Fans will be able to play so-called Hole Zero at upcoming RBC Canadian Open

By: John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press Posted: 11:00 AM CDT Wednesday, May. 31, 2023

Fans will be able to play a hole at Oakdale Golf and Country Club when it hosts the RBC Canadian Open next week.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

Fans will be able to play a hole at Oakdale Golf and Country Club when it hosts the RBC Canadian Open next week.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/05/2023 (1195 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Fans will be able to play a hole at Oakdale Golf and Country Club when it hosts the RBC Canadian Open next week.

The unique spectator experience is possible because the club in Toronto’s northwest corner has 27 holes on its property, but the PGA Tour event needs just 18 of them.

“It’s going to be a legit 150-yard plus par-3, that you get to play like a real hole,” said Aubrey Levy, senior vice-president of marketing and content for theScore, which is sponsoring the hole through its betting service. “It’s not just come up and take a swing at a simulator or range. You play an entire hole.”

Rory McIIroy (pink shirt) makes his way through the crowd on his way to the second green during the fourth round of the Canadian Open in Toronto on Sunday, June 12, 2022. Fans will be able to play a hole at Oakdale Golf and Country Club when it hosts the RBC Canadian Open next week.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Stations will be set up around Oakdale during the Canadian Open where fans can sign up for a time slot at the so-called Hole Zero. Golf carts will pick them up at the station and take them to the extra hole.

“We’re going to have coaching on site for you, we’re going to have a caddy, we’re going to kit you out with a locker room,” said Levy. “The hope is to make you feel like a pro for a 20-minute block, whether you play like a pro or not.”

This is the first time that fans will be able to play at a PGA Tour event, albeit on an extra 19th hole, according to theScore Bet.

At last year’s Canadian Open theScore Bet sponsored Skyline seats, a dining table that was raised 100 feet into the air by a crane, allowing for a view of St. George’s Golf and Country Club and Toronto’s downtown core.

Levy said that the goal with Hole Zero was to create almost an opposite experience to the Skyline seats.

“We thought ‘OK, if (Skyline) was well received, creating a unique vantage point, then what can we do to bring them even closer to the action?'” said Levy. “That led to the thought of actually taking them on the course and giving them the opportunity to play a hole during an actual event, like the Canadian Open.”

The RBC Canadian Open starts June 8 and stretches to June 11. The week includes concerts by the Black Eyed Peas and Alanis Morissette on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2023.