By Brent Long

If you’re looking for Mike Weir and missed him at the 2009 RBC Canadian Open he’ll be hanging around Oakville until the end of November. Canada’s favourite pro golfer hasn’t packed it in for the season, but there’s a really cool Weir exhibit on display at the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum in Oakville.

While Weir’s Green Jacket that resides at Augusta National from his win at the 2003 Masters was only on display during the Canadian Open, there’s a treasure trove of Weir memorabilia from Mike’s personal collection from his home in Utah including his Masters Trophy. “Mementos from a Champion” features many of his championship trophies including those from: the Canadian Tour BC Tel Championship, the 1999 Air Canada Championship, the 2000 World Match Play, the 2002 and 2003 Nissan Open and the 2007 Frys’ Open. The exhibit features Weir memorabilia from his origins in Bright’s Grove and time on the Brigham Young University (BYU) varsity squad to his current professional career including the 2007 President’s Cup held at Royal Montreal GC.

The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame is dedicated to the recognition of extraordinary contributions and accomplishments in the game of golf in Canada. Sixty-two honoured members including amateur and professional golfers and builders of the sport have been inducted on a regular basis since the inception of the Hall of Fame in 1971. Weir will become the 63rd member when he is formally inducted to the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame on November 28 from his hometown of Bright's Grove, ON.

“It’s been a great exhibit for us,” says Karen Hewson, Director of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum. “We usually see about 5,000 visitors a year, but with the Canadian Open at Glen Abbey and the “Mementos from a Champion” exhibit we have seen a significant spike in traffic. I’m pleased to say that we have extended the length of the exhibit through the end of November.”

Visitors to the Hall of Fame can visit the Trophy Room, which is home to the RBC Canadian Open Trophy and its three predecessors as well as charcoal sketches and short biographies on all 62 Hall of Fame members. The hall also includes a “Clubhouse Lounge” and an 18-hole walking tour highlighting everything you can imagine in Canadian golf from champions and championships to the evolution of equipment and golf course architecture. A permanent, putting surface where visitors can test old putters and balls is part of the experience.  As well, an area to swing golf clubs from different eras dating back to the 18th Century allow people to see and feel how golf clubs have evolved over the decades.

Highlights of the collection include the 1904 Olympic Games Trophy from the last time golf was played in the Olympics and won by George S. Lyon of Toronto. Considering the IOC will be voting this fall on whether or not to include golf in the 2016 Olympics it’s a unique piece of golf history. “When I started here it was a one-room museum in Golf House, an uncatalogued library and really no archive at all, so it has been a great experience developing all of those things,” Hewson says.

The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, Museum, Library & Archives is the primary research facility for golf in Canada. It houses 3,700 library books, 300 linear feet of reference materials including rare volumes and periodicals, 850 linear feet of RCGA corporate records and other archival materials, 165 linear feet of photographs, audio and video tape, 13500 artifacts including a collection of more than 1,000 golf balls including two rare feather balls, the evolution of the Gutta Percha Ball, feathery era long nose clubs and 1800s early irons. One of the most recent additions to the collection comes from Hall of Fame member Sandra Post and Hewson is already considering a special display of those items.

Canadian Golf Hall of Fame operates from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week from April through October and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays from November through March. It’s fully accessible to the physically challenged and also has a small gift shop with uniquely Canadian golf gifts. Access to the archives is available by appointment only. The Mike Weir exhibit continues until the end of November. Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for juniors/seniors, $8 for families and $2 for RCGA members. Guided tours are also available.

If you’re travelling to Florida you may want to check out the World Golf Hall of Fame, located at World Golf Village in St. Augustine. It’s an awesome facility that honors and celebrates golf’s greatest players and contributors including the sole Canadian inductee – Marlene Stewart Streit. A World Golf Foundation initiative, the Hall of Fame represents collaboration among 26 national and international golf organizations, including the PGA TOUR, LPGA, USGA, PGA of America, The European Tour, The R&A and the RCGA here in Canada. The museum houses interactive exhibits and historic and personal artifacts that tell the stories of its members and the game of golf. For more information, visit www.wgv.com.

08/09

 

 

CANADIAN GOLF
HALL OF FAME

Location:
Glen Abbey Golf Club
1 mile north of QEW off Dorval Drive in Oakville

Address:
1333 Dorval Drive
Oakville, Ontario L6J 4Z3

Phone number:
(905) 849-9700 ext 411

Web Site:
www.rcga.org

 

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