Always check your yardage. Golfers who compete at the highest level, value their yardage guide as critical to performance—a roadmap for collaboration that fosters fact-based decision-making in the moments when execution matters most. Developed through meaningful consultation with our provincial, national and international partners, Golf Canada’s 2019–2022 Strategic Plan is our yardage guide—a roadmap for operational, competitive and commercial success that outlines the most critical priorities of our business.

Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum officially kicked off the Annual Meeting with a presentation on Golf Canada’s new Strategic Plan, a foundational framework built through collaboration that when executed with precision will advance the sport and drive Golf Canada’s vision to be a world leader in golf.

Starting in 1909, March 8 has been viewed as a day to honour and celebrate women. Today the date has become known as International Women’s Day.

Saskatchewan and golf have reasons to recognize the day as well, not just today but 365 days a year. Last year Golf Saskatchewan hosted the 100th Saskatchewan Amateur Women’s Championship that Carla Odnokon won. There’s only one, 100th champion.

How can the day not bring to light the accomplishments of perhaps the province’s greatest female golfer, Regina’s Joanne Goulet?

Goulet is one of a dozen women in the Golf Saskatchewan Hall of Fame inducted as individuals. The 1985 and 1990 Saskatchewan Senior Women’s teams that included Goulet are also enshrined.

Goulet joins Gayle Borthwick, Lorie Boyle, Wenda Coley, Barbara Danaher, Margaret Elliot, Nancy Harvey, Dana Kidd, Pat Lawson, Mabel Palko, Geri Street, and Barb Wilson. You can read about all of their accomplishments here.

Golf Saskatchewan also wants to celebrate, and thank our countless women volunteers, board members and staff, not only present but past and future as well.

In August in Regina the CP Women’s Open welcomed the world’s best female golfers to the Wascana Country Club for the LPGA event, the first time the tour has visited the province.

History was made when Brooke Henderson became the first Canadian to win on home soil since 1973, nearly 50,000 spectators took in the championship making the event one of the most attended in tournament history. However, none of this would be possible without the over 1,100 volunteers that gave up a week of their short Saskatchewan summer to be a part of history. Bernadette McIntyre is a long-time volunteer in the province mostly for curling events, but she wanted to be involved in the Open along with her co-chair Karen Pasterfield. The two Regina women have worked together for years chairing events including Briers, the Memorial Cup and Grey Cups. McIntyre said they had plenty of help among the different areas of volunteering.

“The co-chairs of each of the committees we had were fabulous,” she said. “Everybody stepped up and did an amazing job.”

The largest group of volunteers needed was marshaling, 500 people performed those tasks through out the event. Both scoring and transportation needed over 120 people involved and other committees varied from six to 60. Security, golf carts, hospitality, sales, practice facility, 50/50 sales, and other committees were all coordinated with rousing success for the six-day event. McIntyre said the hours were long and the work was tiring for everyone involved but the response from the volunteers was overwhelming.

“Golf Canada does a survey of the volunteers after, I believe it was a 94 per cent satisfaction rate. They said that was one of the highest they’ve had for volunteers working the CP Women’s Open,” McIntyre said.

Rounding up over 1,100 volunteers took a little longer than more familiar events the city and province have hosted. Asking residents to take a week of their already short summer is harder to do than getting people to sign up to help put on a Grey Cup in November or the Brier in March but McIntyre said Saskatchewan stepped up and once again showcased prairie pride.

“Lots of them took holidays, gave up a week of their summer time to be part of this, that’s phenomenal. In the winter we need something to do to get us through, we have beautiful summers here in Saskatchewan and these people came and worked their hearts out and really had a good time,” she said.

Aside from McIntyre’s relatively minimal experience in the game of golf, she admitted there was some nervousness leading up to the opening round of competition. She said once the gate opened on the first day of competition the sight took the nerves away.

“When the gates opened on Thursday morning and people started streaming in, we were like, they are going to come, they are going to come. You do all that that work, and you hope people will come,” she beamed.

