When you decide your ball in a bunker is unplayable, under the 2019 Rules you have an extra option that lets you drop “back-on-the-line” outside the bunker for total penalty of two strokes.

Click here to learn more about the Rules of golf.

The RBC Canadian Open is always an event to remember. To make this a successful championship, RBC and Golf Canada rely on the hard work and dedication of volunteers.

Click here to learn more.

The Lynbrook Golf Club has a new 18-hole record holder.

As a dad of a four-year-old boy, Moose Jaw’s Nick Lepine will always feel special on Father’s Day, but the 2019 edition will have a lasting memory. Lepine shot an eight-under, 63 at his member club to set a new mark. Lepine didn’t start playing the sport regularly until he graduated high school but had Trevor and Craig Benson pushing him along the way. Lepine started off decent at the game and has continued to improve and enjoy it.

“Off the start it was just getting outside and doing your own thing, growing up I was a nature boy.” he told Golf Saskatchewan. “We’d go to northern Saskatchewan like Waskesiu and Elk Ridge, we’d get the first tee times and I just loved being out there.”

Lepine was fortunate to be a “mid-80’s” player when he first started but he’s worked on his game, took part in tournaments and had some success. He’s also participated in a trio of Saskatchewan Men’s Amateur Championships. However when he set out with friend Brett Sentes on June 16, he couldn’t forecast what was coming.

“I didn’t feel like it was nothing special,” he said. “I birdied the first two, but they are shorter par fives, so I was just playing my game. I got through number four, I usually give one back there because there is an out of bounds on the left and water on the right, it plays with your head a bit. I managed to get through that one unscathed. There is a couple shorter par fours, especially number six, I like to get a birdie there, but I just parred it. Then when I dropped the one on number eight for an eagle on the par four the brain started thinking, maybe this is the day? It could be a low one.”

He finished the front with another par on nine, the back began with another par before he sunk a second eagle on hole 11. Three straight pars got him to hole 15 with a solid chance at Trevor Benson’s low mark. Lepine then birdied both 15 and 16 setting up the final two holes needing to just stay even.

“There was a foursome on 17 and they were letting us through, as we were driving by Brett shouts out, oh Nick’s going for the course record!” he laughed. “That got me a little nervous, I was like what are you doing? What are you doing, he just laughed at me. I squeaked out two more pars and there it was man.”

“I can’t say I was doing anything different; it was just one of those rounds where the golf gods were watching me,” Lepine added.

He quickly did provide credit to his two friends and mentors at the Lynbrook.

“Golfing with Trevor and Craig, I know they have put up some pretty good rounds out there. To be able to beat Trevor’s record is a good feeling knowing where I came from. Golfing with them and getting to this point shows the way they taught me, all the good stuff that I picked up was all from them. I am very grateful to have them as friends,” he said.

He was also quick to give back to the sport and not become too secure in his game.

“That’s what attracts a guy,” he said. “I shot the 63 and then, it was windy, but I went out the next day with a buddy and shot 85. I was like what the heck?” Lepine chuckled.

He said he plays a couple rounds a week at the club, and another weekly nine holes with his son who likes to tee off and putt, and of course, drive the cart.

Rain may have washed out one of the rounds at this weekend’s Maple Leaf Junior Tour (MJT) in Swift Current but 68 golfers took part in the event at the Chinook Golf Course.

In the MJT portion of the tournament 47 golfers took part across five different age groups. Regina’s Will Blake, 15, was the overall low shooter with a score of 70.  The Royal Regina Golf Club member was eight strokes better than Saskatoon’s Hudson Malinoski and 11 shots ahead of Chase Pochylko of Saskatoon in the boy’s juvenile (15 – 16) division.

Steven Duchscher of Saskatoon was the winner of the 17- and 18-year-old age group. He shot 73 on Sunday to hold off Kindersley’s Kyler Cote by two shots. Medicine Hat golfer Sam Bratvold, Cole Jenkins of Prince Albert and local product Griffin Wilson tied for third at 76.

In the bantam (13 and 14) category it was Alex Swinnerton taking the victory. The Saskatoon product shot 74, five shots lower than Weyburn’s Darien Herlick. Thomas Danielson (Saskatoon) and Brett Leonard of Corman Park tied for third with rounds of 80.

