What to do when a left-handed player, ball, and stance are interfered with…

Situation and Question: The player’s ball ends up on the right-hand side of the cart path between the cart path and thick bushes. The player is left-handed. The player can’t take a normal left-handed stance due to thick bushes interfering with the player’s backswing.

The player states their only option is to hit right-handed. As the player is standing on the cart path, is this reasonable?  If it is reasonable, where would my nearest point of relief be?

ANSWER:

The answer depends if the shot the player has stated they will play is reasonable. If left-handed shot is not an option, it is not unreasonable for the player to play it right-handed.

Where the nearest point of “complete” relief from the cart path is most likely into the trees/bush on the right-hand side of the cart path.

In this instance, the player would most likely have to chip out or declare the ball unplayable and proceed under Rule 19.

There is a possibility of the player being able to drop on the opposite side of the cart path, however a measurement would have to be taken to determine the Nearest Point of Complete Relief. This situation is covered below.

Abnormal Course Conditions (Including Immovable Obstructions) 

Interference from Immovable Obstructions

QUESTION: I have interference from a cart path, sprinkler head or other artificial object (immovable obstruction) – what are my options?

ANSWER: You may either play your ball as it lies or take free relief. To take relief, you must find the nearest point of complete relief from the artificial object and drop your original ball or another ball away from the object and within one club-length of that point not nearer the hole (see Rule 16.1).

If there is a tree/shrub at B1 / P1, the option for the right-handed player is still at P1. The player could state, the only reasonable shot I have is to play this left-handed, it is possible the player could get Nearest Point of Complete Relief on the other side of the cart path, although it would have to be measured to determine. For our situation, let’s say it is on the right hand side of the path, the player could drop and then make sure complete relief has been taken. The player then can switch to playing the shot right handed, and once again take new relief from interference from the abnormal course condition even further to the right.

The process was seven years in the making but Riverside Country Club Executive Director Jana-Lyn Fairbairn is a certified club manager.

The designation is authorized by the Canadian Society of Club Managers (CSCM) and consists of four Business Management Institute (BMI) courses. The classes are a week long that Fairbairn attended at Ryerson University in Toronto. She took her first course in 2012 and has worked at the distinction since. She said aside from advancing her knowledge of golf club management she said working alongside other managers was a large benefit.

“The thing that’s really cool about it because, when you go to one of these BMI’s or even doing the review course and exam in Atlanta you talk to other general managers about their clubs and their structure and challenges and opportunities. Lots of the work is group work coming up with presentations and simulations and case studies and that kind of stuff, so it opens your eyes to so much more than the five key problems at your club,” she explained.

The BMI’s consist of about 10 core competencies such as leadership, board, member, and general manager relationships, communications, marketing, operations and maintenance, human resources, strategic planning, and accounting. Fairbairn said expanding on these skills is important, but she reiterated the networking is crucial.

“We had a board meeting recently at Riverside, a couple questions came up about something. I sent a quick email to a couple GM’s, one in Victoria and one in Winnipeg, in five minutes I had some feedback and different ideas and kind of a different way to think about it and that’s huge too,” she explained.

Fairbairn joined Glencoe’s Jan Bloemraad and Paul Chambers from the Toronto Golf Club in receiving the distinction this year. The exam she eluded to earlier was complex and she’s happy to have the designation.

“It’s a huge relief,” she said. “The final step is the exam and I had to go to Georgia State University for that. It’s a 400-question multiple choice exam and it covers the 10 competencies; you must pass each and have over 80 percent as a total. It’s a really stressful exam, it’s an eight-hour exam, it’s intense.”

She is currently the lone Saskatchewan club manager and one of 70 across the country to have the distinction. Fairbairn will receive her certificate at the CSCM national conference in London, Ont. later this fall.

Creighton’s Lauren Fox has put a golden bow on her impressive high school golf career.

