Darren Robinson has some very important news to tell U.S. Presidents George Bush and José María Aznar, Spanish Prime Minister: Professional shops are open.
Aznar told Robinson, general manager of the Kanaskis Country Golf Club in the Rockies of Alberta that he wanted to visit it.
True to his words, Robinson walked on the terrace to two world leaders and interrupted their conversation.
“It feels like 10 seconds is about 10 minutes,” Robinson recalled the G8 Leaders’ Summit held in Kananaskis in 2002.
He said the two paused their discussions, and Bush waving at British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The four then talked about golf, running, the mountains, and other leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin chatted before dinner at the golf club.
“I think, someone pinched me. It’s really happening,” Robinson said.
Twenty-three years later, Robinson serves again, possibly hosting some of the world’s most powerful people for the G7 Leaders’ Summit of Kananaskis, which will be held from June 15 to 17.
The golf club includes a tightly controlled perimeter that will be closed during the summit and is one of two main positions that leaders can use.
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The summit was hosted by Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge, which is shortly after the course.
Some speculate that US President Donald Trump can play a role in the scenic route at the foot of Mount Kidd with his numerous feelings for golf.
Trump even owns Kananaskis Country Golf Club merchandise. Prime Minister Mark Carney gave the club’s president hats and equipment during his first White House visit in early May.
A request to comment to the White House and the Prime Minister’s Office concerns whether Trump or Carney will participate in golf at the summit.
The itinerary for the summit has not been shared publicly. If history records Robinson’s expectations, any activity involving leaders in the course is spontaneous.
Robinson remembers one afternoon in 2002 when he mentioned to Jean Chrétien that it was a shame that the Prime Minister had no time to compete.
“(Chrétien) said, ‘Who said I don’t have time?’ He started taking off his tie and jacket.
Robinson said Cretien hit two clean balls on the way to putting green. But in the third shot, a small piece of chips could be green, and the Prime Minister accidentally paddled a couple from the grass before contacting the ball.
“Before the ball even stopped rolling, he reached into his pocket, dropped one and hit the green,” Robinson said.
“Then he looked at me and said, ‘I call that Clinton.'”
Robinson said Chrétien hit three holes after referring to former U.S. President Bill Clinton before returning to work.
He added that his several interactions with Bush were personal highlights of the summit. This was the year of the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.
American staff asked Robinson to draw a five-km cycle where the president could run the next morning.
When Bush arrived earlier the next day in his sneakers, he asked if a woman in a club wearing sports gear would jog with him.
“Now I’m filming them both walking.
A few months later, Robinson received a Manila envelope in a White House email, and Bush signed a letter to thank him for his stay and chat on the club terrace.
Robinson said this year that he will wait for help in the course, but does not expect a 2002 replies.
“You want to have the opportunity to have some similar and memorable experiences,” he said.
“It would be great if they happened. It would be great. If not, it wouldn’t be.”
& Copy 2025 Canadian Press
