Saskatchewan’s provincial governing body for golf will put a wrap on the 2018 season on Saturday, April 6 with their annual general meeting (AGM) at the Wascana Golf and Country Club in Regina.

The new golf season officially opens on April 15, so Golf Saskatchewan’s AGM is slated for an ideal date to outline the 2018 audited statements, thank outgoing board members and welcome new executives to the group. Golf Saskatchewan Executive Director Brian Lee said representatives from Golf Canada will also be on hand for the meeting.

“During the afternoon former Golf Canada President Leslie Dunning will provide a welcome greeting and she will highlight some of the items she had undergone during her tenure and a high level look at the Golf Canada strategic plan. Blair Armitage (Golf Canada member services) is going to do a greeting and update on membership items and the Golf Saskatchewan staff will run through some organizational updates for 2019,” Lee said.

Lee said the upcoming golf season will be an important campaign due to some changes and the success of 2018.

“2019 will build on the momentum following the 2018 CP Women’s Open at Wascana, we have a new Rules of Golf code this year which seems to generate tonnes of interest. Everyone will be playing by a new set of rules starting April 15 in Saskatchewan. We just hope people are starting to get excited because Masters weekend is approaching which means the start of golf season,” Lee said.

Golf Saskatchewan is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors who are elected for three-year terms at the AGM. Once elected, the board then elects its president, vice-president and a treasurer. The provincial council representative acts on the province’s behalf at the national level. The executive director of Golf Saskatchewan is a non-voting member of the board as well as any person(s) who are governors of Golf Canada. President Delbert Betnar will be back for the second year of his presidential term. He said some seats are up for grabs.

“It will be an interesting year going forward next year because we are going to have at least two new board members. We’re going to end up having an election this year, there’s actually four spots available this year,” Betnar said.

Some current board members are re-running and hope to stay on the executive. Some new faces will be hoping to join the group at the meeting. Betnar said the fact an election is needed is exciting to the current board and Golf Saskatchewan staff.

“I will go back five years where we couldn’t fill our board completely,” he said. “To have people that are interested in sitting on a volunteer board makes our life better and it helps us get ideas from different people.”

Stakeholders from member clubs are welcome to attend. The meeting begins at 10:30 a.m. at the Wascana clubhouse. Golf Saskatchewan asks if you plan on attending, contact Candace Dunham at 306.975.0850 to register.

The Golf Saskatchewan annual report is available on our website here.

St Andrews, Scotland: A dedicated campaign to raise awareness of the health benefits of golf for people of all ages and abilities is to tee off later this month.

The first ever Golf and Health Week will take place from 15-19 April and will aim to encourage golfers, non-golfers and lapsed golfers into taking part in the sport.

A number of health-related themes will be promoted during the week of the campaign, including:

• Monday 15 April: Fitness – professionals and amateurs
• Tuesday 16 April: Mental health (including dementia)
• Wednesday 17 April: Disability golf
• Thursday 18 April: Golf for everyone – featuring various health projects (e.g. Parkinson’s, loneliness, stroke and other programmes that can benefit health)
• Friday 19 April: Club level – focus at golf clubs (e.g. fitness, food, drink, gym classes)

The collaborative campaign will run across digital and social media channels using the hashtag #GolfHealthWeek and include content focused on highlighting the physical and mental health benefits of playing golf and projects being delivered by golf bodies and clubs.

Focusing primarily on Great Britain and Ireland, it will be co-ordinated by The R&A with the support of the European Tour, the Ladies European Tour, The Professional Golfers’ Association and the Golf Foundation, as well as national associations including England Golf, Scottish Golf, Wales Golf, the Golfing Union of Ireland and the Irish Ladies Golf Union.

A number of other organizations have expressed interest in supporting the week, including EDGA (formerly the European Disabled Golf Association), the PGAs of Europe and Golf Australia.

The campaign is also to be backed by professional golfers including Annika Sorenstam, Brooke Henderson, Padraig Harrington and Zach Johnson, who are ambassadors for the Golf and Health Project.

The dedicated week builds on the work of the Golf and Health Project, which since 2016 has studied the many and varied health and wellbeing benefits of golf, considered any risks and had research published regularly in international, peer-reviewed journals.

