Saskatoon’s Scott Allan is the new executive director of the PGA of Saskatchewan.

Allan has had a long career in golf in the province and elsewhere and admits he’s a “lifer” in the industry following his latest appointment.

Allan sat down with Golf Saskatchewan to discuss the position and the industry overall on both a professional and an amateur.

The PGA of Canada has announced their finalists for the 2021 National Awards.

“We are blessed to have a family of over 3,600 professionals who proudly share their passion and expertise with golfers from coast-to-coast,” Teejay Alderdice, the association’s president said in a news release on the organization’s website.

Saskatoon Golf & Country Club General Manager McLaren Taylor is up for the Dick Munn Executive Professional of the Year Award.

Patty Jonas, who teaches out of Jonas Golf Academy at the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club is among the nominees in the George Knudson Teacher of the Year Award.

Paul Schatz, a Regina based PGA professional based out of the Joanne Goulet Golf Course is nominated for the Jack McLaughlin Junior Leader of the Year Award.

Wildwood Golf Course based PGA of Canada professional Jason Schneider is among seven nominees for the Ben Kern Coach of the Year Award for his work in Saskatoon and area.

Saskatoon Golf & Country Club Head Professional Brennen Gee is in the final group vying for the Pat Fletcher Retailer of the Year Award.

Brent Eikelenboom is nominated in the Stan Leonard Class “A” Professional of the Year Award category through his work at The Legends Golf Club as the proshop manager and teacher in Warman.

Each year, a National Selection Committee evaluates nominations from professionals across Canada. Winners for each national award are traditionally recognized during PGA of Canada Night at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla., however, this year will see winners revealed live during the association’s virtual National Award Ceremony on Jan. 27, 2022. 

Early in 2022, the registration for the PGA of Canada’s National Award Ceremony will be live. 

It’s no secret golf has had a couple of booming seasons since the COVID-19 pandemic was first declared in March of 2020. After lobbying from industry stakeholders, golf started May 15, 2020 in Saskatchewan by being recognized as a safe, social distant outdoor activity.

Numbers grew but nothing like what was recorded for the 2021 season.

The Numbers

In Saskatchewan, scores posted into the Golf Canada Score Centre were up 21 percent from 2020 for the year. Early season round posting (players posting in warmer climates) was down drastically due to travel restrictions, between December of 2020 and February of 2021.

Rounds posted was down an average of 65 percent, there would be people that still travelled to southern homes. April’s uptake is monumental for this year, in April of 2020 courses were not allowed to be open in Saskatchewan due to health regulations, this year clubs hit the ground running and saw an increase of 10,592 percent for the month. There were 106 scores posted in April 2020 in the province, again likely by Golf Saskatchewan members playing elsewhere. Once the weather cooperated this year, 11,334 rounds were counted. The numbers tapered from the hot start but stayed well above last year’s marks.

Deer Valley Golf Resort Head Professional John Greenough said the second they opened their doors at the start of the 2021 season people were flocking to their club.

Cooke Municipal Golf Course in Prince Albert also saw a huge upswing in play. In 2020 Cooke registered just over 5,000 rounds being entered in the Score Centre, that number ballooned to almost 8,900, the sixth most in Saskatchewan. General Manager Darcy Myers said their course appreciated the increased play.

“Unreal, it was fantastic,” Myers said. “It’s nice to rebound after things were flat for a while.”

Some players even managed to play for essentially days this summer. A male Riverside member posted 248 rounds this past season which was the ninth highest total in Canada. The top female golfer posted 206 rounds, she is also a member at Riverside Country Club.

Waskesiu Golf Club employee and longtime junior at the course, Guillermo Salazar has committed to play golf at Indiana University of Pennsylvania next season.

The 18-year-old Calgary product spent most of his youth playing hockey and used golf in Waskesiu, where his family has a cottage, as a release from the sport in the summers. A couple years ago Salazar saw a future in golf and altered his athletic focus.

“Last September is when I got my first golf coach,” he said to Golf Saskatchewan on Tuesday. “I took things to the next level, I started to win some tournaments and that’s when things took off.”

Salazar finished fourth at the Junior Lobstick in 2018, peaking his competitive interest. In 2020 he finished fifth at the Saskatchewan Junior Men’s Championship in Swift Current. This past year he won the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour event at Elk Ridge Resort, he also took home the championship of the Junior Lobstick. With plenty of junior success on his resume, Salazar said travel restrictions due to COVID-19 supplanted him in the province.