Fox came back from three strokes down on the second day of the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association golf championships on Saturday to claim her second consecutive gold medal. Fox said despite being down after the first of two rounds at TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club in Estevan she knew she could post a lower score.

“I wasn’t disappointed with my 81, I just new I could play a little better,” she told Golf Saskatchewan. “I think some people sort of counted me out, oh she’s three strokes back. That could have been one hole, it wasn’t, I had to pick at hole by hole.”

Fox was the lone player to shoot in the 70’s during the final 18 holes carding a 79. Neiszner, who won the silver medal shot 85 during the second round. Brooklin Fry was tied with Neiszner in first afdter round one. She won the bronze medal. The weather wasn’t ideal for the golfers on the weekend but being from northern Saskatchewan she thinks that helped her come back.

“I think the conditions were tougher the second day, it was colder and really windy. I’m not really a stranger to playing in bad conditions. Last year it snowed so I think that helped me,” she said.

Fox will cap her high school championship career with a silver medal and two golds. She said she’s proud of the accomplishment and going out on top was her mandate.

“My goal was to go two in a row so after the first day I was a little bit hard on myself because I didn’t want to go silver, gold, bronze. I went out the second day, I knew I still had a shot so that’s what I did,” she proclaimed.

35 girls competed in the championship. South East district won the team competition, Battle West placed second, Horizon Central won the bronze.

Fox will graduate this year; she hopes to continue with golf in her post-secondary schooling.

Gedak wins gold on home track

Estevan’s Chase Gedak is the 2019 boy’s high school golf champion.

Gedak shot the low round of the day during the both rounds of the championship, on Friday he was the lone golfer in the 70’s (74) and on Saturday he stroked a 69, four shots ahead of fellow Woodlawn member Jayden Dudas who won the silver medal. Gedak cruised to a nine-stroke victory.

“For that to my last high school tournament and for me to win in the fashion I did it feels pretty good to go out like that,” he said.

This is the second time in three years Estevan has played host to the tournament. Gedak added winning on his home track adds to the experience.

“It was pretty exciting,” he said. “I’ve played a lot of rounds there, so I was pretty confident going in. It felt rally good to come out on top at the end of the weekend.”

South East won the team gold in the boy’s division as well with the help of both Gedak and Dudas. Gedak said outscoring his long-time friend was nice considering he’s gotten the best of him on several occasions.

“I’ve played against him a lot and he’s a really good player,” Gedak said. “I knew it would be tough going into the final round against him, but he ran into some trouble out there and I kept playing steady golf. It was pretty good to beat him because he’s got the better half of me his fair share of times. It did feel good.”

Gedak was right in the hunt at the provincial Junior Men’s Championship in Nipawin but an 11 on the 54^th hole of the event dropped him back and off the national team. Instead of being down on the experience he used it as motivation.

“It was a big learning curve for me, it’s not something I am too frustrated about,” he explained. “I’ve taken more positives away from it than negatives. I’m trying to get over it and I’m sure I learned a lot more than if I would have would have got a spot on the team. It feels good winning now and trying to forget about it. It was a good learning experience, stuff like that happens, it’s golf.”

There was 52 boys golfing in the field.

Gedak is graduating this year as well and is pursuing college golf. He has been in contact with several schools but is still weighing his options.

The complete results can be found here.

Golf Saskatchewan has awarded their Volunteer of the Year award for 2019 to Byron Harvie.

Harvie got his start with the organization about 15 years ago after some persuasion from then Executive Director Daniel Rauckman. Harvie was the chair of the both the Canadian Junior Boy’s Championship and the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship at the Riverside Country Club which was enticing to Golf Saskatchewan.

Harvie then wrote his level 3 Rules test followed by passing the level 4 test, at the time he was the only person to acquire the accreditation. He then got into course rating, again at the coaxing of Rauckman. He then served on the board of directors for several years including two and a half years as president. Today he’s still a referee and course rater. Harvie said it’s the people you meet that keep bringing him back every year.

