Saskatchewan’s 2019 junior girls champion is going to play college golf in Florida next year.

Autumn Neiszner has committed to the Keiser University Seahawks in West Palm Beach. The grade 12 student at Regina’s Campbell Collegiate said she started searching in the spring for a post-secondary opportunity. After visiting several colleges she decided on a school she never got a chance to see first hand.

“I actually went to eight different colleges, but I didn’t visit Keiser, I did not go there,” she told Golf Saskatchewan. “I think going to the other schools helped me realize what I wanted and what I liked about those schools, but I didn’t have the opportunity to go because of the Coronavirus.”

The Seahawks’ women’s golf team are three-time National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) champions. Keiser student Michela Tjan won the individual NAIA Women’s Championship last year. Neiszner said joining a successful program is a dream come true.

“I didn’t know if going to Keiser was an option because they have such a really great team. I kept in contact with them and this past summer we had a Zoom call and I met representatives from the school. They made me an offer and it was good. They made it sound like they really wanted me, so I was really happy about that because I was never really sure if they were an option,” Neiszner added.

Nov. 11 was national signing day for United States universities. The Neiszner family had a small celebration to acknowledge the accomplishment. The day after Neiszner was still lost for words.

“It’s definitely exciting,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to going down there. I really don’t even know how to put it into words honestly. I’m just really happy to sign and make it official and continue my golf career and see where it takes me.”

She said there is many thanks to pass along as well.

“I want to thank my family for always supporting me in golf and everything. I want to thank Jeff Chambers, my coach for helping me get to where I am in golf. I want to thank the Wascana Country Club and my friends from there, the ladies that played there with me. I want to thank Golf Saskatchewan and the Maple Leaf Junior Tour, and I really want to thank my grandpa for getting me started in the sport,” she said.

Neiszner will graduate from high school this spring, complete her last year of junior golf in Saskatchewan and plans to head to Florida around August pending the COVID-19 situation. For now she will work on her academics and her game.

Neiszner will study in golf management at the university and hopes to work in the industry once she has convocated from the four-year program.

On November 4^th, 2020, members of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC), took part in an online discussion on the topic of Municipal Golf in Canada. This inaugural GJAC Virtual Summit is part of an ongoing series intended to help golf journalists across Canada stay connected, as well as to generate discussion and opportunities around important issues in the game.

Format of these events consist of a moderated question and answer period, followed by a brief opportunity for questions from attendees.

Panelists for the first summit included:

• Jeff Moore, CPGA Head Professional, Golf Operations, City of Brantford
• Ryan Logan, Director, Membership, Golf Canada
• Malcolm Bromley, Former GM, Vancouver Parks and Recreation Facilities

SCOREGolf columnist Rick Young acted as moderator.

The one-hour event was recorded and is available to watch below.

Last October the town of Wynyard cut the ribbon and opened their new multi-sport recreation facility that houses the community’s rink and golf course clubhouse.

The $11.4 million project replaced the courses old clubhouse that was once actually a one room school. The facility was an instant hit and served the town and surrounding area wonderfully through their first hockey season before COVID-19 shut down the world. Director of Leisure Services Sigourney Hoytfox said once the government allowed golf courses to open in May the season went great.

“Our rounds were up from the year before even with COVID,” she told Golf Saskatchewan. “We did very well. I think everywhere around the province is probably in a similar situation where people weren’t travelling as much so they were taking part in recreational activities at home which benefitted us.”

As restrictions were lifted progressively through the summer such as restaurants allowed to reopen with capacities and social distancing guidelines Hoytfox said the new facility was a blessing for the club and town.

“We have a lobby area with 200 capacity and a second-floor lounge with a 200-person capacity so even with the regulations in place that said spread out, have six feet between tables, that sort of thing, we never had to turn anyone away. It was fantastic, it worked out really well,” she said.