“Once we got into Saskatchewan we couldn’t leave it,” he explained. “That’s when I started playing most of my tournaments in Saskatchewan and I started meeting all the boys they. I really kind of settled into golf in Saskatchewan.”

Salazar will be joined by Alex Swinnerton at the school. The two are longtime friends from their time at the course where Swinnerton also works in the summer months. Salazar said having his friend along for the ride will create some great memories and teach himself about the world outside Calgary and Prince Albert National Park.

“I want to grow some qualities within myself, just some individualism, stuff like that. It’s the qualities you grow being a couple thousand kilometres away from your family. I’m really excited about learning different lifestyles across the continent,” he said.

Salazar is toggling between finance or accounting but highlighted the programs at the Division II school about 100 kilometres north of Pittsburgh.

He is still playing hockey, at a less grueling level in Calgary and preparing for next season. Salazar said he wants to play more men’s events in preparation of his college career.

You can hear more from Salazar in his interview with Golf Saskatchewan’s Clark Stork.

Saskatoon’s Alex Swinnerton will be continuing his golf career with a Division 2 United States university next year.

Swinnerton, 17, has committed to Indiana University of Pennsylvania located about 100 kilometres north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Joining Swinnerton at the school will be his close friend and Waskesiu Golf Course co-worker Guillermo Salazar. Swinnerton admitted the move to a university with over 10,000 students will be easier having Salazar alongside.

“I introduced him to coach (Dan) Braun at IUP and he offered him a spot,” Swinnerton explained. “We both visited down there, and we felt at home as soon as we got there.”

Swinnerton said the process to decide on a college has spanned a couple years. He said when he was 14 years old, he began to take the game more seriously, competed in tournaments, and made the decision to achieve the goal of collegiate golf.

“I saw myself improving, I went with Jeff (Chambers), 15 came and again I started playing more tournaments like the provincials, Future Links, things like that. That was big, to play in those big events. That’s when I really told myself golf is what I want to do,” he said.

The grade 12 student has one year left of junior eligibility and has his sights set on the Saskatchewan Junior Men’s Championship and the Canada Games. He said having his education plans set he can focus on having a positive season to cap his junior career.

“I just want to have fun playing this year, be with the friends for a little bit longer then hit the road to Pennsylvania,” he said.

Swinnerton plans to study business and marketing in the classroom and hopefully continue t stay in the golf industry once he graduates.

You can hear more from Swinnerton in his interview with Golf Saskatchewan’s Clark Stork below.

*Note – Golf Saskatchewan will hear from Salazar on Tuesday.

Already a Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame inductee, Moose Jaw’s Lorie Boyle is being honoured by the same recognition in her hometown.

Last Thursday the Moose Jaw and District Sports Hall of Fame announced members for both 2020 and 2021. The 2020 induction was cancelled due to COVID-19. Boyle was distinguished with the provincial hall of fame honour for her excellent golf career in 2017. She said now being recognized by her hometown is special.

“What can I say? I’m extremely honoured to be chosen for this. You know for something you love to do and to have this on top of that, it’s just, wow,” Boyle said.

Boyle is being honoured alongside football player Levi Steinhauer, wrestler Frank Abdou, and the 1992 Amber Holland junior women’s curling rink. Boyle said being included in the group of deserving athletes is humbling.

“It’s pretty cool to be in with these people,” she beamed. “I still can’t believe that I’m being chosen for this. Honest to god, this is just amazing.”

The induction ceremony will take place in the fall of 2022. The committee will also enshrine a 2022 class with the 2020 and 2021 inductees as well.

More details on the announcement can be seen here.

The community of Rocanville and the town’s golf course knew the need for a new clubhouse was critical for their future, but the question remained, how can they proceed?

The current structure is half a century old, has been added on to several times, and only seated about 35 people. The board of directors, and likely volunteers and members have been saving and discussing a replacement for the last few years. Long time Rocanville resident Denise Kruppi is the club’s secretary. She told Golf Saskatchewan that the clubhouse provided countless memories over the last 50 years but it’s at the end of its time.