“I’ve watched some of the junior golfers who were let’s say 11 or 12 years old when they first started to play in juniors and now they are playing in the men’s amateur or the women’s amateur, that’s always been really special. They are all fine young people, they will come up now and talk to me, give me a hug or whatever. That makes it really good when you are around,” Harvie said.

Despite his long history of service to Golf Saskatchewan and Golf Canada Harvie didn’t get involved in the sport himself until later in life. He was active in sports playing baseball, hockey, and curling but when his son wanted to take up the game, he followed.

“When our son decided he would like to golf, he was 12,” Harvie explained. “We got him enrolled at Greenbryre with Pete Semko. I’ve known Pete a long time, but I have known his wife Cheryl even longer because we went to school together and lived around the corner. I said to Pete, if he’s going to be out here what about me? They let me join their club and I got started there. Next thing I knew after a couple years I was the club captain for a couple years before moving over to Riverside. That’s where it started.”

On Saturday, Sept. 21 the Golf Saskatchewan Hall of Fame inducted their class of 2019. Harvie and his wife, Lori, who works annually on the Hall committee were seated near the front when current Golf Saskatchewan Executive Director Brian Lee presented Harvie with the volunteer honour.

“As soon he mentioned the first couple things I knew exactly what it was because I have presented those when I was president to some people, I knew what was coming, I had to laugh,” Harvie said. “I kind of had it in the back of my mind because Brian kept pestering me to go down to the volunteer appreciation day. I was not overly surprised but I’m very proud to be recognized. It’s a feather in one’s cap.”

Harvie worked at a consulting firm for a career, he spent time in Montreal and Calgary before his work brought him to Saskatoon where he currently resides. Him and Lori now spend five months a year in California and golf more rounds there than they do at the Riverside where they are still members. Harvie said giving back to the game is easier when you have assistance.

“You can’t do this without the support of your wife,” he beamed of Lori. “My computer skills are not good, so she does all the computer work I need to do. With the course rating I have to be a lot better than I am.”

Harvie also has some advice for anyone thinking about volunteering with Golf Saskatchewan or any organization.

“I think the one thing is, especially if you are getting a little older, if you have to do a little study it keeps your mind sharp. Secondly, it gives you something to do and interact with other people. Things that are nice and fun and you need to do in the aging process.”

Harvie also serves as the rules chair of his men’s club in California.

“You simply can’t get away from it,” he laughed.

You can hear more from Harvie below as he spoke with Golf Saskatchewan’s Clark Stork.

The high school golf provincials are half over in Estevan with a tie among the girls’ leaders and a hometown product on top of the boy’s leaderboard.

Shell Lake’s Brooklin Fry (Battle West) and Regina’s Autumn Neiszner (Regina) both shot 78 at the TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club on Friday and sit tied for first overall at six-over par. Reigning champion Lauren Fox (North East) of Creighton is in third place at plus-nine, 81.

Kylie Severson (East Central) and Nessa Hamilton (Qu Appelle) are knotted up in fourth place at 85.

Battle West leads the female team competition with a score of 181, South East is a stroke behind at 182. Horizon Central sits third at 189.

On the boy’s side, Estevan’s Chase Gedak (South East) is the lone player under par after round one, he shot 69 on the opening day of the 36-hole championship. Gaige Calkins (South West) is second at plus-one, 73. Jayden Dudas, also of Estevan (South East) is tied for third with Prince Albert’s (North Central) TJ Baker at 74.

Wawota’s Theoren West (South East) is fifth at 78. Cort Tunall and Hunter Kutcher are in the hunt at seven-over, 79.

South East leads the team standings with a score of 211. North Central is second at 236, South West and West Central are in a tie for third at 240.

The complete round one results can be found here.

The second round will be played on Saturday.

Once again, the Elk Ridge Resort Golf Fore Cure event was the top fundraising event of the year to battle breast cancer in Saskatchewan.