Volunteers are the heart & soul of any event!

Today (Wed., Dec. 5th) is #InternationalVolunteerDay – and we'd like to celebrate and thank our #CPWO volunteers. Our event would not be possible without you.

Learn more about joining our volunteer team at https://t.co/K2NFOMncxZ pic.twitter.com/2jfgchmRmp

— CPKC Women's Open (@cpkcwomensopen) December 5, 2018

McIntyre focused her efforts towards the areas of the volunteers that all events need such as security, transportation, communications, and safety. Pasterfield is a member of the Wascana Country Club and an avid golfer. Her role was focused more on golf and the tournament play including looking over the 500 marshals and 150 people at scoring tents across the grounds. Giving back to the Wascana was part of her mandate but she said being part of any major event is a special feeling.

“When something of this magnitude came with golf it was a no-brainer,” Pasterfield said. “We wanted to get involved and not only show off the Wascana and Regina but Saskatchewan. As a volunteer that’s always your main focus.”

Pasterfield has experience volunteering at PGA Champions Tour events in Hawaii where she spends parts of the year, so her expertise was a great fit during the LPGA event. One worry with a golf tournament rather than a football game or a curling bonspiel is dealing with weather. Pasterfield said they needed cooperation for about a year leading up to the event and the Wascana didn’t get it.

“We depended on Mother Nature to behave for a year, not just the week of the event and she didn’t,” she said. “We had to almost rebuild the Wascana as a result of a ridiculous winter. It was much more challenging when you have no control of the conditions.”

The players did play “preferred lies” during the tournament but overall the course conditions did rebound. Prairie winds rolled in through out the 72-hole tournament as well providing a challenge to the professionals.

Pasterfield said the course will always have the history behind it now that Henderson was the winner, but a new generation of golfers could spawn through both the volunteers and the spectators, especially kids.

“We had a wonderful program, ‘Brooke’s Brigade’ that was sponsored by Golf Town that brought junior golfers out in droves. You’d see these little monkeys walking around the course following Brooke in their t-shirts. The pros during the Pro-Am had the juniors play with them on a hole and they got to putt out, so it really opened the eyes to junior golfers for sure. It introduced golf of that caliber to certainly the citizens of Regina and the province,” she said.

Souvenir sales were three times higher during the Regina based event, the $2 million charitable goal set by CP was reached before the event was over, the cheque presentation was made on championship Sunday. Pasterfield said those highlights perked the ears of Golf Canada and the event could very well make its way back to our province.

“They just didn’t understand how big an event like this is supported by the local people. It all spoke volumes about them coming back to Saskatchewan. They will be back,” Pasterfield vowed.

The volunteers were not only Saskatchewan and Regina based. Pasterfield credited other southern Saskatchewan golf clubs for stepping up, she said people from all the western provinces volunteered, yearly volunteers from across Canada were involved and people from both the Dakotas traveled north of the border to lend a hand. Much like McIntyre, the lasting memory Pasterfield said she has is the Thursday morning although she saw it from a television screen.

“We were in a meeting and the Golf Channel came on the TV, not only were we seeing the Wascana featured on the Golf Channel internationally, but the shot was the people coming. It was mind blowing, it was very moving,” she said.

DORVAL, Qué. – Golf Canada’s 2019 Annual Meeting culminated on Saturday, March 2 with the election of Charlie Beaulieu of Lorraine, Qué., to serve as the National Sport Federation’s President.

Beaulieu succeeds 2018 President Leslie Dunning in leading Golf Canada’s Board of Directors. Liz Hoffman of Thornhill, Ont., becomes 1^st Vice-President and Dale Jackson of Victoria assumes the role of 2^nd Vice-President.

“I am honoured to assume this post as the 115^th president of Golf Canada,” said Beaulieu. “There is a great enthusiasm in the game right now and I believe we have a real opportunity to be innovative in how we advance the sport and make the game more accessible. Together with the Board of Directors, I am looking forward to working closely with CEO Laurence Applebaum and our committed staff, volunteers and partners for the betterment of golf in Canada.”