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “It is important that we continue to promote golf as an activity that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities and demonstrate that playing golf can provide significant benefits for the health and wellbeing of those who participate in the sport.

“We are working closely with our affiliated national associations and partners to produce an engaging and inspiring campaign which will drive interest in playing the sport and encourage people to take advantage of the health benefits that golf can bring.”

To drive interest and encourage activity in the days before the dedicated week, golfers will be asked to tweet their steps achieved and calories burned from any golf they play, again using #GolfHealthWeek. The week then finishes on Good Friday at club level, with golfers to be encouraged to head for the fairways over the Easter holiday weekend.

Last year, a global consensus amongst leaders in public health, public policy and sport backed golf in the race to tackle physical inactivity and the prevention of illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer of the breast and colon.

Evidence linking golf and health, commissioned by the World Golf Foundation and supported by The R&A, was presented at Westminster following research led by the University of Edinburgh and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Previous research has also highlighted that those that play golf live five years longer than those that don’t play, while the sport has been shown to have self-esteem and self-worth benefits.

The Golf and Health Project

The Golf and Health Project is scientifically evaluating the health benefits of golf, both physically and mentally, and presenting the results in a relevant format to players, potential players, decision makers and the wider golf industry. www.golfandhealth.org/

Details provided courtesy R&A Corporate Communications

For further information:

The R&A Corporate Communications
+44 (0) 1334 460000
media@randa.org

The idea for a new, unified system was conceived by the USGA and The R&A and developed following an extensive review of systems administered by six existing handicapping authorities, going into effect on January 1, 2020. Here are nine things to know about the new system:

1. The World Handicap System (WHS) supports golf globally

Golf already has a single set of playing Rules, a single set of equipment Rules and a single set of Rules of Amateur Status overseen by the USGA and The R&A. Yet, today there are six different handicap systems used around the world. Each is well developed and successfully provides equity for play locally, but each of the different systems produces slightly differing results. The WHS will unify the six systems into a single system that will:

• enable golfers of different ability to play and compete on a fair and equitable basis, in any format, on any course, anywhere around
• be easy to understand and implement, without sacrificing accuracy; and
• meet the varied needs and expectations of golfers, golf clubs and golf authorities all around the world and be adaptable to suit all golfing cultures.

After significant engagement and collaboration with the existing handicapping authorities and other National Associations, it has been agreed that the time is right to bring the different handicapping systems together as a fourth set of Rules, in support of the global game. In addition, this project has provided an opportunity for the existing handicapping authorities to come together and share their combined experiences to produce a system which is modern and relevant for the way the game is played today around the world. The WHS will encompass both the Rules of Handicapping and the Course Rating System (formerly the USGA Course Rating and Slope System).

2. There are many benefits to the World Handicap System.

As the world becomes a smaller place with a much greater frequency of international play (as demonstrated by golf returning to the Olympics in 2016), we believe the development of a single handicap system will result in easier administration of international events and, potentially, allow National Associations more opportunity to focus attention on golf development and strategic planning to support the sport. It would also provide the opportunity to evaluate de-personal golfing data to help monitor the health of the game.

3. Existing scoring records will be retained.

Existing scoring records will be retained and, where possible, be used to calculate a handicap under the WHS. For most players, their handicap will change only slightly as they will be coming from systems which are generally similar to the WHS. However, this will be dependent on many factors – including the number of scores available upon which the calculation of a handicap can be based. National Associations are being encouraged to communicate this message to clubs and golfers, i.e. that the more scores available in the scoring record at the time of transition, the less impact golfers will feel on their handicap.

4. It is tailored to accommodate all cultures.

It is not our intention to try to force a change on the way that golf is played around the world or to try and remove the variations. The cultural diversity that exists within the game, including different formats of play and degrees of competitiveness, is what makes the sport so universally popular. Through collaboration with National Associations, the goal has been to try to accommodate those cultural differences within a single WHS.

5. All six handicapping authorities are fully behind the new system.

A series of briefing sessions was conducted all around the world in 2015, which aimed to cover as many National Associations as possible. The reaction was very positive. It is also worth emphasizing that the development of the WHS is a collaborative effort and all the existing handicapping authorities and National Associations who are directly involved in the process are very supportive of the initiative. Each of the six existing handicapping authorities have recently gone through their own internal approval processes, and all of them have confirmed their support for the new system. While the USGA and The R&A will oversee the WHS, the day-to-day administration of handicapping will continue to be the responsibility of the existing handicapping authorities and individual National Associations.

