Another Trudeau and new links golf

Canada may be cool again. Not because President Obama just rejected the Keystone XL Pipeline so Albertan crude oil from the oil sands won’t be rolling by the Nebraska Sandhills. It is because we have just elected the youthful Justin Trudeau as our Prime Minister and Cape Breton now possesses two magnificent links golf courses. Our dollar has dropped dramatically over the last year so it is a good time to visit. And as an American golf writer told me recently, “who does’t like Canadians?”.

Our country gained accolades in 2010 when we proudly hosted the Winter Olympic games in Vancouver and Whistler. The world watched as athletes curved around luge tracks, raced down undulating mogul hills and fired pucks into the upper corners of nets. All the while fans clapped with those cute Hudson Bay red and white mittens and awesome toques. We also won a bountiful share of medals.

Now the world media is fawning over the charismatic Justin Trudeau. They talk about his looks and his style as though he is Hollywood royalty. Hopefully substance goes along with his package. That last name will certainly ring a bell for many of the older generation. Pierre Elliott Trudeau, a famous and long tenured Prime Minister, ruled Canada for almost the whole time from the late 1960s and into the 1980’s. He was certainly his own man and positioned the land of the maple leaf as an independent player on the world scene. Justin is the “It” hip guy who will try to launch Canada back into the land of cool.

And then there are Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs. Two new, true links golf courses now found in Inverness, Nova Scotia. These are not links-like, inland links, or links style. They are true links found in the Cape Breton Highlands. The reviews are pouring in and North Americans are starting to flock to this destination golf venue in the middle of nowhere. Cabot Cliffs, designed by the well-known American duo of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, just opened for limited play in July. The course may soon be recognized as a top 10 course in the world. This is no Canadian joke told by the funnyman Martin Short. And as you drive from Halifax for hours and along the breathtaking Cabot Trail you will wonder if you are in the Scottish Highlands. This Gaelic flavour in the Nova Scotian region even offers the Glenora whisky distillery near the golf resort. For those North Americans who do not want to make the trek to the UK and want their links fix then this is a definite alternative. Canadians don’t beat our chests enough but we should and this will put golf back on the golfing map for our country of 5.7 million golfers.

Now as the world awaits for Rio and the Olympic Games next year, people will be watching golf as an Olympic sport for the first time since 1904. Canada hopes to defend its gold medal, like it did in hockey. George S. Lyon, the Canadian born near Ottawa, will not be around to see if the golden torch is passed to PGA veteran David Hearn from Ontario or Graham DeLaet from Saskatchewan. But Prime Minister Trudeau may be there with that winning smile and smart cut jeans ready to sing O Canada.