Charlie Beaulieu joined Golf Canada’s Board of Directors in 2011 and has  served the organization on a variety of committees during his tenure. Formerly the President of the Fédération québécoise de golf, he chaired a special taskforce which led to the amalgamation of the Fédération québécoise de golf and Golf Québec. The Québec Golf Federation includes representatives from the golf course owner’s association, the provincial professional golf association, the regional golf associations and amateur golfers, all aligned in promoting the development of the game.

A member of Le Mirage Golf Club, Beaulieu brings more than 30 years of corporate, real estate and entrepreneurial experience across a variety of businesses. Together with his family—through an annual golf tournament held in honour of their late father—he has helped the Roland Beaulieu Foundation, raise over $1.2 M over the past 20 years for various charitable causes in Québec.

Left to right: Leslie Dunning, Charlie Beaulieu, Laurence Applebaum

Beaulieu, Hoffman and Jackson will lead Golf Canada’s 2019 Board of Directors which also includes Rob MacDonald of Winnipeg, Man., David Atkinson of Vancouver, B.C. Susan MacKinnon of Calgary, David McCarthy of Toronto and Adam Daifallah of Montreal as well as new Directors Jean Stone-Seguin of Ottawa and Patrick Kelly of Vancouver. Also remaining on the Board is past President Leslie Dunning of Calgary.

Golf Canada Releases Strategic Plan (2019-2022)

During the Annual Meeting, CEO Laurence Applebaum also presented Golf Canada’s three-year Strategic Plan (2019-2022) to increase Canadian participation and excellence in golf.

Annual Report & Financial Statements

Click here to read Golf Canada’s 2018 Annual Report, which includes a recap of the past season, as well as the organization’s 2018 Financial Statements, which were both released during Golf Canada’s Annual General Meeting.

Raymonde Michaud Honoured with Volunteer of the Year Award
Raymonde Michaud of Rivière-du-Loup, Qué. was recognized as Golf Canada’s 2018 recipient of the Volunteer of the Year Award. This marks the 13^th year in which the association has honoured volunteers for their efforts and commitment to grow the game in their community. Click here for more on Volunteer of the Year honouree Raymonde Michaud.

Raymond Gaudet, Daniel Caza and Jean-Claude Gagné honoured as Recipients of Golf Canada’s Distinguished Service Award:
Created in 1993, Golf Canada’s Distinguished Service Award has been presented annually to recognize individuals for their outstanding contributions to the game of golf in Canada. This year’s recipients  respected Québec golf club owner and industry advocate Raymond Gaudet, veteran golf journalist Daniel Caza and long-time volunteer Jean-Claude Gagné. Gaudet, Caza and Gagné were recognized during Golf Canada’s Annual Meeting dinner on Saturday, March 2. Click here for more information on the 2019 Distinguished Service Award honourees.

Images, Panel Sessions & Presentations from Golf Canada’s 2019 Annual Meeting:

A snapshot of photos from Golf Canada’s 2019 Annual Meeting is available here while a link to the various panel sessions and presentations that took place is available here.

Golf Canada’s 2019 Annual Meeting took place February 28 to March 2 at the Montreal Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel in Dorval, Québec.

Leslie Dunning might be expected, as she leaves the presidency of Golf Canada after an eventful year, to focus just on the milestones.

And there were some notable moments, including trophy presentations to the likes of the world’s top-ranked male golfer, Dustin Johnson, at the RBC Canadian Open and, even more memorable, the presentation to Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., who became just the second Canadian to win the CP Women’s Open.

How about the announcement of a new, more preferable date for the 2019 RBC Canadian Open? Seeing a historic modernization of the Rules of Golf come into effect? Or travelling to iconic tournaments such as The Masters and the U.S. Open?

While Dunning acknowledges those were wonderful experiences, she chooses to highlight themes, rather than events. And that should come as no surprise, if you recall her “mantra” when she was elected a year ago.

“I’m trying to make sure that I’m doing something every day to grow the game in Canada,” she told me at that time.

