For Ian Crebbin, director of golf operations at Oakdale Golf and Country Club, there’s plenty of excitement going forward. The terrific golf course will host the RBC Canadian Open in 2023, then again in 2026.
How big a deal is it to host the Canadian Open? Oakdale will become the 37th golf course in the 117-year history of the event (and only the seventh since 1977) to host Canada’s national Men’s Open Golf Championship.
“Only one club in Canada gets to host the Open each year,” says Crebbin.
Now, it’s all about gathering an army of volunteers – 2,200 of them, many of whom will come from the Oakdale membership.
There’s an apparel deal in place with Levelwear, which has exclusive rights for the Canadian Open, and some of it is already out on the shelves, being scooped up by members for themselves and for friends and family.
Levelwear’s exclusivity doesn’t extend to golf balls, so there are some Pro V1s with the logo on them.
Asked about popular brands of clothing in the shop, Crebbin listed J. Lindeberg, Galvin Green, FootJoy, Donald Ross and Greyson. The shop will have adidas next year.
There’s a good variety of equipment with a lot of TaylorMade and Callaway being sold. The shop also sells a lot of XXIO.
PXG, Ping and Cobra equipment also do well in the shop.
Fittings (not “demo days”) are an important part of the golf club’s business.
In shoes, it’s Ecco, FootJoy and adidas.
Asked about leftovers from the buying season leading into 2022, Crebbin says: “I know some stores have quite a bit left, but we’ll be in good shape at the end of the season.”