The course was able to go ahead with their annual Wynyard Monarchs Senior Hockey Team fundraising tournament but postponed their 18-hole Ultimate Ace event in August. The club has a waiting list for the tournament and hopes it can return in 2021. The course also had a wildly successful Chase the Ace fundraiser that was finally awarded on the last night of the weekly run event. The winner took home over $43,000 and the club generated a large profit on ticket, food, and beverage sales while keeping all protocols followed. Hoytfox said easing into the year with those restrictions allowed the administrators to find the most efficient ways to conduct business.

“We heard nothing but good things from our golfers this year. They were very happy with how things were set up. We took advantage with the fact moving into the new building and the COVID restrictions it made the whole golf club and course a more professional course. A lot of the changes we’re going to hold onto even post COVID,” she said.

Capping the season the town was awarded the Cecil Nobes Facility Award of Excellence from the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association (SPRA). The community applied to receive the award based on the building that heavily improved the town’s carbon footprint. The clubhouse and arena are now under one roof, all the lights are LED and the facility recaptures heat from the ice plant. Hoytfox said the award would normally be handed out at the SPRA annual convention but that will happen virtually which is another benefit as they simply wanted to showcase the amount of work that’s went into the facility.

“That’s exactly it, we didn’t get any money for the award, it’s simply to showcase the building. I feel we lucked out, instead of the banquet the association came out and they did a promotional video for the facility that they will use to showcase the award but the community gets that video and can use it down the road to showcase what we have,” she continued.

The executive of the golf club is still pondering what to do with the Chase the Ace funds but Hoytfox hinted at a second-floor deck overlooking the course. The group will be meeting in the future to discuss their next upgrade.

The year was 2002 when Nipawin’s Kim Valleau won the Saskatchewan junior girl’s championship, 18 years later the now Calgary based Class A Professional is still succeeding in the sport.

Valleau, 36, was recently nominated for the Alberta PGA Assistant Professional of the Year for the second time. She wasn’t named the winner but said just to be nominated was a great honour.

“It’s pretty cool, I think we have about 500 PGA of Alberta members and to be able to get into that top-five and be recognized for the work you do is a really great feeling,” Valleau told Golf Saskatchewan. “Especially being a female a lot of people don’t know who you are and get tucked away to the side. It’s really nice to be recognized.”

She looks back fondly on her junior days of golfing in Saskatchewan including a runner-up placing in the 2001 junior championships before winning the next year. Valleau stayed in Canada to pursue her education playing golf at Mount Royal University in Calgary. She now works at the Winston Golf Club and is proud of the work she does and other woman professionals. She said the future is bright for woman wanting to be employed in the sport.

“It’s tough being a female in a very male dominated industry. There’s a lot of advantages and disadvantages but as long as you are confident and willing to learn I think anyone can do well in the industry,” she said.

After discussing the award nomination and her recent success Valleau reminisced about her junior golf days and growing up in the province. Current Evergreen Golf Club President Kevin Duchscherer said Valleau is the best golfer the town has ever produced. Valleau’s parents still call Nipawin home and play regularly, Valleau’s earliest memories are her being about four years-old riding the cart with her mom and dad. High school golf took off for Valleau and she eventually worked at the Evergreen and Waskesiu over the summers while attending Mount Royal. She said the smallness of Saskatchewan is what she remembers most.

“Everyone helps each other, and everyone knows each other,” she said. “There is pros in Alberta I don’t know or haven’t even heard of, there’s just so many. I still look at the PGA of Sask. and I say, oh I know them, they were a junior golfer. If pros from Saskatchewan come to Alberta they always say, oh do you know so-and-so, Tyler Baker for example? Oh I know Tyler, I played ping pong in his garage. Yeah, me too! It’s just a small world.”

Valleau won the juniors at the Meadow Lake Golf Course. She also won the Saskatchewan Mixed Championship twice. She won in 2002 with Lee Fairbairn and in 2005 with Nathan Morgan, another junior golfer from Nipawin. She said the people she’s met and the acquaintances she still has today are what she remembers most about her home province.

“We had a really good group of juniors in Nipawin, we all went to tournaments together. Someone always had a camper or trailer and we were camping with a group of friends I grew up with. I also met so many from other cities like Saskatoon and Prince Albert, you got to know everyone who played junior golf and it was awesome,” she said.