In the youngest age group, the peewee boy’s division (under 12) La Ronge’s Dade Bernatchez won his first MJT event with a round of 87. 10-year-old Jayden Chernoff of Estevan was second with a 92. Orkney golfer Cashton Yaremko carded a 99 to finish third.

Regina’s Autumn Neiszner was the lone female in the event, she shot a round of 82.

All the results can be found here.

The event also featured a round for younger golfers on the MJT Mini Tour. 21 players entered the tournament, the youngest being six-year-old Forest Wiebe of Swift Current.

He finished third in the under-eight category with a 112. Austin Nesbitt of Pilot Butte won the age group with a 94, Kellen Ross of Shaunavon was second at 108.

In the 9 – 10 boy’s division Jack Maharaj of Saskatoon won with a 90, 17 sots ahead of Quinn Cote of Shaunavon. Kyle’s Jace Wilson placed third with a round of 129.

Coben Taylor of Saskatoon won the 11 – 12 division with a round of 82. A pair of Eastend golfers tied for second, Jace Egland and Blake Girard posted a round of 88. Shaunavon’s Lyndron Ross shot 96.

Five girls were in the field broken up into two age groups, 9 – 10-year-olds and 11 – 12. Saskatoon’s Grace Odnokon won the younger division with a round of 111. Chloe Wills from Kyle shot 105 to be victorious in the older group.

All the Mini Tour results can be seen here.

The Saskatchewan MJT event is June 29 – 30 at Moon Lake Golf and country Club.

Saskatchewan has a second 12-hole golf course.

York Lake Golf and Country Club just outside Yorkton grew from a sand green, nine-hole course in the 1920’s to a full scale, picturesque 18-hole grass green track designed by coveted architect Les Furber but Mother Nature has since done some damage.

The course suffered severe flood carnage on two occasions in 2011 and 2014. With the back nine essentially destroyed by rain water the board of directors made a business decision to cut six holes and get to work.

“The floods destroyed pretty much everything,” Rick Schrader, the vice president of the board told GX94’s Benny Walchuk on Friday. “They tried to get the course back online but unfortunately we had another event in 2014 and it flooded again. If courses are set up to run as an 18-hole course and they go to a nine-hole course it’s like cutting your business in half.”

The board essentially decided to join Saskatoon’s Greenbryre as the second 12-hole facility in Saskatchewan. York Lake held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday to mark the occasion. Schrader said downsizing the course was the best route to take for financial stability.

“Being a business man all my career I look at cost over value, basically a 12-hole course time frame wise and cost wise is the most effective system in place right now for golf courses going forward. Time frame for people golfing and of course 33 per cent less grass to cut and 33 per cent less fertilizer and all those items,” Schrader said.

The weekend at York Lake is full of events to commemorate the redesign. On Saturday, the club is offering a special for golfers to try out the new 12 holes, you can golf the course for $12 per round. Schrader said there are many people to thank to the get the course where it needs to be.

“It was about two years of labour to get it all done and put it together. It worked out quite well, we had our own staff, we ran around, we did our own irrigation, everything was done by the guys working here and the volunteers. It was pretty decent,” Schrader explained,

The course is part of the York Lake Regional Park located just off Highway 10 near Yorkton. The club originated in 1926.

Saskatoon’s Brian Humble is the 2019 Auto Clearing Senior Men’s Championship winner.

Humble held off six-time, and reigning champion Colin Coben by a stroke over three days at the Moon Lake Golf and Country Club just outside Saskatoon. Humble, 57, fired a total of 225 (75, 78, 72) to finish at nine-over par. The win earns the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club member 750 points on the Senior Men’s Order of Merit Tour (OMT). He managed to put together a line of birdies to win the championship for the first time.

“I went on a birdie string, I got five birdies in a row,” Humble said to the Star Phoenix’s Darren Zary after the win on June 20. “That really got me back into it. The golf gods rained down on me today.”

Rain was the key word, the field battled heavy winds and precipitation during the final round. Humble said the conditions were some of the worst he’s played through.

“The last six holes were really wet, it really started coming down a lot harder and the wind came up so it got colder. By the wettest I’ve played in, not as windy but as wet,” he said.

