It hasn’t taken the Chetti and Salvatore families very long at all to make their mark in golf in Ontario.
They are in only their second year of operating Woodington Lake Golf Club in Tottenham, north of Toronto which they purchased from founder Harry Allard.
In that short time the new ownership group has made a lifetime commitment to Golf Ontario to host the Ontario Disability Championship. And as if that wasn’t enough, they have made a 25-year commitment to host the Ontario Open which they helped bring back from near extinction.
That agreement includes a six year, $225,000 a year sponsorship of the Ontario Open with PGA Tour Canada.
“The funny thing is that we’re not even golfers,” says John Chetti, the new general manager and part of the new ownership group.
“We’re more into the entertainment and hospitality business.”
Vince Salvatore (part owner) flanked by Mike Kelly (L) and Howard Atkinson from Golf Ontario.
Chetti said they purchased the golf course because they are quite involved with the local community but once they did, they also want to be part of the golf community and the revitalization of golf in Ontario.
“In our first two years in the golf business we have found that there are two opposing factions running the game,” he said.
“You have the old regime that doesn’t want to innovate and when they see something new, they are immediately affected by its presence and the thought of things changing. And then you have a new radical group that constantly wants to push the envelope and we find ourselves more on that side although we also want to respect the game.”
Because of that philosophy they didn’t hesitate much when Golf Ontario approached them with the twin pillars of a revised Ontario Open and the first ever provincial disability championship.
“We’re either all-in, or all-out,” said Chetti, whose group plans to make both events world class.
They hosted the Ontario Open in 2019 with a $40,000 purse. It was to have been a $225,000 purse on the PGA Tour Canada schedule this year but the whole Tour schedule was cancelled because of the Pandemic.
The Ontario Disability Championship, the first of its kind in Canada, was played in 2019 and a scaled down version, without international players was held this year.
“We’re very proud that we took on the disability tournament,” said Chetti. “Our sponsors and ourselves feel that we have a moral and ethical obligation to be more inclusive in golf.
“The value that you get from seeing that tournament is beautiful. It’s hard to explain. It makes you feel alive.”
Mike Kelly, executive director of Golf Ontario, said they had been looking for some time to bring back the Ontario Open.
“This is a big undertaking and they really bring expertise to the event side in many innovative ways,” said Kelly. “Good on them for taking the lead and they’re good partners. It might very well be still on the shelf if it wasn’t for them stepping up.”