“The doors wouldn’t close properly, the floors felt like you were going to fall through, they were squishy, rotten from moisture damage underneath, the kitchen was horrendous, makeshift wiring to allow us to have power even in the kitchen,” she said. “It was well used; it served its purpose in the time being but we’re definitely well overdue for a new clubhouse for sure.”

The group discussed building new on site, modular options, ready-to-move options as well and everything was out of their range. Then Kruppi was on her way to Tobin Lake to do some fishing when her family passed through Archerwill. She spotted a for sale sign in front of a building that housed a restaurant. She did some research on the internet and was shocked at the “ridiculous” [in a positive way] and, on the way, home she stopped to investigate the property with her not-so-sure daughter.

“My daughter was in the vehicle with me, and she said, ‘oh mom as if this is ever going to work out,’” Kruppi laughed. “I peaked in the window and looked at the layout, I thought oh my god, the layout was perfect. The windows are facing out to the course and could go up number one and the door out to the parking lot.”

A couple weeks later Kruppi returned to the property with another Rocanville resident with a long construction background. The two looked at the building with the realtor and the decision was made quickly to tee up the purchase.

“He said you need to jump on this because its well-built, nothing was spared in the construction, everything is top-notch,” Kruppi beamed.

The golf club inquired about financing options about a year ago, but the timing didn’t line up but with another successful year on the course everything fell into place. The building is also in place at the course after a team moved it next to the “largest oilcan in the world.” Kruppi said the board will look at having the new building open all year if the community shows interest in that, but they would like to be respectful of other restaurants in the town and region. There has also been interest in possibly hosting weddings or other events. Kruppi said now that the building has arrived and been laid on the foundation its real and the excitement is evident.

“Absolutely it is, everybody knew we needed one so being able to bring the building in, yes it’s about 10 years old but it was only in operation for four. Inside its almost like brand new. The outside needs some work but it’s wired for stucco so we will get that done. It’s going to be a beautiful building on site for sure,” she said.

The club is still taking donations for costs associated with the purchase and move. A tax receipt will be provided if you donate through the Town of Rocanville.

Kruppi said plans include a wraparound deck and once the old clubhouse is demolished and cleaned up, they would like to add a putting green in the area. She concluded that finding the building and having support from all stakeholders down to the building movers everything fell into place.

“It’s a diamond in the rough, literally stumbled upon it, its magical how it worked out. It literally couldn’t have worked better; the golf gods were watching over us.”

The golf pipeline from Saskatchewan to Southern Arkansas University (SAU) is continuing.

Regina’s Will Blake has committed to the Muleriders golf program for the 2022 season following in the footsteps of Yorkton’s Kade Johnson and Roman Timmerman of Saskatoon. Blake said he’s ecstatic to commit to the program.

“It feels awesome, it’s a big relief to get it done,” the 17 year-old Royal Regina Golf Club member said to Golf Saskatchewan. “It was in the works for quite a while, I verbally committed right before golf season started so it was a really big relief to officially put pen to paper.”

Blake said he sent emails to several college golf coaches with SAU being at the top of the list and was hoping for at least an email back from the coaching staff at SAU. He said the school replied and the two began to communicate.

“Seeing the success that Kade and Roman have had coming out of there, I wanted to shoot a shot,” he said. “That was a really big factor, I want to have the success they have had and follow in their footsteps.”

With his school plans written in ink Blake will turn his attention to his final season of junior golf. He said the excitement of the Saskatchewan Junior Championships is high but national appearances are also in his sights.

“I think the biggest thing is provincials at the Royal, it’s my home track so hopefully I can put on a good show there, obviously the end goal is to win it. Junior boys’ nationals will be another big thing, the Canada Games are this summer, hopefully that happens depending on COVID, but I’d definitely say provincials. I think that would be really awesome and an honour to win on my home course,” he said.

Blake plans to study business in the classroom and stay in the golf industry once he graduates.

You can hear more from Blake below in his interview with Golf Saskatchewan’s Clark Stork.

For anyone looking to gain club head speed Golf Saskatchewan is putting on a speed clinic in partnership with SuperSpeed Golf.

The SuperSpeed equipment consists of three weighted sticks, two lighter than your driver and another that weighs more than a driver. Ryan Robillard, a PGA of Canada member, and the Canadian Sales Manager for SuperSpeed Golf said the key is getting your body to allow for faster swings, safely.