Chair Verna Schneider said they didn’t raise as much this year as the previous two events but, the support from the golf course and surrounding area is still strong.

“Yes, the support is still there,” she said. “A lot of business people from Prince Albert and north. We get golfers from Prince Albert, Candle Lake, Waskesiu, you know, those places. We had another good year; it was a little less than the two previous years. It was still over $20,000 which is good.”

This is the ninth year Elk Ridge has taken part in the national fundraising initiative. They surpassed the $100,000 mark in 2019. Schneider said for many area ladies, the event is a highlight on their calendar.

“For some of them yes, we do still have to work hard for golfers, that’s always been our problem,” she admitted. “Part of it is it’s on a Thursday in the summer, people have company and families or that type of thing otherwise most of the ladies from our club and the area support us.”

The top fundraising club from each province gets to attend the national Golf Fore the Cure event, this year it was held at the Mississauga Golf and Country Club. This is the fourth year a group from Elk Ridge attended. Schneider said the past three years the top raising foursome travelled to the event but the Dutchak family insisted the Elk Ridge organizing committee (Leigh Anne Nelson, Donna Dutchak, Debbie Klarenbach, Schneider) receives the experience. Schneider attended her first national event and said the trip was a fantastic time.

“It was good, we’re very happy, we had a very good trip to Toronto to the national tournament. Adidas is a wonderful sponsor, my goodness we came home with wardrobes,” she laughed.

The money raised through the program is distributed to the Canadian Cancer Society however, the Elk Ridge committee keeps their funds in Saskatchewan that has been used for various Saskatchewan Cancer Agency initiatives. Next year will be the final year that Elk Ridge will host the event. Schneider said they’ve had a great run, but all good things must come to an end.

“Everything reaches a time when you have to say okay, that was good. I think it’s time for someone else to do something else,” she said.

Elk Ridge was second in the nation this year, the host club in Mississauga raised over $32,000.

Since the program’s inception in 2003, over 130,000 women have been involved and helped raise over $6.8 million.

After weeks of district and regional events, the field is set for the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Associations’ (SHSAA) provincial golf championships taking place at TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club in Estevan Friday and Saturday.

The Woodlawn hosted the championship two years ago and was approached by the SHSAA to once again welcome the event. Head professional Amanda Minchin said despite heavy precipitation levels of late the course should play well for the competitors.

“The course is still in great shape,” Minchin said. “The greens in my unbiased opinion are awesome. They are running just like they were mid-summer. We have had a lot of rain in the last three weeks, the course is wet. We have a couple holes that are still trying to drain but overall it looks amazing.”

North Battleford hosted the event last year and had a heavy dump of snow on the first day of the event. According to the Weather Network, as of Thursday afternoon, Friday is expected to see a high of 10 degrees with a 40 per cent chance of rain and Saturday the high is expected to be eight with rain. Minchin said the elements will play a factor but shouldn’t hinder the players experiences.

“Hopefully the weather cooperates okay with them, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be awesome weather but, hopefully it’s not a heavy rain and two degrees or anything. Hopefully the kids enjoy the course and I think they will,” she said.

Almost 100 students will be competing in the event. Estevan product Jace Carlisle won the boys champuionship last year, he’s now playing golf in college at Lake Superior State University. Creighton’s Lauren Fox was the 2018 girl’s champion. Minchin said even without Saskatoon golfers participating the field is stacked with strong players.

“I think this is a provincial event, it’s a big deal,” she said. “The kids that have come for practice rounds are out there, they are excited, yeah this is a big event.”

Not only will the Woodlawn be hosting the high school event for the second time in three years their club is a fixture on the Saskatchewan leg of the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour. Minchin is a big promotor of junior golf and is excited to once again welcome everyone to the Energy City for the weekend.

“We’re happy to have the kids here, the coaches, teachers, parents, we hope they enjoy their few days with us. We wish them good luck and we want them to have fun,” she added.