Saskatoon’s Don Monson and reigning senior men’s OMT champion Rick Hallberg finished tied for third, five strokes behind Humble, at 230.

Hallberg leads the OMT standings again early on this year, Coben is in second place. Humble jumps into the mix with the win sitting in fourth place behind Lional Fauchox, he placed seventh in the Auto Clearing event.

Next up for the seniors is the Publinx in Regina this Saturday and Sunday.

Estevan’s Melle claims Crocus

Down in Weyburn on the Men’s OMT, Estevan’s Anthony Melle was a two-shot winner over hometowner Carter Hilkewich at the Weyburn Crocus Men’s Open on June 16.

Melle carded one-under 143 (73, 70) over two rounds to win the championship and earn 500 OMT points. Hilkewich’s 145 earned him 375 points. Ryan McNall of Regina continued his strong start to the year with a third-place finish. McNall sits in second behind Lobstick champion Danny Klughart on the Men’s OMT leaderboard.

Carson Harcourt of Kipling was four strokes back in fourth-place, Weyburn products Marshall Bakken and Travis Mryglod tied for fifth.

The Publinx event at Tor Hill this weekend is the next OMT event for the men as well.

Established in the 1960’s Little Loon Regional Park provides all the amenities for a Saskatchewan summer getaway.

Located approximately 10 kilometres east of Glaslyn, the park sees plenty of traffic from nearby communities including Medstead, Cochin, Jackfish, and Glaslyn itself. Park manager Heather Schneider said the site has all bases covered for a family looking to get away.

“We have camping, we have a concession, boating, swimming, a playground, an 18-hole mini golf course, and a beautiful, nine-hole grass green golf course,” Schneider explained.

Schneider said hole four is their most picturesque on the track. She said the natural landscape and some tricky parts of the course make it stand out.

“We have natural rolling hills and a few water hazards spread out on the course. We also have a few I’m going to get you in the end bunkers,” Schneider laughed.

The park has 35 electrical sites to go with 28 non-electrical spots. They also have 58 seasonal campsites. She said the golf course caters to visitors and is busy through the summer months.

“We work well with all the golf courses around the area, everybody is really good at playing our course and helping others out. We’re nine holes and Spiritwood is nearby with 18 holes so people travel around and can make a day or weekend out of playing. We also pull a lot of people from the surrounding areas, our lease holders and our daily campers,” she added.

The course hosts a list of tournaments starting on June 24 with their Senior Open. The club will have a Four Person Scramble on July 13, their Men’s and Ladies’ Open takes place on July 27, a Five-Person Scramble is slated for Aug. 10. The Ladies’ Open will be played on Aug. 17, the Club Championship is on Aug. 25. The Senior Cash Scramble will close their schedule on Sept. 7.

Schneider said their superintendent, Darren Ironbow keeps the course in great shape on an annual basis.

For more details on the Little Loon Regional Park golf course call the clubhouse at 306.342.2176 or visit the provincial parks website.

Golf in the province is over a century old and the stories are endless. Over the past five weeks Golf Saskatchewan, with the remarkable precision of provincial golf historian and tireless volunteer Lori Harvie we’ve brought you the stories of half a century from 1900 to 1950.

In this weekly publication Harvie provides historical data that outlines interesting facts as the governing body of the “greatest social game on earth” looks back and shares the history of the sport within Saskatchewan’s boundaries.

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

Most of the information in this history of golf in Saskatchewan comes from the newspaper accounts of the day.  Their colourful and detailed reporting makes fascinating reading.  Many newspapers are available on line at Google News Archive, or on microfilm at local libraries.

In Regina: The Morning Leader published from March 1907 to April 30, 1930.  The Leader-Post published from May 1, 1930 to the present (online to 1987).

In Saskatoon: The Daily Phoenix, 1907-1912; Daily Star 1912-1927; Saskatoon Phoenix, variously between 1902 and 1928; Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, 1928 to the present.

PRIMARY SOURCES:

Saskatchewan Golf Association.  Cash Book, Mar. 1926 to —–.  (Golf Saskatchewan)

“Saskatchewan Golf Association, Annual Tournament, August 17-20, 1915, Wascana Country Club.”  (Saskatchewan Archives brochure S-G 372, pamphlet collection in Saskatoon.)