6. Feedback from golfers helped shape the new structure.

We have solicited the opinions of golfers and golf club administrators all around the world via an online survey, to which we received over 52,000 responses. We have also conducted focus group sessions in five markets throughout Europe, the USA and South America. The reaction was overwhelmingly positive; for example, 76% surveyed are supportive, 22% undecided at this stage and only 2% opposed.

7. The WHS goes into effect on January 1, 2020.

We are planning to make the WHS available for implementation by National Associations beginning in January 2020, after an extensive schedule of testing, communication, promotion and education.

8. More golfers will be encouraged to play the game.

Further details of the WHS will emerge over the coming months. However, we want to emphasize that it is being designed to be as accessible and inclusive as possible, while still providing golfers with the portability, accuracy and consistency they expect. Offering a couple of examples, golfers will be able to obtain a handicap after returning a minimal number of scores – the recommendation being as few as three 18-hole scores, six 9-hole scores or a combination of both to comprise 54 holes. Handicaps will not lapse after a period of inactivity and the maximum handicap will be 54.0, regardless of gender. These elements are designed to clear a pathway into the game, enabling players new to the sport to feel more welcomed into the golf community. While the WHS is intended to encourage more golfers to measure and track their performance, it must enhance the enjoyment of all golfers. Therefore, it will be important for clubs to ensure that new golfers with higher handicaps pick up at the maximum hole score and maintain a good pace-of-play.

9. National Associations are tasked with educating the golf community.

The education roll-out is scheduled to commence in January 2019, and we have already started to work on a strategy for the development of a ‘global-ready’ education plan to support implementation and ongoing operations. National Associations will continue to carry out the responsibility of educating its membership.

For the first time in almost a decade, Golf Saskatchewan is going back to the Lynbrook Golf Club in Moose Jaw. One of Saskatchewan’s oldest courses founded in the early 1900’s will host the 49^th Rosebowl on Aug. 21 and 22.

The 18-hole, nearly 6,000-yard course hosted the event in 2009 when Moose Jaw pair Debbie Firth and Sharon Knittel won the 36-hole championship. Lynbrook board member Sandra Davey said their facility is a great venue for the event.

“Our course is surprisingly hard,” Davey said. “A lot of people think it looks really easy and then they get on the course and they say, oh, it isn’t as easy at it looks. It’s a really nice course.”

The Rosebowl is one of the longest running Golf Saskatchewan championships and will celebrate it’s 50^th anniversary next year at an unknown venue in the province. The two-day tournament is for women who play with a higher handicap. Davey has played in the event in the past and said it’s a fun getaway.

“It used to be a fun one to go to, I used to go all the time. I played in them for years, but I haven’t for the past four years. I used to just love going, I didn’t care if I won. It was a chance to get out, meet some women and have a good time,” she said.

Marie Wachno and Sheila Popovich, both of Wynyard are the defending champions, they were victorious at the Hidden Hills of Shellbrook last August shooting 28 under par.

Davey said the Lynbrook board and staff are ready to showcase their facility with hopes of landing another Golf Saskatchewan event in the future.

“I’m really excited, we haven’t had it for 10 years. I thought if we do this one and do a good job maybe we can have the mixed in the future,” she said.

Registration for the Rosebowl and the rest of the provincial championships will open on April 15, the first official day of the golf season in the province.

The Humboldt Golf Club (HGC) board of directors believes a change in management will revitalize their facility.

The east-central Saskatchewan hidden gem announced in late March that long time local business manager Corey Schweitzer will look after operations at the club. Schweitzer will take over from Chad Keens who has managed the 18-hole club for the past three years. Board president Kirk Plemel said Schweitzer is a great fit for the position.

“Corey came to us and a big part of it his past business experience and running successful businesses. We felt we needed that to make the golf course successful,” Plemel said.

Schweitzer is new to the golf management role but has been involved in the outfitting and hunting guide industry for years. He’s also been a member at the Humboldt club for a decade. The club also hired Mike Weber to administer the courses finances. In previous years the financial portion of operations were conducted by part time or volunteer staff. Schweitzer said the club’s operations needs some tinkering.

