TOUR Insider: St. George's is back in limelight after 42 years

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None of the players in this week's field at the RBC Canadian Open were competing on the PGA TOUR the last time the event was played at St. George's Golf and Country Club. That was 1968, when many of the current pros weren't even born. Those who were alive back then were still on the elementary school developmental circuit.

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Thus, while some of the Canadians may have a slight advantage in terms of local knowledge, most of the guys in the field will be seeing the place for the first time. The early returns appear favorable.

Keith Bartlett, the course superintendent, said the feedback his staff and other officials are getting is that "players don't get to play traditional golf courses like this all the time. So they really get to enjoy it because I think it's a shot maker's golf course."

This is only the fifth time the course has hosted the Canadian Open; Glen Abbey has hogged it the most, hosting 25 of the last 32 times.

So, a practice round on Tuesday, a pro-am on Wednesday, than it's off to the races at a course considered one of the top three in the country.

Even though the course may be a mystery to many, it has a rich tradition.

St. George's was established outside Toronto as The Royal York Golf Club and hired noted Canadian architect Stanley Thompson to design the golf course, which opened in 1929. Thompson was a co-founder (with Donald Ross) of the American Society of Golf Course Architects and worked on 178 courses throughout the world. Most of those (144) were in Canada, including the fabulous and famous Banff Springs and Jasper Park, located in Canadian National Parks. Thompson helped train some of the sport's top architects, including Robert Trent Jones; the two were business partners for many years in the 1930s.

St. George's contains many of the characteristics that are prevalent among a Thompson design, notably spectacular par 3s. Thompson favored five par 3s in most of his layouts and that is the case at St. George's, which has a quintet that play between 146 and 223 yards.

Thompson's philosophy also called for an "easy aesthetic start, and a strong, long and difficult finish." The final four at St. George's are said to be especially difficult. It completes a course that some say is the standard by which all others in the country are judged.

The course hosted the Canadian Open for the first time in 1933, with Australian Joe Kirkwood winning by eight strokes. Kirkwood was the first Aussie to win on the PGA TOUR and was noted for doing a little barnstorming with Walter Hagen. The Canadian Open was one of his 16 wins as a professional.

Robert Home Smith, who conceived and developed the course, died in 1933 and Godfrey Pettit became president of the club. Pettit changed the name of the club to St. George's and thus began a run of the venue being ranked as one of the top courses in Canada and among the top 100 clubs in the world.

St. George's hosted the Canadian Open again in 1949. This time Dutch Harrison (the golfer, not the mobster) beat stylish Jim Ferrier by four shots. Harrison won 23 times as a professional and won the Vardon Trophy in 1954, but somehow finished his lengthy career without a major championship. The Canadian Open at St. George's was his finest moment.

The Canadian Open returned to St. George's in 1960, this time with ace-machine Art Wall shooting 269 and winning by six over Bob Goalby and Jay Hebert. Wall was coming off his best season as a pro in 1959, when he won four times, including the Masters.

The tournament made its last appearance at St. George's in 1968, with Bob Charles (before he became Sir Bob Charles) beating Jack Nicklaus by two shots. It was one of seven times that the Golden Bear was runner-up at the Canadian Open, one of the few events he failed to win in his legendary career.

The course was remodeled in 1992 by Doug Carrick, one of the leading architects in Canada. Carrick was mentored by C.E. Robinson, who was a disciple of Stanley Thompson's. Carrick has been trusted with renovations of famed designers such as Walter Travis, H.S. Colt, Willie Park Jr. and Ross. Carrick and his team reproduced the flash bunkers by hand, the way it was done when the course was first build.

This week the players will likely hear a lot about Stanley Thompson, who probably gets overlooked because most of his work was done in the Great White North. They'll learn to appreciate his artistry and respect the course he built so long ago that still holds up today.

As Paul Casey, one of the tournament favorites, tweeted this week: "St George's looks great. The rough is thick and the greens are wicked. Old school and I like it."

Matt Bettencourt, last week's winner of the Reno-Tahoe Open, thinks the course is among the best on TOUR this year. "This place is phenomenal," he said Wednesday.

Others will likely feel the same way after this week. Much like Aronimink was rediscovered when it hosted the AT&T National a few weeks ago, the return of competitive golf to St. George's is likely to rekindle interest in the special course. Maybe it won't be another 42 years before the Canadian Open returns.

Stan Awtrey is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR.