plays PGA Tour events in the U.S. he doesn’t receive as much attention as his American peers. “I’m pretty much a nobody,” Hughes said.
In Canada, Hughes relishes the overwhelming support and pulsating noise from the fans. And no better place than at the Rink.
“I never get cheered for like this before or really ever,” Hughes said.
A moment @MacHughesGolf will never forget ❤️
The crowd at The Rink serenades him with ‘O Canada’, just minutes away from his hometown of Dundas. pic.twitter.com/gGXfrBY7t0
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 2, 2024
The Rink is compared to other professional golf holes with similar atmosphere, such as TPC Scottsdale’s No. 16 and TPC Sawgrass’ No. 17.
The fans at the Rink are much closer to the action than they are at the other two. Nowhere is safe to hide. Spectators cooperate when volunteers raise their hands and request silence.
It has the electricity with Canadian kindness and respect.
“They’re like on top of you,” Hughes said. “When you go to Scottsdale, everything’s pushed back, so you don’t feel like it’s like right on you. On the 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.
“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.”
In the face of uncertainty in professional golf, the Canadian Open is still held. The Canadian Open’s sponsor, RBC, has a deal that ends after this competition. The PGA Tour and the bank are still in communication, according to Laurence Appelbaum, CEO of Golf Canada. It is unclear who will provide the event’s sponsorship, though.
The history of the Canadian Open is extensive. On the schedule, it is the third-oldest PGA Tour competition. It has had notable proponents like Trevino and Woods, as well as Nelson and Palmer. Over the past two years, there have been some noteworthy endings, including McIlroy’s 2022 victory over Tony Finau and Justin Thomas and Taylor’s 2023 winning 72-foot eagle putt on the fourth playoff hole.
Having McIlroy as one of the faces of the Canadian Open helps increase the tournament’s profile. “It’s a pleasure to come up here and play every year, and I’m going to keep doing that until they tell me I can’t come over the border,” McIlroy said Sunday.
The tournament’s fan base is growing steadily since the Rink was invented. Sunday saw the party go on. Supporters packed the benches along the boards despite the rainy weather. Boos resulted from CBS broadcaster Colt Knost wearing a Dallas Stars jersey. A lively argument started when Amanda Balionis, a CBS golf reporter, showed up wearing a Connor McDavid jersey.
Up to Robert MacIntyre’s completion of No. 13, the applause, songs, anthem, and board banging persisted until the ultimate Canadian Open champion. They go beyond only being associated with hockey.
The Rink at the Canadian Open is a goal scored for golf fans, showing why professional golf continues to thrive north of the border.
(Top photo: Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images)