“The thing we’re trying to do is reprogram your neuromuscular reaction time,” he said. “What that means is that every player essentially has a governor in their body that allows how fast they swing. Our training and when we reduce the load or the weight of the club our training gets the body to move faster than it normally does and that process over time gets the body and brain to believe it can move faster than it currently can.”

Over 250,000 players around the world use SuperSpeed Golf training gear including 700 touring professionals worldwide.

Robillard added that when players are looking to improve their game the number one instinct is to improve equipment. He added that although better clubs will assist in improvement the swing remains the same.

“We believe the biggest opportunity for a player is let’s increase your club head speed and that’s what we are offering. In the most part what we’ve seen over getting a quarter-million users. We see the average player increases their club head speed by up to five percent in the first six weeks,” Robillard explained.

Registration for the six-week program is now open. For $399 you will get the training plus the three weighted sticks to keep. Robillard said their system isn’t reinventing the wheel or ground-breaking, other sports also use the training to improve.

“Overspeed training is very prominent in most rotational sports,” he explained. “Baseball pitchers, football quarterbacks, Olympic throwing events such as shotput or javelin, if we want o get something to move faster we need to reduce the load before we start to reintroduce the load and that’s what we feel we do at SuperSpeed Golf.”

Another benefit is training time, Robillard said training is about 15 minutes three times a week.

For more information on the clinic contact Golf Saskatchewan’s Steve Ryde at 306.290.4880. The deadline to register is Nov. 18. The fist session is Nov. 29 at the GolfDome in Saskatoon.

Mixed Championship heading to Elk Ridge; Spiritwood set to host Rosebowl

The host sites of Golf Saskatchewan’s two team events in 2022 have been finalized.

The Spiritwood Golf Course is going to host the 2022, and 51^st Rosebowl on Aug. 11 and 12. The 23^rd Mixed Championship is set for Aug. 27 and 28 at Elk Ridge Golf Resort.

Golf Saskatchewan Manager of Championships Steve Ryde said both facilities will be perfect venues for their coinciding events.

“Elk Ridge is one of, if not the top golf resort in Saskatchewan and for Ryan Danberg, Ryan Wells, Blaine Fagnou, and the entire crew up there to step up and welcome the Mixed Championship is fantastic. Not only will the competitors get great golf for a few days they will be treated with amenities second to none. The mixed is an event that usually features couples so having the tournament at a resort of Elk Ridge’s caliber will make this a must play,” Ryde said.

He added that Spiritwood has been looking to host the Rosebowl for a couple years and now that the courses’ RV park has been expanded and some course upgrades have been undertaken the ladies who compete in the event will have plenty of fun and play a great golf course.

“The ownership group behind Spiritwood reached out a couple years ago to host this fun event for higher handicap ladies and we are finally getting there after COVID put a hold on the event for a year in 2020. The club was able to upgrade areas of the facility and now they are ready to welcome the teams of ladies. It’s also 18 holes which will be appreciated by the competitors in this unique and historical event,” Ryde added.

Elk Ridge last hosted the Mixed Championship in 2018. Kathy Ziglo and Ian Larocque won the event that year, the duo are the reigning champions after winning the championship for the seventh time at Candle Lake this past year. Head Professional Ryan Wells said welcoming golfers from across the province is exciting.

“We are very happy to be able to host the 2022 Mixed provincials. Blaine and his crew will have the course in tournament shape for the PGA Tour Canada Elk Ridge Open at the end of June and will continue for all competitors of the Mixed Championship at the end of August. The course will be a good challenge but also fair for all players. The community and staff are looking forward to showcasing our hospitality in all departments of the resort and all the changes the ownership group has done to this beautiful resort in it’s first year of reopening,” Wells said.

The Rosebowl will be the first event Golf Saskatchewan has taken to Spiritwood. The ownership group, that includes five people released a statement saying they are excited to showcase their facility on a provincial level.

“Spiritwood Golf Course is extremely happy to be able to host such a prestigious tournament as the Rosebowl. Our course has been getting great reviews this year and we are very proud of the awesome conditions it is in. We are sure the ladies will be extremely impressed with the beauty and the challenge Spiritwood provides,” the statement said.

Carol Walsh and Pat Pratt are the defending Rosebowl champions.

Registration for both events will open in April.