Leslie Dunning looks on during the inaugural CP Women’s Leadership Summit at Hotel Saskatchewan during the week of the 2018 CP Women’s Open

As a result, she harks back to attending historic events such as the inaugural CP Women’s Leadership Summit, the first Women’s Summit hosted by the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada, and others, such as when Golf Canada invited some long-overdue guests to the RBC Canadian Open.

In an effort to “walk the talk” expressed in Golf Canada’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy (the outcome of a task force Dunning spearheaded), representatives of about a dozen golf organizations were invited to Glen Abbey to share information about their organizations and learn about Golf Canada..

“These diverse groups are well-functioning organizations; some have been around for decades,” said Dunning. “They are just a small sample of the many groups of golfers across the country who love the game; but few of them have been engaged as part of Golf Canada.”

“We learned from those first meetings that, just like traditional golf associations and clubs, these groups want to grow their membership, grow the game, have fun and educate players about the Rules so they can maintain good pace of play and accurate handicaps for net competitions.”

Once learning about the benefits of Golf Canada membership, some groups, not already members, committed to join Golf Canada.  As well, a few new governance volunteers were recruited, including one for Golf Canada’s Investment Committee and another for its Human Resources Committee.  Some groups have expressed interest to “adopt” a hole for the RBC Canadian Open or CP Women’s Open.  “It has been an encouraging start and we will continue to work with these groups, and others, to involve them and their members as part of Golf Canada.”

While perhaps not as exciting as meeting DJ and Brooke or walking the hallowed grounds of Augusta National, Dunning’s dedication to staying true to her “mantra” is undoubtedly more impressive and impactful.

To say her calendar was full is an understatement and many of the occasions were focused on expanding diversity and inclusion in golf in Canada. It started with hosting last year’s Golf Canada annual general meeting on the Tsuutina Nation near her home in Calgary where Golf in Schools kits were gifted to the Nation’s elementary and high schools. And the pace seldom slowed.

“I tried my best to do something every day whether it was meeting with organizations, reading to expand my knowledge and understanding, attending events, speaking with people or exchanging information..”

She is optimistic about the commitment to diversity and inclusion by everyone involved in golf in Canada. “We are seeing diversity and inclusion on conference agendas, in magazine articles and in policy and program development.”  Not only did she write an article on equity, diversity and inclusion for the Canadian Society of Club Managers magazine, she also gave a number of interviews and presentations focusing on the topic.

Dunning was gratified, by an article on diversity in golf in a major magazine.  “The writer did a terrific job researching the true diversity that already exists in golf.  It is now up to Golf Canada, other organizations and clubs to ensure that we are as diverse as the golfing public.”

Sandwiched between all this were Golf Canada Board of Directors meetings and other governance responsibilities, something Dunning takes very seriously, especially as she was working with the association’s new CEO, Laurence Applebaum, though his first full year on the job.

“As president, my primary responsibility has been to provide leadership to the Board and to work in partnership with the CEO to prepare for and follow up after Board meetings.”

She says working with Applebaum has been “a real pleasure” and credits “a great and hard-working Board, committed volunteers and talented staff” for their invaluable contributions.

Dunning will hand over the reins to Charlie Beaulieu of Montreal at Golf Canada’s annual general meeting on March 2, 2019 in Montreal.

Brian Dueck has been hired as the new general manager of the Royal Regina Golf Club (RRGC).

The board of directors overlooking the province’s oldest course made the announcement on Feb. 22. The Royal Regina has been without a GM for the past six months. Dueck began his career in 1989 at the Murray Golf Course in Regina, he worked for a year at the Tor Hill Golf Course before moving to Estevan to be the head professional at the TS&M Woodlawn. Dueck took some time off golf taking over as the GM of Power Dodge in Estevan but he said returning to the industry at the Royal Regina was the perfect fit.

“I’ve always found the social atmosphere of the club intriguing,” Dueck told Golf Saskatchewan. “The welcoming feeling when you get from the membership is a great fit, when the opportunity arose, here I am.”