Calgary has now been home for nearly half of Valleau’s life, but she still makes it back to Nipawin every summer and has her annual round with her dad (pictured above) and Head Professional Derek Tallon plus a few of her dad’s friends. She’s made it back every year since 2009.

Valleau finished this season ranked 39^th on the Alberta PGA Top-100 Program that recognizes all aspects of their profession.

The Canadian golf industry generated $18.2B in economic benefits across our nation in 2019, according to a recent economic analysis conducted by Group ATN Consulting Inc. on behalf of the National Allied Golf Associations (We Are Golf).

According to The Economic Impact of Golf in Canada (2019), the Canadian golf industry employs the equivalent of nearly 249,000 people through direct and spin-off effects and contributed to $10.6B in household income. The industry also contributed $4.5B in government tax revenue ($1.8B federal and $2.1B provincial) used to support a variety of programs for all Canadians.

Based on nationwide surveys completed by golfers and golf course operators in 10 provinces and three territories along with multiple industry data sources, The Economic Impact of Golf in Canada (2019) is a follow up to previous comprehensive and independent assessment studies (2014, 2009) of the economic impact of the golf industry in Canada. The $18.2B economic impact of golf represents a 14% increase in contribution to Canada’s GDP between 2013 and 2019.

“The Economic Impact of Golf in Canada (2019) further reinforces the enormous financial, employment, charitable, tourism and positive environmental impact that the sport and the business of golf are affecting across Canada,” said Laurence Applebaum, Chair of We Are Golf and CEO of Golf Canada. “This third iteration of the study provides the golf industry with a powerful snapshot of the scale and magnitude that our sport has on the Canadian economy and within the communities where we live, work and play.”

The study presents economic insights for each of the 10 provinces and three territories from coast to coast. Also captured in the report are comparisons to international economic insights from select countries and regions including the United States, European Union, and Australia.

The Economic Impact of Golf in Canada (2019) was conducted on behalf of We Are Golf by Group ATN Consulting Inc., a world leader in economic development and analysis for communities, regions, and industries. Group ATN previously conducted the 2014 and 2009 Canadian Golf Economic Impact Studies (based on 2013 and 2008 data respectively) which have allowed the Canadian golf industry to benchmark the game’s economic impact over five-year periods.

“Every industry has its own unique circumstances to allow for, and the ability to repeat the same application of our model for Canadian golf is a significant advantage,” said Tom McGuire, Principal with Group ATN Consulting. “Beyond consistency, we have also been able to further improve certain aspects based upon learnings from the prior studies we did for the National Allied Golf Associations (We Are Golf).”

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF GOLF IN CANADA (2019)

The game of golf accounts for an estimated $18.2B of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is up 14% from the $15.9B reported in 2014*. Included within the 2019 economic impact:

• The golf industry directly employed nearly 150,000 full-time, full-year equivalent positions, representing many more individuals who are employed in the sector. This number grows to approximately 249,000 when accounting for direct, indirect, and induced employment.

• The golf industry directly contributed $4.8B in household income, rising to $10.6B when considering the combined direct, indirect, and induced impacts.

• The golf industry generated $4.5B in government tax revenue; including $1.8B in federal tax revenue and $2.1B in provincial tax revenue.

• Conservatively, course operators invested $727M industry-wide on capital expenditures.

*Note that 2014 figures are adjusted by the consumer price index and reported as current dollars.

Additional Insights from The Economic Impact of Golf in Canada (2019)

• Employment – The golf industry is a significant job provider for youth with 48% of its workforce identified as students.

• Travel – Canadians along with international visitors contributed to $8.6B in golf-related travel nationwide. Canadians made approximately 4.8M trips involving golf, including 3.0M in their home province and 1.8M outside their home province and abroad.

• Golfer Spending – golfers in Canada spent approximately $19.3B on items such as green fees, memberships, lessons, equipment, travel, hospitality, events, and other golf-related expenditures.

• Canadian Course Operators – a total of 2,283 facilities were estimated to be operating in 2019, accounting for 2,043 courses (18-hole equivalent); course operators collectively spent approximately $3.8B in course expenditures.

• Land management – Golf course operations manage between 155,000 and 175,000 hectares, including 30,000 to 35,000 hectares of wildlife and wetland area.

• Charitable Impact – The golf industry generated an estimated $330M in charitable impact through more than 51,000 tournaments and events.

• Golf Participation – Canadian golfers played an estimated 57.0M rounds in 2019.

Although released in 2020, The Economic Impact of Golf in Canada (2019) does not factor in the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Canadian golf industry.

“Establishing a baseline for the economic impact of our sport measured against pre-2020 Covid-19 spending is an important benchmark consideration for the integrity and continuity of the study,” added Applebaum. “Based on what we learned through the 2020 season, the safety of golf through this pandemic and the potential for a lift in participation and spending on the game, we are optimistic in looking ahead.”

An executive summary along with a complete report outlining the results of The Economic Impact of Golf in Canada (2019) is available by clicking here or by visiting any of the We Are Golf partner websites.

Canada’s next crop of junior golfers will soon learn that they may be alone out on the course, but they’re part of a team off of it.

Jennifer Greggain was announced as the newest member of the coaching staff for Golf Canada’s junior teams last Thursday, working with head coach Robert Ratcliffe. She said that instilling a sense of camaraderie among her pupils is a priority for the 2021 squad.

“When you bring this talent together and bring them to one place, this opportunity to train together and help each other get better, that’s really unique and one of the biggest opportunities for this program and our juniors,” said Greggain, who added that when she was a high-level amateur she would loved to have been around other elite golfers her age.

Greggain has a wealth of experience to draw from, having played on the LPGA and Symetra Tours for 10 years before becoming a coach.

“When I retired from tour, I realized pretty quickly that what I wanted to do when I grew up was to coach,” said Greggain with a laugh.

Greggain was the director of instruction at Chilliwack Golf Club, the assistant coach for the University of the Fraser Valley, and led the B.C. Summer Games Squad on numerous occasions.

First round of the @thegolfcanada Junior Selection Camp underway at Bear Mountain Resort, Victoria. ?? ? #dragons pic.twitter.com/VW46VWkGqf

— Jennifer Greggain ?? (@jengreggaingolf) October 16, 2020

In January she joined the national team program as assistant coach of the women’s amateur and young pro squads with Tristan Mullally before she transitioned into her new role.

Greggain will help guide mental performance, physiotherapy, biomechanics and nutrition for the Canada’s top golfers while she continues her studies at the University of British Columbia’s Master of High Performance and Technical Leadership program.

The junior teams – boys and girls will train together – will be based at the national training centre at Bear Mountain Golf Resort in Victoria, which going forward will have a centralized component from March through June. Athletes will stay at the national training centre during their second semester at high school.

“I really like the model of the junior program because we have this centralized component which gives you a little more consistent contact,” said Greggain.

The World Handicap System stipulates every player is responsible for returning all acceptable scores into one’s scoring record from rounds played on courses observing their active season, which is part of the golf season when courses have acceptable playing conditions.

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of authorized provincial golf association to declare active and inactive periods, and it is the responsibility of the area club and golfers to observe these dates for posting purposes.

Each year, provincial associations analyze numerous factors to determine their active seasons. This ensures consistency of when scores would be posted by the majority of golfers to help keep Handicap Indexes accurate.

Scores made at any golf course observing an inactive season are not acceptable for handicap purposes. The rationale behind this is that posting scores during inactive seasons (periods of poor course conditions) could artificially increase a player’s Handicap Index.

Scores made at a golf course in an area observing an active season must be posted for handicap purposes, even if the golf club from which the player receives a Handicap Index is observing an inactive season. The club’s Handicap Committee must make it possible for a player to post these away scores at the beginning of the active season.

For example, if a player belonging to a golf club in Ontario plays golf in Florida during January, any scores made in Florida are acceptable and must be returned to the player’s Ontario golf club. If the player is also a member of a golf club in Florida, scores must be posted to the player’s Florida club.