“I think our approach will be to target green fee players more so than members. We’re not here to alienate our membership, our core business will always be our members. Green fee players are a bigger area of growth and there is an opportunity there,” he said.

The HGC features a fully licensed clubhouse and food menu along with 18 holes of golf. The front nine allows players to open up and drive on most holes while the back nine is much more defined and requires more clubs. Schweitzer said the geographical location of Humboldt should help.

“We think our geographical location lends to tournament play which is another focus we’re going after. I think some of the bigger tournaments and companies that have people travelling to golf we should do well in that regard,” he said.

The annual Father’s Day tournament is nearing a sell out already. The RBC regional tournament is expected to be full and the second annual Humboldt Broncos Memorial Golf Tournament is also going to utilize the facility. Schweitzer said the schedule is filling up and he’s excited to rejuvenate the course.

“I think there is a lot of excitement,” he said. “I think from me there is a lot of enthusiasm. I have spent a lot of time in the community since I got the job and I am feeling lots of excitement from both the business and member community.”

The HGC will hold their annual general meeting on April 16.

Golf Saskatchewan volunteer Richard Smith has been honoured by Sask Sport INC for his exemplary service to the game in the province.

Thursday in Saskatoon, the Katepwa Beach Golf Club member was recognized as one of two Volunteer of the Year award winners by the provincial amateur sports governing body. Smith took the time to thank all his colleagues upon receiving the honour at a gala at a packed TCU Place.

“I’d like to thank all of the volunteers I’ve worked with in Golf Saskatchewan, Golf Canada, the staff at Golf Saskatchewan, all of whom have combined to make my volunteer career very rewarding,” Smith said.

He served as the president of Golf Saskatchewan from 2014-15 and was the recipient of the organization’s Long Term and Exemplary Volunteer Service Award. Smith has been with Golf Saskatchewan for 16 years serving in member services roles, course rating, handicapping and executive committees. He has also been a member of the Golf Canada course rating and handicap committee for eight years and the chair of that group for the last four. He said his experiences have been gratifying over the years.

“Some days haven’t been very rewarding while course rating in the wind and rain,” he laughed. “For the most part it’s been pretty good.”

Golf Saskatchewan executive director Brian Lee nominated Smith for the award and was pleased Sask Sport chose him as a recipient.

“He’s shown dedication across many levels of the sport. He is a fine educator and a great volunteer. Richard is a volunteer we wish we could clone and make a few copies. In our opinion he was a worthy candidate and we’re glad Sask Sport honoured him, we’re very proud of him,” Lee said.

The Saskatchewan chapter of the Children’s Wish Foundation is hosting two fundraising golf tournaments in Saskatchewan this summer to help give ill kids a once in a lifetime experience.

The Willows will play host to the 15^th annual tournament in Saskatoon on Friday, June 14. Regina’s second annual fundraiser will take place on Monday, June 24 at the Wascana Golf & Country Club. Saskatoon tournament coordinator Catherine Lunn said last year TSN hosts Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole were huge hits with the almost 100 participants and they hope to potentially bring them back.

“They are ‘wish granters’ for us, they granted a wish out in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia so they were our guests last year. They were a hit. We’re still up in the air this year for a celebrity, Jan and Dan will come, we just need someone to sponsor and help us pay for them,” Lunn expressed.

The golf tournaments are not focused on scores or high skill levels. Lunch is provided, hole sponsors provide plenty of prizes, a prime rib supper at The Willows is also included. Raffle draws and other fun games take place through out the “Banquet of Wishes” as well. Lunn said the overall event is a fun filled day.

“It’s not a tournament to be intimidated, I’ve seen people that really don’t know what they are doing take part,” she laughed. “It’s definitely open to amateurs. Some people are like, ‘I’m not very good.’ I’m like. We are here to make money, how you perform and have fun is up to your teammates.”

Several sponsorship packages for groups and corporations are still open. Individual golfers looking to participate can register for $250 that includes participation in all the activities. For more information contact Lunn at 306.477.8588 or you can visit the Children’s Wish website.

“We grant wishes to kids between three and 17 with life threatening illness or high-risk therapy. Since 1984 we’re over 26,000 wishes granted, in relation to this tournament we have funded 121 wishes and those are currently being planned,” Lunn said.