“Western Canada Golf Association.  First Annual Tournament Programme, 9^th August to 16^th August, 1924.”  (Riverside Country Club/ L. Harvie)

“Saskatchewan Open Championship at Riverside Country Club, July 26 & 27, 1958.”  Saskatoon Public Library – Local History Room, Pamphlet PM2008-89.  Note: contains a list of all previous open winners; has a history of Riverside Country Club.

 BOOKS:

Barclay, James A.  Golf in Canada, a history.  McClelland & Stewart, c1992. 626p.

Boyle, Mickey:  Ninety years of golf; an illustrated history of golf in Saskatchewan.  Saskatchewan Golf Association, 1987.  175 p.  (title page: … golf on the prairie)

Bradley, Kenneth A.: Out-of-bounds: a century of golf in Moose Jaw.  Golf Saskatchewan & Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, c2012, 231 p.

Guest, Penny:  Over the course of a century; the Saskatoon Golf & Country Club 1907-2007.  c2006, 176 p.

Harvie, Lori:  Playing through 100 years at Riverside Country Club.  Riverside Country Club, c1912, 132 p.

MacMillan, Marnie:  A History of the Canadian Ladies’ Golf Association in Northern Saskatchewan, 1914-1975.  Typewritten, 23 p., 1976.

GOLF ASSOCIATION NAMES:

Saskatchewan Golf Association (SGA) – formed Sept. 1913 in Regina.  SGA and SLGA amalgamated Jan.1, 1999 to become Saskatchewan Golf Association (SGA).  Saskatchewan Golf Association was renamed Golf Saskatchewan in 2011 (GolfSK).

Canadian Ladies’ Golf Union (CLGU), Saskatchewan Section – formed Sept. 1926; name changed nationally to Canadian Ladies’ Golf Association (CLGA) in 1966 and changed provincially to CLGA – Saskatchewan Section; known informally as Saskatchewan Ladies’ Golf Association (SLGA) until amalgamation with SGA in 1999.

Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) – name changed to Golf Canada in 2005.

 MARRIED WOMEN’S NAMES:

Until the 1960s married women were always referred to in print by their husband’s name (Mrs. A.Z. Smith).  When we were able to discover her first name we have used that (Lola Smith).

 SASKATCHEWAN CLUB NAMES:

ESTEVAN: Woodlawn Golf Club; 2013 – renamed TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club

MOOSE JAW: 1906 – Moose Jaw Golf Club (MJGC); 1944 – became Moose Jaw Elks Golf Club; 1948 – named Willowdale Golf Club; 1968 – named Moose Jaw Country Club; 1976 – named Hillcrest Golf Club.

MOOSE JAW:  1924 – Citizen’s Golf Club; 1937 – renamed Lynbrook Golf Club

NORTH BATTLEFORD: 1920 – Battleford Golf and Country Club; 1929 – renamed Riverside Golf Club; 1933 – renamed North Battleford Golf and Country Club (NBGCC)

PRINCE ALBERT: 1909 – Prince Albert Golf Club; 1967 – renamed Cooke Municipal Golf Course

REGINA GOLF CLUB (RGC): 1899 – organized and opened 9 holes; 1906-1911 – Barracks course opened at RNWMP; 1999 – designated “Royal” Regina Golf Club (RRGC)

REGINA: GYRO CLUB: 1926 – opened with sand greens

REGINA: 1993 – named Joanne Goulet Golf Course

REGINA: WASCANA COUNTRY CLUB (WCC): 1911 – Wascana Country Club formed; 1912 -opened 9 holes and clubhouse

SASKATOON GOLF CLUB (SGC): 1907 – organized; 1933 – renamed:  Saskatoon Golf & Country Club (SGCC)

SASKATOON: RIVERSIDE COUNTRY CLUB (RCC): 1912 – established as Saskatoon Country Club; 1915 – named Riverside Country Club.

SWIFT CURRENT: 1917 – Swift Current Golf Club; 1920 – renamed Elmwood Golf Club

WASKESIU: 1934 – Waskesiu Golf Club, first 9; 1936, 2^nd nine

YORKTON: 1921 – Deer Park Golf Club

After a record-breaking year for the Southern Arkansas University golf team, Yorkton’s Kade Johnson is back home for the summer.