In Canada, the active season in each province is as follows:

BC =     Mar.1 – Nov.15
AB =     Mar.1 – Oct.31
SK =     Apr.15 – Oct.31
MB =    Apr.15 – Oct.31
ON =    Apr.15 – Oct.31
QC =    Apr.15 – Oct.31
NS =     Apr.15 – Oct.31
NB =     May.1 – Oct.31
PE =     Apr.16 – Nov.14
NL =     Apr.1 – Nov. 30

It’s also important to note that if you are travelling to other countries, you should determine their active seasons to prevent posting unacceptable scores. Your home club needs all acceptable scores from the “off-season” as well to ensure your Handicap Index is accurate once recalculated at the beginning of the season.

For a detailed list of active and inactive schedule in the United States, click here.

For more information on handicapping, click here.

To enter your scores for an official handicap, become a Golf Canada member here.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Nick Taylor has never been to the Masters. He already is motivated to get back.

Taylor is excited to be playing Augusta National in two weeks, make no mistake about that. The 32-year-old Canadian has only watched on television, often enough to have a good idea what to expect. And that’s what tempers some of the anticipation about his Masters debut.

He has seen it enough to know what he’ll be missing.

“When I won, you think of the Masters and what it’s going to be,” Taylor said. “And it’s not going to be that.”

No spring colours from the dogwoods and azaleas. The Par 3 Contest has been cancelled. The patrons will be at home, the same place Taylor has been all these years. That means no roars that echo through Georgia pines, as much a part of Masters lore as the green jacket.

For those who think Augusta National is the cathedral of golf, it probably will sound like one. The Masters without roars? That’s like having the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade without balloons.

Taylor is among 26 newcomers to the Masters, postponed from the first full week of April to Nov. 12-15 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nine of those players, such as PGA champion Collin Morikawa, already have secured spots for the next Masters, presumably in April.

There is no guarantee when the others will return, if they ever do.

Taylor won as a rookie in 2014 at the Sanderson Farms Championship when it was held the same week as the World Golf Championship in Shanghai and did not come with a Masters invitation. He finally earned his invitation in February, playing with five-time champion Phil Mickelson at Pebble Beach and posting a 70 in blustery conditions to win by four.

“To get that invite for the Masters, that’s a tournament I’ve dreamt about playing my entire life,” Taylor said that day.

Just over a month later, the pandemic shut down golf. The Masters was postponed until November. Then came the announcement in August that it would be held without fans.

The anticipation is different now from what it was in February.

“I was two months away from all the perks, maybe going before (the Masters) to see it,” Taylor said. “Now all the news we’ve heard about it is a downer. No fans. No Par 3. It’s hard to compare. It’s not that I’m not excited, but certain aspects make it a special week, especially having never been there before. To not have those only makes me want to go back.”

Taylor is thankful to be playing again, like so many others. This is the 21st consecutive week of PGA Tour golf, with no shutdown, no slashing of prize money and no fans, no energy. For a sport that sees something new every week – Winged Foot, Shadow Creek, Port Royal this week in Bermuda – there is a sameness to each week without anyone watching.

And now the Masters.

“It’s easy to get negative about what’s going on the world,” he said. “But we’re playing golf. The reality check when we’re out there is how fortunate we are. We have our jobs. Everyone in my bubble is healthy. But when you think about what could have been at the Masters, it can get disappointing.”

Tyler Duncan knows the feeling.

He won the RSM Classic at Sea Island last November, beating Webb Simpson in a playoff, and he received his formal Masters invitation in the mail soon after.

When the Florida swing arrived, Duncan called the club and arranged for a practice round at Augusta National. His plan was to go there on the Monday after The Players Championship.

Golf shut down on Friday of The Players.

“That didn’t work out,” Duncan said with a wry smile. “And then the course is shut down all summer. Now they’re trying to limit play, and you have to play with a member. I’ve been trying to do that but haven’t had a whole lot of success. We’ll show up and figure it out from there.”

Asked what he think he would miss the most, the azaleas or the noise, Duncan didn’t hesitate.