Head professional Dean Brown had been pulling double duty acting as the interim GM until the position was filled. The timing is important for the club as they get set for a busy year including hosting the 100 Golf Saskatchewan Senior Men’s Championship. Dueck said he is looking forward to getting started.

“Absolutely, we’re looking forward to hosting the senior men this year. We’re five years away from our 125^th anniversary so looking out for that. They are doing renovations in the lounge and dining area, so yeah, it’s exciting,” he said.

RRGC president Chris Frohlick said the board of directors were confident with Brown filling the void in the interim. He said that allowed the group to find the right candidate.

“It took some time but in the end we wanted to make sure that we got the right guy in place and we’re obviously excited to have Brian join our management team. He has served as a GM and head pro for several years and he understands our market. He’s a Regina guy and understands some of the challenges we face in our market and what our club has to offer. I think he’s going to be a great fit” Frolick said.

Dueck’s already on the job, his first day was Feb. 25.

Yorkton’s Kade Johnson and Saskatoon’s Roman Timmerman got their collegiate golf season’s off to a great start this week.

The Southern Arkansas University Mulerider golf team opened their campaign with a win at the 54-hole Hurricane Invitational. Johnson shot an opening round of 74, followed by a one-under, 71 and minus-three, 69 to finish tied for fifth overall in the 73-golfer and 13 school field.

Johnson was recognized for his play with the Great American Golfer of the Week award, the first honour of his college career.

Timmerman wasn’t far back, he shot a three total of 216 (75, 71, 70) to finish in a tie for seventh at even par. The leaderboard can be seen here.

The Saskatchewan pairs scores helped the Muleriders finish with their sixth lowest team score since 1995-1996.

Golf Saskatchewan is once again offering their Easter Camp to junior golfers that will take them to Crown Isle Resort in Comox, British Columbia.

The program is back after a year hiatus and registration is now open to golfers 12 to 18 years of age and eligible to compete in either the provincial junior men’s or women’s championships. The camp runs from April 21 to 26. Chloe Sies, a two-time attendee said the camp helped develop her into a better player.

“It was nice, you would go at Easter and there is usually still snow on the ground in Saskatchewan and it’s cold. You have the itch to golf, you can go, and you are able to work on your game and get those first few rounds out of the way when you are rusty,” she said.

“I think the camp is super beneficial,” Sies added.

The camp includes five rounds at the Crown Isle Resort, where the attendees will stay. Crown Isle will be hosting a Web.com Tour event the following week, so course conditions are expected to be world class. The camp is designed to assist in the development of junior golfers, not only at the junior provincial championships this summer but overall. Sies said her experiences did exactly that.

“You learn a lot, there is drills and other aspects. You were learning drills that you could take back to your home course and work on even without a coach or professional.

PGA of Canada professionals attending the camp and providing coaching will be Steve Ryde and Jason Schneider. Ryde will be attending his first camp but has several years experience coaching junior golfers, Schneider has attended in the past including the years Sies was a participant. Sies is a past junior women’s provincial champion and was part of Team Sask’s amateur women’s team last year. She said taking part in the Easter Camp helped launch her to becoming one of the province’s best women golfers.

“I think so, it was about getting the early start and learning a lot from the two coaches and being able to bring that back home and play and put what you learn in action,” she said.

Aside from the five rounds on a world-class course the camp includes individual team challenges, confidence building development, and mental training. Included in the camp fee is transportation via air from Saskatoon, accommodations, and meals.

The deadline to register is March 15. Only 16 golfers will be allowed to attend. The application form can be downloaded here.

“It’s really fun, I still talk about stories we have from the trips,” Sies said. “You learn a lot, it definitely makes you better in the long run.”

“It would not be a bad idea to require each golfer to pass a written examination on the Rules of Golf…”

Don’t panic. That was just the opinion of J.T. Clark, editor of the Toronto Star.

In 1915.