Golf Saskatchewan was able to catch up with the reigning amateur men’s champion ahead of the Future Links driven by Acura Prairie Championship last week.

The year that was

Johnson picked up his first career collegiate win earlier this year with the Muleriders golf team. Along the way the team, that includes Saskatoon’s Roman Timmerman set high marks all season long. Johnson said the year was memorable and included some big moments for the squad.

“It was awesome,” he said from the 10^th tee at his home course of Deer Park. “We set quite a few records this year for the school, with strokes on holes and overall scoring. It was awesome to be a part of that and be in the record books. We got off to a hot start in the spring, the postseason didn’t really go the way we wanted with some injuries which is too bad, but I’m really happy with the year we had.”

Johnson played in nine tournaments over the season, his junior year earning the one victory, three top fives, and six top-10 finishes. He was also named to the Division II All-District First Team.

Timmerman was a large part of the golf team’s success as well. As a sophomore he also competed in nine events. Timmerman had four top-10 finishes including a second-place spot in the opening tournament of the year. He was a finalist for the male athlete of the year for the school as well. Johnson said sharing the last couple years with a fellow Saskatchewanian makes the success more special.

“It is awesome to have Roman down there. We’re both pursuing the same thing and have the same goals so it’s nice to have a guy to push each other and make sure were working hard and doing the right thing. Plus we’re having a tonne of fun doing it, it’s awesome to have a guy like that down there,” Johnson said.

In the fall he will return for his final year, Timmerman has two seasons left.

Future Links at Deer Park

Johnson has been back in Yorkton for about a month since the school year ended.

With a week off from any tournaments he had a chance to be around Deer Park practicing as well as volunteering for the Future Links Prairie Championship. He has competed in several junior tournaments at his home course as well as a Saskatchewan Men’s Amateur Championship in 2012 as a teenager. He said seeing the over 60 young golfers and their excitement brought back memories of his junior days.

“It’s awesome to see, it’s been a couple years since I’ve been able to play these events and it brings back a lot of good memories. It’s nice to see a lot of the Golf Saskatchewan crew again, it’s awesome. 63 is a good number, it’s awesome to see all these kids out here,” he said during their practice round on June 13.

Johnson has a provincial junior championship under his belt in 2016 and several other junior golf titles. He had some advice for young golfers competing in events across Saskatchewan and Western Canada.

“If you hit a bad shot on one hole you don’t need to get mad, you don’t need to throw clubs, you don’t need to be down on yourself. If you have a bad round you have a bad round but looking back on my junior career I don’t remember any bad shots. It’s all the good shots and those shots wouldn’t be possible if you are mad or down the whole time. Live one shot at a time, enjoy it, it goes fast, have fun,” he said.

Johnson has had a chance to watch the progression of Ella Kozak, a 13-year-olf golfer from Yorkton. Kozak participated in both the national junior girl’s and amateur women’s championships last year plus numerous Maple Leaf Junior Tour and Future Links events. Johnson provided some advice to her as well.

“To play your best golf you can’t be golfing all the time,” he explained. “You need to do other things, mix it up in life, that would be my biggest thing. She has all the talent in the world, golf swing is great, hits the ball great, short game is good, you just need to stick with it but not too much. In other sports you have to be good when you are young, in golf you don’t. It helps but do other things, it’s not all about golf and in my opinion it will help you play better.”

Defending the Am

Johnson bypassed the Lobstick in Waskesiu this past week to practice what he is preaching taking time off following the Scotia Wealth Management Open in Nipawin where he tied for sixth place. He will now travel to Calgary and compete in the Glencoe Invitational from June 20 to 22. Following that he will enter the US Amateur qualifier in Fargo, N.D. before coming back to Saskatchewan and prepare for defending the amateur championship. Johnson said he’s looking forward to playing the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club in July.

“It’s in really good shape. I’ve been learning more about it since it’s been announced,” he explained. “I don’t know much about it but I’m excited to get up to the Reliance Gregg’s Central Amateur and look at it for the first time and play.”

A year after his dissection of the Dakota Dunes Golf Links Johnson said the amateur win is still special.

“I knew I was proud of it and everything but after you go home and look at the names on that trophy it’s awesome,” he beamed. “My coach, Brad Birnie is on it twice, Dave Stewart, his dad, Ron Stewart, Colin Coben, you learn history about names even before that. Obviously Graham DeLaet is on it, I’m so proud to win it, it’s a big accomplishment for sure, I was happy to get it done.”