“The noise, for sure,” he said. “I’ve watched it so many times. A lot of shots come to mind, and you think of that. But you hear all the roars on the back nine where the tournament is won.”

He doesn’t know anything about Washington Road. He didn’t even know John Daly sold merchandise from an RV parked outside Hooters. Duncan won’t know all he’s missing.

“It’s still the Masters,” he said. “It’s a tournament everyone dreams of playing.”

Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player will be hitting the ceremonial tee shot without people standing a dozen deep around the tee trying to hear what they say. The starter will announce each player with that familiar, “Fore, please.” There’s still a green jacket everyone covets.

But it won’t be the same. It won’t sound the same.

They’re still going to the Masters. And then the goal is to come back to experience the real Masters.

Brody Istace isn’t downplaying the fact he’s ready for a break from the college golf season due to many of his friends and competitors not having a chance to play but he’s ready for some time off.

The 20-year-old Kindersley product wrapped up his third fall season this week at Columbia International University (CIU) after competing in five events in a just over a month-long stretch. The season began on Sept. 23 and 24 with the CIU Rams hosting the first event. Istace finished in fourth place. He said if it wasn’t for his struggles on the greens a win was within grasp.

“It was pretty good,” he said to Golf Saskatchewan from the university in Columbia, South Carolina where Istace has been since Aug. 15. “I wasn’t really happy with how I played. I was happy with how I struck the ball; I just couldn’t get any putts to fall. That’s how my year went, I have been really struggling changing some things with putting. I had the yips. I have been hitting the ball well, but my putting isn’t where it needs to be to be scoring.”

Istace spent the summer in Saskatchewan working at the Kindersley Golf Club and practicing. He didn’t play any events so the fourth-place finish to start the year was a great way for the collegiate season to get underway.

“It was good, I was really confident going into the tournament. It was our home course and where I was at with my ball striking that I could have won it if I was putting good. I didn’t putt good enough to get it done. I made some simple mistakes coming down the stretch,” he added.

The flat stick struggles continued into his second event where Istace finished in 64^th place thanks to 83 putts over 36 holes at the Music City Invitational. He improved on that event on Oct. 12 and 13 at the AAC Fall Preview in Adairsville, Goergia shooting a 54-hole score of plus-16, 232 (80-71-81). He placed in a tie for 31^st and the Rams were seventh as a team.

The NCCAA Championship was played in Palm Coast, Florida on Oct. 19 and 20. Istace fired an 88 over the first 18 holes before back-to-back rounds of 79 for a three-round total of 246. He placed tied for 17^th and helped the team win a bronze medal. Despite being from Saskatchewan he said the coastal winds wreaked havoc on himself and the field.

“We were happy with how we finished but not really happy with how we played, that’s golf. The course is right on the ocean, it’s windy, it was tough to judge what the ball was going to do into 30 miles per hour winds. I’m telling you, my parents said I should be used to that but it’s not Saskatchewan winds when it’s coming off the ocean. I was blasting a four iron from 160 into the wind, it was crazy,” he joked.

The Rams finished their fall season on Oct. 27 at the Sea Palms Resort in St. Simons Island, Georgia for the Coastal GA Invite. Istace placed 43^rd at 23-over par. He carded rounds of 79, 75, and 82. As a club the Rams were eighth.

The Rams will take some time off before their spring season starts in late February. Istace will return to Canada on Nov. 12 and continue with classes online. Istace said despite the mixed results he’s happy to just be playing.

“Coming into the season not even knowing if we were going to playing little lone getting to play almost every week is definitely a good outcome for the week,” he said.

Istace said some trips to Saskatoon to work with coach Clinton Schmaltz will be part of his preparation for the new year.

Arguably one of Saskatchewan’s greatest golfers and perhaps the best amateur the province has produced, Jim Scissons still plays regularly at the age of 79.

Golf Saskatchewan recently sat down with the 2010 Hall of Fame inductee at the Riverside Country Club to discuss his start in the game, his tournament wins, the historic 1964 Willingdon Cup victory, his family, and more.