His comments were reported in Canadian Golfer magazine and the editor concluded the article with these timeless words: “Play up, play up, and play the game. And conscientiously observe the Rules and etiquette.”

Not much has changed since then. If anything, the recent renovation of the Rules of Golf, which went into effect on Jan. 1, has put a laser focus on the Rules and their implementation. (You can review the new Rules here.)

Recent incidents on the professional tours have impacted this greatly. Penalties for having a caddie helping line up a player and a disqualification for Sergio Garcia’s inexcusable behaviour at a European Tour event have garnered widespread and disparate reactions.

That, in my opinion, is not a bad thing. If anything, it’s positive.

Let’s take it for granted that many recreational golfers observe the mere minimum of the Rules and etiquette. That’s fine as long as they don’t impact the enjoyment and safety of their fellow golfers and they are not posting scores for an official handicap. Any score posted for handicap purposes must be played under the Rules of Golf.

Why?

In Clark’s words:  “Players sometimes bring in weird scores, procured in weird ways that would disqualify them 10 times over.”  Plus ca change, plus c’est la même chose, n’est pas?

But at the very least, every golfer, recreational and competitive, should have access to knowing and understanding the Rules.

While I’m not agreeing with Clark’s assertion that every golfer passes a written Rules exam, I think it is incumbent on anyone who is serious about the game to avail them of the opportunity offered by Golf Canada.

That’s my personal opinion, just like I feel every touring and club professional, golf coach at any level and the appropriate instructor at every Professional Golf Management program should be Rules certified.

If that isn’t the case, then ideally there would be a Rules expert (now called “referees” under the new Rules) at every course.

It’s an initiative that at least one provincial association is trying to encourage.

Anne Balser is the Manager of Sport Development and Championships at the Nova Scotia Golf Association. Aside from being an accomplished player (two-time Nova Scotia Amateur champion, 2010 Canadian University/College champion, four-time All-Canadian and twice an All-American while attending the University of Victoria), she learned the importance of the Rules at an early age. She recently obtained her national Rules certification.

“My mom was a golfer and a teacher, so any time my sisters and I went out with her, she took the opportunity to show us not only how the Rules worked, but how they could help us. I learned the Rules are not there to penalize you but that knowing the Rules can actually help you save strokes.”

This year, the NSGA is conducting introductory Rules seminars around the province. The first, at Ken-Wo Country Club, drew more than 70 golfers interested in learning the basics.

“It showed us that there is great interest among golfers to understand not only the new version of the Rules but how the average golfer can benefit from knowing the basic Rules,” said Balser.

In addition to these onsite visits, Balser pointed out that golfers can dig into the Rules while digging out of the snow before the season starts in much of Canada through various online opportunities such as webinars, YouTube videos and other supports.

Alison Murdoch, an honoured member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame with an incredible national and international resume, has been Rules-accredited at the national level for more than a decade. Her incentive to do so was obvious.

“As a player, it would be incredibly embarrassing to make a ruling for myself or another player and get it wrong, so I took it upon myself back in 2008 to take the Rules seminar and exam. I’ve never regretted it.”

(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

She lauds the camaraderie of the Rules teams she is part of at tournaments, using compliments such as “welcoming, supportive, helpful, educational, rewarding, challenging” to encourage others to achieve their Rules certification.

“At my club, where they know I am a certified Rules referee, I am often asked about a ruling. It’s great to be recognized as a resource and I am happy to help. Perhaps the greatest reward is when I make a ruling and someone comes up to me after and thanks me because I saved them from an unfortunate situation because they were unaware of the Rule.”

Not only has the new Rules code become more understandable and user-friendly, but Golf Canada has changed their Rules Education System to three levels from the previous four to make it more accessible.

“Level 1 is an online platform to educate all golfers about the basics of the Rules and explain commonly encountered situations on the course,” says Adam Helmer, Golf Canada’s Director of Rules, Competitions and Amateur Status.

If you love the game, know the Rules.

Click here to register for Level 1.

Lindsay Bernakevitch has come a long way from the sandy greens of the Kelliher Golf and Country Club where he fell in love with the game that has taken him around the world.

