Uxbridge – Golf Ontario is pleased to announce the 2024 inductees to the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame. Two incredibly deserving nominees; one in the Builder category and one in the Player category and one recipient of the Lorne Rubenstein Media Award, which is presented annually to an individual who has been associated with a recognized Ontario media organization for major contributions to golf in Ontario.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of Anne, Ashley and Robert, and to share the occasion with members of our community. Their contributions and accomplishments to the sport of golf here in Ontario are each extraordinary in their own way. I look forward to celebrating Hall of Fame members, past and present, and the history and tradition of our great sport.” Said Golf Ontario CEO Kyle McFarlane.
2024 INDUCTEES
Builder Category
Anne Edgar Dodds-Hebron
Anne Edgar Dodds-Hebron, a steadfast figure in the Ontario golf community, will be inducted into the hall in the builder category; a testament to her decades of selfless service. Her impressive achievements span numerous facets of the golfing world.
An enthusiastic and avid golfer, Anne was a treasured and invaluable member of the golfing community. She belonged to four distinguished golf clubs — the Brampton Golf Club; the Mississauga Golf and Country Club; the Pinehurst Country Club; and Cherry Hill Club. Her love for the sport resonated deeply within these communities.
Anne’s passion for sharing knowledge led her to teach accounting and the rules of golf for the Golf Management Programs at both Humber and Niagara Falls Community Colleges. Her commitment to education and volunteer golf culminated in an active role as a certified rules referee for the Golf Association of Ontario, Golf Canada, and other members of the golf community. Her invaluable contributions to rules education have empowered countless individuals, while her role as a National and provincial Rules Referee for three decades has ensured the smooth operation of local, provincial, and national professional and amateur competitions.
An illustrious career encompassing an array of accomplishments. As a competitive golfer, she clinched numerous championships, establishing herself as a formidable force on the fairways. Beyond her prowess on the course, Anne held director-level positions at both the provincial and national levels of amateur golf.
Even in the face of health challenges and up until her passing, Anne remained unwavering in her support of golf in Ontario, serving as a mentor and embodying her passion for the sport.
Player Category
Ashley Chinner
Ashley Chinner enters the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame in the Player Category. Chinner found success in both amateur and professional golf while also giving back to the sport.
Chinner was a strong enough athlete in his junior years to earn his way to Baker University in Kansas in 1984 where he earned a degree in Business Administration and competed on both the golf and soccer teams.
After graduating in 1987, Chinner turned professional by joining the PGA of Canada/Canadian Tour (PGA Tour Canada) in 1989. It was also the beginning of a playing journey that would take him to tournaments in over 25 countries over the next fourteen years. That included playing on the Canadian Tour (where he won the 1996 PGA Championship of Canada) and having status in 1993, 1996, 97 and 1999 on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour. A peak of his professional career came in 1998 at the PGA TOUR’s RBC Canadian Open where he tied for 13th and earned the coveted Rivermead Challenge Cup as the Low Canadian. In 2000, he would go on to win the PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada, along with the Ontario Assistants Championship and finished in the Top 5 at the PGA of America Assistants Championship.
A founding member of the Coppinwood Golf Club, Ashley regained his amateur status and has been the Club Champion there a total of eight times, as well as winning three Senior Club Championship titles.
Seemingly a contender in every tournament in which he plays, Chinner has had success in tournaments across the province, winning the 2017 Ontario Champion of Champions, the 2021 Ontario Senior Men’s Amateur Championship, and the 2022 Ontario Men’s Mid-Master Championship.
Chinner is Senior Vice-President and Director of Golf for Signature Risk Partners, Inc. – which specializes in insurance program management for the golf industry. He also serves on the Golf Canada Governors Council and is considered by many to be a valuable golf industry resource.
He lives in Brooklin, Ontario with his wife Stephanie. They have three children: Trinity, Payton, and Breeana and is blessed with a 1 year old grandson: Grayson.
Lorne Rubenstein Media Award
Robert Thompson
A bestselling author, award-winning reporter, and much sought after communications consultant, Robert Thompson has been an influential journalist and marketer for nearly three decades. You might feel it is worth nothing that Robert is a fan of the Oxford comma, great longform journalism, fiction of John Irving, golf writer Michael Bamberger, and the collected works of David Bowie.
For more than a decade, Robert has worked as Managing Partner of Matchplay, a golf communications and marketing company, alongside business co-founder David Cowx. Matchplay’s team has clients all over the world, including Bandon Dunes, Cabot Links, Wynn Las Vegas, La Gorce, Chambers Bay, Pulpit Club, Tree Farm, and many more. In 2022, he worked with St. George’s on the RBC Canadian Open, advised Oakdale on its involvement with the tournament last year, as well as the upcoming event in 2026.
In 2017, Robert had the opportunity to take the role of President of the Golf Journalism Association of Canada, with a focus on the organization’s philanthropic work. He’s appeared on television a lot for a former print reporter (and much to the chagrin of his children), worked as a TV producer for multiple tournaments, and travelled the world with a bag of sticks on his back, chasing a little white ball. Robert has also won a number of awards for his journalism—including the Kenneth R. Wilson award for magazine writing (three times), as well as numerous Golf Journalism of Canada Awards. The author of seven books, all of which, in his estimation, are worth investigating, Robert has interviewed prime ministers and pop stars, sports legends, and economists. An unusual interview with Bill Gates in Toronto and playing golf in Barbados with pharma king and Ottawa Senators owner, the late Eugene Melnyk, stand apart.
His writing has appeared in the kinds of old-world media people used to pay attention to: the National Post, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Listed magazine, Canadian Business, Golf Digest, Golf World, and others too numerous to list. He was the golf columnist at the National Post for seven years, Senior Writer at SCOREGolf, and a columnist for more than a decade with Global Golf Post.
Robert lives in London, Ont., with his wife, the writer and editor Jennifer Hale, and his daughter, Sydney, and son, Liam. In his spare time, he coaches baseball and writes and records music with a longtime friend under the band name, Black Heart Machine.
About Golf Ontario
Golf Ontario is Ontario’s Provincial Sport Organization focused on enhancing participation, elevating performance and supporting the passion of golfers in Ontario. With over 100,000 individual members and 500 member clubs, Golf Ontario is one of the largest golf associations in the world. From rating courses and keeping the integral rules of the game intact, to growing the game at the grassroots level and hosting the best amateur tournaments in Canada, Golf Ontario is a passionate group dedicated to shaping lives through Golf.
About the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame
The Ontario Golf Hall of Fame is dedicated to the recognition of extraordinary contributions and accomplishments in the game of golf in Ontario. Founded in 2000 by the Ontario Golf Association and the Ontario Ladies’ Golf Association, the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame is housed at Wooden Sticks Golf Club in Uxbridge. Click Here for the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame
For more information please contact:
Mallory Dayman, Director, Participation, Golf Ontario;