The 36-hole tournament begins Friday morning.

Alex Schmidt

Regina’s Alex Schmidt followed up her third-place finish in her opening event of the year with a second at the Carroll College Fighting Saints Classic in Helena, Montana on Sept. 23 and 24.

The Lewis-Clark State freshman shot 78 during the first round and sat fourth but chopped three shots off her card during round two jumping into second place. Schmidt’s teammate Madilyn Brown won the event. Lauren Hamm completed a podium sweep for the Warriors.

The women’s team won the event with a 41-stroke cushion over Rocky Mountain.

Lewis-Clark is hosting the Warrior Invitational on Sept. 30 – Oct. 1 for their next championship.

Josh Nagy

Josh Nagy competed in his first collegiate tournament on Sept. 23 and 24 in Union, Kentucky.

The Robert Morris University freshman from Saskatoon carded rounds of 81 and back-to-back 79’s. Nagy’s 54-hole total of 239 was 68^th overall in the field of 75 players.

The Colonials finished 10^th as a team at the event. The squad is back on the links at the Tom Tontimonia Invitational on Oct. 7 – 8 hosted by Cleveland State.

Jace Carlisle

Jace Carlisle of Estevan also recently competed in his first collegiate tournament.

The 2019 Saskatchewan junior men’s champion is playing golf at Lake Superior State University in Michigan.

The team finished fourth overall at the GLIAC North Invitational at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan on Sept. 14 and 15.

Carlisle rounds of 80 and 79 to finish in 25th place.

The Lakers travel to South Haven, Michigan on Sept. 28 and 29 for the Hawkshead Invitational for their next event.

Connor Scissons/Connor Tate

Saskatoon’s Connor Scissons and Kindersley’s Connor Tate were on the course in Phoenix, Arizona on Sept. 23 and 24 for the 54-hole Firestorm Invitational.

Both players attend Arizona Christian University (ACU), Scissons tied for 27^th with a three-round score of 230 (76, 80, 74). Tate’s three-round score of 248 (75, 84, 89) landed him in 45th. As a team, ACU placed third in the seven-team event. Scissons and Tate were competing in the event as individuals.

The school’s next competition will be Sept. 30 – Oct. 1 at the OUAZ Fall Invitational in Goodyear, Arizona.

Brody Istace

Kindersley’s Brody Istace and his Columbia International University (CIU) teammates competed in the Bryan College Invitational on Sept. 23 and 24 in Crossville, Tennessee.

During round one Istace stroked a score of 82. On day two the Kindersley Golf Club member shot 88. He finished in 51^st place at plus-26.

The CIU team placed eighth overall in the tournament. The Rams are in action next when they host the NCCAA South Region Tournament at Columbia Country Club from Sept. 30 – Oct 1.

You can see more about Saskatchewan’s college athletes here.

A pair of Saskatchewan golfers have returned from the Maple Leaf Junior Tour (MJT) National Team Challenge event in Niagara Falls with lifelong memories.

Cole Jenkins, 17, qualified for the event with a second-place finish at the Saskatchewan Zone Junior Championship at Dakota Dunes earlier this summer. The Prince Albert product placed 43^rd in a field of 60 players during the 54-hole tournament at the Royal Niagara Golf Club from Sept. 20 to 22. He said competing against international players at the event was a memorable experience.

“It was nice, it was a super good experience,” he said to Golf Saskatchewan. “Just getting to know people from all over the world really. There was people from Australia, Mexico, and Florida.”

Jenkins improved by a stroke each day at the championship, he opened with an 84, shot 83 on day two and capped his tournament with an 82. He said he struck the ball well, but his short game abandoned him a little bit over the week.

“I was hitting the ball well but once I got up next to the green I had no feel it seemed like. I probably lost 20 strokes just putting and chipping. I was hitting putts on my line but, I didn’t understand what the reads were doing. It was strange,” Jenkins admitted.