The Regina product, and four-time Saskatchewan men’s amateur champion has made a career out of the sport and currently has one of the most marquee positions the nation could offer, Bernakevitch, 38,  is the head professional at the prestigious Victoria Golf Club. Bernakevitch has been at the course for almost five years on the coast of the Pacific Ocean but he credits his start to Saskatchewan.

“I was the kid that my mom would drop me off at the course and I would stay there all day and she’d pick me up at the end of the day,” he told Golf Saskatchewan. “It was definitely a love affair with golf.”

As mentioned, Bernakevitch played plenty of golf in Kelliher growing up but frequented several courses in Regina as a youngster, mostly the Wascana Country Club which was near his family’s house in the Queen City. Bernakevitch’s father was, and still is an avid player. Bernakevitch played throughout high school and made several provincial junior teams before going on to college at the University of British Columbia and Western Washington. He said moving to B.C. and playing golf more frequently was important for his development. Bernakevitch said technology involving simulators and equipment is evening the landscape for golfers but climate is still the number one factor in improving your game but, it’s not the be all, end all.

“Try to get somewhere where there is a climate that’s going to be conducive to it, but also you don’t have to rush it,” he said. “You don’t have to be a superstar in high school, there is a lot of late bloomers in this game and obviously you see a lot of young guys on tour, but you also see old guys that compete out there. You don’t have to become a world beater over night.”

Bernakevitch speaks from experience when it comes to developing later in life, yes, he did have success as a junior golfer, but it wasn’t until his post-college days where the championships began piling up including in the Saskatchewan men’s amateur four straight years. His first of four wins came, fittingly, at the Wascana Country Club in Regina in 2000. Bernakevitch followed that with championships at the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club, Nipawin’s Evergreen Golf Course and the Riverside Country Club in Saskatoon. He said those tournaments helped vault him to an excellent career.

“The first one was almost a surprise, I loved golf and I was working hard for it and suddenly, I was like oh, I am better than I think I am. After the first one it became a driving force for me to do it again and that was a huge motivator for me to try and be the best,” Bernakevitch said.

Along with representing Saskatchewan on Willingdon Cup teams four times he played for Team Canada on several occasions and represented the nation at nine different international events over the years. Bernakevitch spent another five years playing professionally on the Canadian Tour but eventually wanted to settle into a career and “stop living from a suitcase.” Still wanting to stay in golf he chose the path of course management and head professional. Based on the advice from his mentor, Dave Wood, the current CEO of Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club in Vancouver, Bernakevitch began his career at that course as the backshop manager. He recalled the advice Wood passed along to him, “take the worst job at the best course.” He followed that path and eventually he landed the position in Victoria.

“Timing is everything, big jobs in Canada don’t come available all the time. For that I was in the right place at the right time. I was at a place in my career I could handle it and the job was available. To have those things go hand in hand were fortunate for sure,” Bernakevitch said.

He does count his blessings daily, growing up in Saskatchewan playing golf about five months per year doesn’t compare to the Victoria Club that closes one day per year, Christmas Day, but Bernakevitch credits his time in the province to allow him to be where he is today.

“Saskatchewan is a special place. Your members and readers know this but the people in the province are second to none, they’re the best that are out there. I still have a soft spot in my heart for the prairies,” he said.

Bernakevitch said proof of that statement was evident when Brooke Henderson won the CP Women’s Open at the Wascana this past summer. Although not at the event itself, Bernakevitch had returned to the Wascana just prior to the tournament to play during a family visit. He said witnessing the championship on television at his one-time home course was special.

“It was neat to see a championship being played on a course I was familiar with and obviously to have Brooke win was super special for Canadians everywhere. To see a Canadian win on home soil is always special,” he said.

Bernakevitch still finds time to play despite his busy career, he is coming off his second PGA of BC Club Professional Championship last September.

You can hear much more from Bernakevitch who spoke with Golf Saskatchewan`s Clark Stork this week.