When hockey season ends, golf season begins.
For many Canadians, the connections to the two sports run deep. One ends in the spring, just as the other starts again.
That’s the case for the Staal family, and has been as long as Eric Staal can remember. Eric, a former Olympian with Team Canada who currently plays with the Minnesota Wild in the NHL and carries a five handicap, says he and his brothers grew up helping with their father’s sod farm. Often that sod would end up on golf courses, and in turn the boys would get the opportunity to play.
Their affection for the sport continues unabated. The family’s foundation is the key charity for the Staal Foundation Open in Thunder Bay, part of the Mackenzie Tour/PGA Tour Canada, which kicks off in less than a month. And the brothers—Eric, Marc, Jordan and Jared—all with ties to the NHL, continue to tee it up regularly.
Eric spent some time talking to Golf Town about hockey, golf, and the family’s efforts to give back to the community.
What’s the connection between hockey and golf?
I think there’s a natural connection between the two sports. Look at the amount of left-handed golfers from Canada–that is from hockey. Kids in Canada grow up with hockey stick in their hands and a lot of them are left-handed. Then that translates to summer and making that swinging motion. There are a lot more lefties, for sure.
What is the family’s connection to golf?
It always has been there. My dad owned a sod farm and we sodded and worked at a lot of courses in the area. We’d be dreaming of playing golf while laying sod. But there were perks to that and we’d get to play a lot, and my dad would supply sod and we’d get a membership for the summer. My dad and mom always loved golf and they passed that on to us. And with hockey it goes hand-in-hand and works with the off-season. It is competitive, but relaxing at the same time.
Who do you play with?
Most of the time now I play with my brothers, Jordan, Marc, and occasionally Jared, as well as my dad. Most of my buddies are at work, while for me work is to train in the morning and get the chance to play in the afternoon. We try to get out since we’re on the same schedule. And now my kids—8, 6 and 3—are into it. My wife’s uncle owns a par three course and we go out there next to the grandparent’s house and they love it. It is a great game and something we love doing.
Your family foundation has benefited from the connection to golf. Tell us about that.
What we’ve accomplished is giving back to the community. We wanted to make the family foundation more public and partnering with the Mackenzie Tour really helped. The fact we all love golf—watching and playing—and that events like this in Thunder Bay are met with open arms—it just made sense. We’re able to raise money and give back to local charities—we’ve raised a ton of money for local charities and watched a lot of great golf. It really makes a great week.
Have you made a connection with any of the players at the tournament?
It is incredible to watch them go from the Mackenzie Tour to the Web Tour and beyond. One guy I’ve kept in touch with is Ben Silverman, who was out here a couple of years ago. I played with him in the celebrity pro-am, and got to know him. We exchanged numbers and I’ve texted with him a bit when he got onto the PGA Tour. I paid attention to him when he was on the Web.com Tour and sent him a text when he made it to the PGA Tour. For me that’s the cool part—watching them succeed knowing how hard they work out there. They are all great players and there is such a fine line.