They hope to sell out both tournaments, capacity is 144 golfers. Lunn said their goal is $80,000 per event.

Saskatchewan is now the third province that will incorporate EASY GOLF TOUR software for golf courses to manage every aspect of tournaments and weekly league play.

Golf Saskatchewan has partnered with the Sydney, Nova Scotia based company and will now provide all member clubs with the program to run their own events. Todd Chant has been developing golf software for almost two decades and is the mind behind the online tool. Chant worked closely with golf professionals and general managers to create a product that he said would save hours for golf course staff when it comes to organizing tournaments.

“No matter what software they are using it’s still a lot of work for the golf course,” Chant explained. “You still need a lot of people running the tournaments. It still takes time to run the events regardless of how easy the software is. Our focus was to develop software to take the work off the course and put it on the golfer.”

The program takes the third-party out of registration for tournaments. The software integrates into the golf club’s website and provides registration, live scoring, payment, rules, pin sheet options, and many more features for tournaments. Chant said once the players are registered the setup and management for events is trimmed to around five minutes.

“All the golfers are automatically put into the software with all the correct information the golfers entered in during registration. We grab the handicaps from Golf Canada, so they have updated handicaps. When they are going into a tournament there are a few minor adjustments that have to made but 99.9 percent of the information is ready to go,” he said.

Players will receive text messages to learn of tee times and notifications for events which means the tournament participants don’t need to bog down clubhouse phone lines or email questions.

The program works the same way for the club’s weekly league’s as well now. Chant said that is a new feature this year.

“We’ve been running our tournament software for two years in Atlantic Canada just to make sure everything is working. This year we’re releasing our league software. It’s all-inclusive, there are no additional charges, everything is included,” he said.

For Golf Saskatchewan, the partnership is another value-added initiative for member clubs. Member services manager for Golf Saskatchewan, Candace Dunham said the organization is excited to work with the program.

“We are always striving to add more value to the membership each year. The tournament management software provided by Easy Golf Tour will be a great resource for member clubs as it is easy to use, offers a wide variety of scoring options, and best of all it is included with each club’s membership,” she said.

Anyone interested in learning more about EASY GOLF TOUR can vie their website.

Moon Lake Golf and Country Club hosted the provincial junior golf championships last year and will now focus on 2019 and the 101^st Saskatchewan Women’s Amateur Championship.

The province’s best non-professional women golfers will converge on the Saskatoon area course July 3-5 vying for a provincial championship and a trip to nationals. Head pro Bobbi Brandon says she is excited for a better year at the club.

“Last year we got hit with a tough winter,” she said. “We’re hoping 2019 gets us back on track and the course heals up.”

Brandon does expect the 27-hole course to bounce back from a weather-ridden 2018 season. She said this year’s winter elements should be beneficial.

“We were happy with snow coverage this winter, we were lacking it last winter. It was cold but hopefully we have enough snow cover and we are looking forward to a strong spring and a good year,” Brandon said.

Moon Lake features three nine-hole course tracks, “The Heather” is a par-36, route ranging from 2,597 yards to 3,470. “The Highlands” is another par-36 that plays from 2,560 to 3,415. “The Moors” play from between 2,300 and 3,300 yards. The course is very manageable but the women competing will have to utilize every club in their bag.

Brandon said the course is pleased to be involved with another championship and she hopes the field grows from recent years.

“We’re happy to promote golf with Golf Saskatchewan, the Maple Leaf Junior Tour, we think it’s a positive way to promote golf in our province. We’re very happy to host your provincial women’s championship.”

Carla Odnokon will come in as the defending champion. Registration will open in mid-April, for this event and all the provincial tournaments.

The Sask Blind Sports Association (SBSA) is hosting a celebration golf weekend at the Golf Dome in Saskatoon over the next couple days.

The organization is inviting visually impaired people to the Dome in Saskatoon on Saturday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to give the sport a try free of charge. Everyone is welcome.

CTV Saskatoon joined the SBSA, participants, and Golf Saskatchewan Manager of Sport Development Steve Ryde at the Golf Dome on Thursday for a preview.

Special thanks to CTV for their coverage, to see the video click here.