While in Niagara Falls the players took in many of the tourism spots and mingled with each other. Jenkins said that made the trip extra special.

“It was awesome, I have never been there so a really cool place to be. It’s crazy how big those falls are. Everything around there is pretty cool,” he beamed.

The grade 12 student is getting set for the high school provincial championship this Friday and Saturday in Estevan at the TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club. He will also attend the MJT National Championship in Florida in November. Upon graduating he hopes golf continues to be involved with his education.

“I’ve been talking to colleges and trying to get something going there. I’ve gotten asked by a couple Div. III schools and a couple junior colleges, I am just not sure which route I want to take,” he explained.

Regina’s Autumn Neiszner qualified for the event through the Dakota Dunes tournament that she won in July. The 15-year-old also performed remarkably at the MJT National Team Challenge placing third overall and being the top Canadian girl in the field of 29. Neiszner said she’s happy with her score despite a somewhat different process to get there.

“I am not super pleased, I hit the ball really great, but my putting was not very good at all,” the Wascana Country Club member admitted. “I managed to make the putts that mattered and that was good but, I didn’t play my best. I hit the ball probably better than I ever have, I hit more greens than I ever have, I hit more fairways than I ever have, my putting just wasn’t great so, it all kind of evened out in my score because usually it’s opposite for me.”

Neiszner shot a three-round total of 239 (78, 80, 81), +23 which was just three strokes back of second. She was 14 shots off the winner, Annika Rathbone of Australia. Overall the 2019 Saskatchewan junior girl’s champion was pleased with the result.

“I’m pleased with third obviously, but I feel I could have shot better every single day. I had way too many putts the last day. For the number of putts I had I am pleased with how I scored,” she said.

Much like Jenkins, Neiszner was overwhelmed by the trip and experience in Ontario. She said the relationships she gained added to the memorable trip.

“We met some very nice people from Australia, I’m friends with the two girls now,” she said. “We talk on the phone still even though we’re on the opposite sides of the world. We are really great friends. They are so nice and supportive; it was a really great experience.”

Neiszner had never been to Niagara Falls prior to the event. She was able to go behind the falls and rode of the Maid of the Mist among other tourism highlights. She said sharing those moments with her new-found friends will potentially stick with her longer than her bronze medal.

“It was so great, just walking down the street, it was almost like a mini Vegas strip. It was really cool, it was so fun hanging out with the Australians and Mexicans, all that was so fun,” Neiszner lamented.

The grade 11 student will also compete in the high school provincials this weekend and the MJT National event in November.

Both Neiszner and Jenkins competed for Central in the 15 team competition, they placed seventh. Australia was the winner.

On Wednesday the MJT announced they have dispersed over $20,000 across Canada in funding to assist players attending the national event in Florida. Neisnzer, Ella Kozak (Yorkton), Dane Giesbrecht (Warman), Thomas Danielson (Saskatoon), Alex Swinnerton (Saskatoon), Jayden Dudas (Estevan) and Keighton McNab (Saskatoon) will all be eligible to receive funds.

The event runs from Nov. 7 to 10.

It was a marvelous night at Riverside Country Club on Saturday as the Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame welcomed three new members.

Tyler Wright, Dr. Randy Gilewich, and Gary Brandon made up the 2019 class that grows the Hall to 53 individual inductees and four teams.

Gary Brandon

Brandon was the lone inductee enshrined posthumously, he was represented by his wife, Bonnie, and children Skye and Bobbi. Skye said the evening was emotional but memorable.

“It was, there was an element of not sure how to proceed at the same time too, you know our dad, in the case of our mother, her husband is being inducted posthumously so, you never know how much to speak, how much not to speak, how many friendly faces are you going to see? It turned out quite a few, it was a great revisiting of friends and to have that respect shown to our dad was fantastic,” he said after the gala dinner.

Gary succumbed to cancer in 2009. Golf was his profession, but he excelled at many different sports and is inducted into several Hall of Fames. Skye said had he been able to attend Saturday’s event he would have been very proud.