Johnson will look to become the first back-to-back winners since 2009 – 2010 when Scott Thompson accomplished the feat. He said that is the goal going into the summer.

“It’s another great field, another good golf course, I’m definitely working towards it. That’s one of the biggest goals of the summer to try and defend it. If I have a good week I will have a chance to get it done,” he added.

The future

Johnson will head back to the Southern United States in August and complete his final year of college.

The decision then needs to be made about what’s next for the talented player. He said his options are open and he’s looking forward to the challenge of potentially earning a professional career.

“I’m going to give it try and if it doesn’t work it doesn’t work,” he admitted. “I definitely want to give it a shot, I don’t really know at this point what my best route would be. Maybe the Mackenzie Tour and Q-school at the beginning of the year, that’s a possibility. Maybe some Mini-Tour events in Arizona, I am not exactly sure what my plan is lying ahead but I guess we will see when the time comes,” Johnson laughed.

You can hear the complete interview with Johnson who spoke with Golf Saskatchewan’s Clark Stork.

It was a clean sweep at the Lobstick in Waskesiu for Prince Albert’s Danny Klughart.

The Cooke Municipal member won the open portion of the tournament as well as the match play event taking down Delisle’s Colin Coben in the final match on June 15. Klughart has had a great start to the season, he was fourth in the Legends 2 Man Scramble and finished in a tie for third in the Scotia Wealth Open. Klughart’s 1,475 Order of Merit (OMT) points has him on top of the standings early on. He said his game has treated him well early on this season.

“I have been hitting it pretty good off the tee. My iron game is always strong. I’ve been putting better than normal which is something I’ve been working on so that’s paying off. I putted really well at Waskesiu this week,” Klughart told Golf Saskatchewan.

He shot rounds of 70 and 67 during the open portion of the Lobstick to finish at minus-three, two strokes better than Pat Marcia and Jerry Christiansen. This is Klughart’s first open win after being second on three previous occasions.

“It’s super strange,” he said of the Lobstick format. “You are kind of playing conservative the first round because you just want to make the championship flight to set up the rest of the week but at the same time you are playing the open to win. I found in the past I was playing too conservative the first round and that’s all I was thinking about. I shouldn’t shoot above 76 out there and thinking that number isn’t likely the right way to go about it. I just tried to play the open as a two-day tournament instead of worrying about qualifying for the championship flight because I figured that would take care of itself.”

Still seeking his first open win Klughart said topping the stacked field was important to him.

“That was my goal going up there, I really wanted this one. The Lobstick and the Scotia Wealth are probably the two strongest fields with the pros playing in them, so it was my goal. I was really pumped to win,” he said.

Klughart started the match play portion with an 11-hole win over Gary Hagen. It took him 12 holes to defeat Doug Kozak in the second round. He felt fresh going into the Friday where the players play two matches, he downed Trevor Bloom in the morning and defeated Jason Galon in the afternoon to punch his ticket into the final against Coben. Klughart got off to a great start in the final and held off the Hall of Famer. He said was optimistic going into the week.

“I felt so confident going up there and I’ve felt confident for the last couple weeks,” he said. “I felt if I kept the ball in play and play the way I have been I would be tough to beat up there.”

The win was Klughart’s third Lobstick win. He also won the junior Lobstick event as a youngster.

Next on the OMT schedule for Klughart will potentially be the Reliance Gregg’s Central Amateur in Saskatoon. He couldn’t confirm he’d be in the field due to purchasing a home in Prince Albert but said if he doesn’t play that event he will use the Scotia Wealth Management Saskatoon Amateur Championship as a tune up for the 108^th Saskatchewan Men’s Amateur and 32^nd Saskatchewan Mid-Amateur Championships in July at the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club.

Klughart did qualify for the Canadian Mid-Am Championship last year but didn’t attend due to a promise with Anna Young and being her caddy at the CP Women’s Open. He said a trip to nationals this year is hopefully in the cards.

“I will definitely play the Canadian Mid-Am if I qualify and I don’t know, I would have to get the okay from the boss for the Canadian Amateur,” he chuckled.