“He would have been blown away,” Skye said. “He was always about community, when we were growing up in Melfort when he was the pro there and then again when he moved to Dauphin he always showed so much support to businesses in town because he knew those were the people that were going to support his course and golf there. To see the golf community at large recognize him back would have meant a great deal. I think he would have been overwhelmed.”

The ninth Hall of Fame banquet was attended by over 70 people. Many of the people in attendance were mentioned during all three inductees speaking at the podium. Skye said that proves how tightknit the golf world is in Saskatchewan.

“I mentioned Kenny Morrow and Graham Coulter, I’ve known them since I was a kid and to see them still part of this community and to see how someone like Graham is connected to both the other inductees as well, it’s a small, tightknit community and to see those cross sections is pretty fantastic,” Skye added.

You can see Brandon’s full biography here.

Skye spoke with Golf Saskatchewan’s Clark Stork following the induction.

Dr. Randy Gilewich

An amateur career that has spanned four decades, Dr. Randy Gilewich was inducted on Saturday. A lifelong Wascana Country Club member shared the evening with family, friends, and employees of his dentistry business in Regina. Gilewich said the event exceeded his expectations.

“The whole night has been fantastic, better than one could have expected,” he said. “All the support from friends and family, reliving a lot of the memories, and hearing all the stories. The night for me has been fantastic.”

Gilewich and Wright rented a charter bus from the Queen City to transport their attendees to the event in Saskatoon. Not everyone he wished to be in attendance could make it, but he said the support he received was special.

“I had girls from work, friends from all over the place, my mom and my kids, that was very special. My dad, like I said who passed away years ago, he’d be so proud for this night. It really amplifies the value of it that they’re supporting you. To have the support from everybody in an individual sport is remarkable,” he said.

“It’s truly an honour, a privilege to be accepted into the Hall, this is the highest honour bestowed upon us. I will cherish it forever,” he concluded.

Gilewich will be inducted into the Wascana Hall of Fame later this year.

His biography can be seen here.

Gilewich also spoke with Stork following the gala.

Tyler Wright

Regina’s Tyler Wright is just 40 years old and became the youngest inductee in the history of the Hall.

Winning his first tournament at the age of 12 success has followed him all the way to a 2019 Mid-Masters (40 +) provincial championship at the Royal Regina Golf Club, his first course he had a membership as a junior. Much like the other two speakers, Wright said the evening was one he won’t forget.

“It’s surreal, it’s phenomenally special to be able to spend this opportunity with my family, friends, the mentors that have came out, it’s overwhelming and I think my speech reflected that. I tried to keep it together but it’s tough when you have an opportunity to thank those people who have impacted your life so significantly. To do it in a public forum it’s emotional, it’s been an emotional overwhelming night but, what a special night,” he said.

When Wright first spoke about the induction he credited his Grandpa Louie and his love for the game being passed down to him. Louie has since passed away and was mentioned by Wright in his speech. He said he was with him along the way.

“My grandpa was a big joker, he’d be celebrating, he would be smiling, he’d be keeping us loose and laughing. He was here,” Wright smiled.

Being so young with likely many more national appearances and championships to come Wright will become a mentor for young golfers. He’s a teacher and vice-principal so leadership follows him. He said that may not have been the case without his golf mentors including Gilewich.

“We had some really quality golfers at the Regina when I started as a kid, there is a long list there,” he explained. “We had a strong list at the Wascana including Randy and Tom McNall (inducted in 2017) and I always looked up to those guys, I wanted to emulate them. I watched them play when I had an opportunity, it’s just really special. Randy and I are tied deeply, my wife has worked for him for 17 years now. Anytime you can experience something with someone you’ve looked up to as a leader and mentor I think it makes it that much more special.”

Wright will also be added to the Wascana Hall of Fame with Gilewich later this year.

His biography can be found here.

His interview is below.