British Columbia’s Brian McDonald claimed the 2018 PGA of Canada Head Pro Championship Thursday in Arizona, but Deer Valley’s John Greenough used a great third round to finish with a stellar 10^th place finish.

The Deer Valley Golf Club and Resort professional saved his best round for last stroking a 68 at Wigwam Golf Resort vaulting himself from 29^th to climb inside the top-10. Greenough fired a three-round total of 215 over 54 holes. Greenough played better as the week progressed opening with a 3-over, 75 in round one and an even-par 72 on Wednesday.

Swift Current’s Elmwood Golf Club professional Jeff Chambers was as high as fifth at one point of the tournament finished in a tie for 25^th at 4-over, 220 (73, 71,76). Royal Regina Golf Club pro Dean Brown landed in a tie for 37^th at plus-7, 273 (73,73, 77) and Scott Knapp out of Regina’s Tor Hill Golf Course finished at plus-15, 231 (73,78,80). Knapp tied for 57^th place.

Victoria Golf Club head pro Lindsay Bernakevitch, who won the Saskatchewan Men’s Amateur Championship four straight years (2000-2003) playing out of Regina shot even par over the three days landing in a tie for 11^th.

The complete leaderboard can be found here.

Ontario’s Percy Gordon is leading the charge at the PGA of Canada Head Professional Championship, but several Saskatchewan golfers are seeking a potential top-10 finish.

Swift Current’s Jeff Chambers (Elmwood Golf Club) sits at even-par through 36 holes of the event at Wigwam Golf Resort near Phoenix, Arizona. Chambers followed his opening round of 73 with a 1-under, 71 on Wednesday. He is in a tie for 14^th place.

Regina’s Dean Brown (Royal Regina Golf Club) has carded back-to-back 73’s, his 2-over par is good enough for a tie in 21^st. John Greenough (Deer Valley Golf Club) is at 3-over after shooting par during round two. Greenough is tied for 29^th. Scott Knapp (Tor Hill Golf Course) fired a 78 on Wednesday, the Regina golfer is tied for 46^th at plus-7.

Four-time Saskatchewan men’s amateur champion Lindsay Bernakevitch, hails from the Regina area is now the head pro at the Victoria Golf Club is also in a tie for 14^th at even-par.

The third, and final round will take place on Thursday. Knapp will tee off at 8:57 a.m. Saskatchewan time. Greenough begins his round at 9:06 a.m. Chambers starts at 9:15 a.m. Brown hits his first shot at 9:42 a.m. and Bernakevitch will play in the 9:51 group.

You can see the complete leaderboard here.

A trio of Saskatchewan professional golfers are tied for 23^rd position after day one of the PGA of Canada Head Professional Championship at Wigwam Golf Resort near Phoenix, Arizona.

Royal Regina Golf Club pro Dean Brown, Swift Current’s Elmwood Golf Club professional Jeff Chambers and Scott Knapp from the Tor Hill Golf Club in Regina all shot plus-1, 73 during day one of the 54-hole event. Deer Valley’s John Greenough is in a tie for 45^th at plus-3.

Carleton Golf & Yacht Golf Club professional Percy Gordon leads the 88-player field at 6-under par.

The tournament continues Wednesday with round two. Chambers and Brown will play in the same group during the second round and tee off at 11:51 a.m. Saskatchewan time. Knapp is in the next group teeing off at 12 p.m. and Greenough will be the first Saskatchewan pro on the course with the 10:48 a.m. group.

You can see the tournament results here.

The signature number eight hole at Yorkton’s Deer Park Municipal Golf Course will have a new look by the year 2020 and there will be no hindsight.

Currently the hole plays at just over 100 yards from the back tee but with a heavily elevated box overlooking a protected green the par-three picturesque hole is tricky making it a favourite among members and visitors. However with a water hazard fronting the green flooding has been an issue over the years forcing the city to make changes. The new number eight will still feature an elevated tee box but the green will be about 10 feet higher to alleviate the early season water concerns. Men’s Club President Cliff Trombley said work is underway and the new hole looks enticing.

“They have done a fantastic job of building that up and it’s going to be a beautiful hole,” Trombley said.

A company from Edmonton is contracted to perform the work. Trombley said one of the construction crew members has extensive experience working for Jack Nicklaus and his course developing staff. He added that there was some reservation among the course’s membership to the changes of their feature hole, but the progress has changed several minds.

“There was, even some of our men’s club members thought this was ridiculous but now that they see it,” Trombley said. “I think the big thing was they couldn’t visualize it.”

The current hole has a southeast facing tee shot, the new hole will be a northeast launch according to Trombley. The city of Yorkton is funding the hole eight project. The men’s club is providing their own funding for work across the main road into the 18-hole public facility on hole number seven. A new green is being built making the straight away par-five more challenging. Trombley said big hitters will have more to contend with once the green comes into play.

“We’ve moved it over and elevated it,” he explained to Golf Saskatchewan. “We have different angulations in it with sand traps in front of it, it looks very good. It’s going to have a dogleg, so you won’t just be able to blast two long shots.”

The upgrades are part of a long-term plan that was developed about ten years ago. The men’s club funded the architectural design at the time with funds raised during their weekly club nights. Trombley said the renovations on hole seven didn’t come without hesitation as well.

“A lot of our members were opposed to that as well until they sat down and listened to what we had to say. Until they heard the long-term plan and saw what we were trying to accomplish they bought in and said let’s do this,” he said.

Deer Park is going into their 99^th season of existence next year. The course did believe that 2019 was going to be their 100^th anniversary but according to city of Yorkton and Golf Saskatchewan records they opened in 1921. Trombley said they still have a couple years to plan the century celebration, but this upcoming season Deer Park will host a Future Links event on top of their regularly scheduled tournaments. He said the current format of holes will be available for the season coming up.

“That was one of the beauties of this construction is that it was all done after the golf season and it doesn’t take anything out of play, hole eight and seven will still be in operation,” Trombley said.

In recent years the men’s club has funded a new green and the lengthening of hole one, they spent approximately $15,000 to cure drainage issues between holes six and seven and updated the tee boxes on holes two and seven to the tune of over $72,000. Trombley said the club will continue to host their weekly men’s nights, that average over 110 golfers a week, to continue putting funds back into the course. He said the city has been very cooperative with the plans and the partnership should continue to work together in the future.

“We want to be able to demonstrate to our members and our community that we’re interested in the long-term development of Deer Park and following our long-term plans on that,” he said.

The final PGA of Canada national championship of the year lands next week in Arizona.

The PGA Head Professional Championship of Canada presented by Titleist & FootJoy takes place December 3-6 at the Golf Course at The Wigwam in Litchfield, Ariz.

A 54-hole national championship featuring PGA of Canada head professionals, head teaching professionals, executive professionals and general managers, will undoubtedly feature stellar play from an impressive cast of players.

The field at The Wigwam includes:

• Past PGA Head Professional Championship of Canada winners John Cochrane, Danny King and Benoit Boudreau
• Past PGA Championship of Canada winners Dave Levesque and Eric Laporte
• Past PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada winners Phil Jonas, Matt Palsenbarg, Marc Girouard
• PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC highly-touted Scott Allred, Philippe Gariepy, Brian Hadley, David Zibrik, Lindsay Bernakevitch, Ron Kenesky and Gordon Burns
• PGA TOUR winner Ian Leggatt

“We’re very excited to be headed back to Arizona and even more excited to be going to the Gold Course at The Wigwam for the PGA Head Professional Championship of Canada,” said PGA of Canada president and Harbor Golf Club and Resort Head Pro Mark Patterson.

This year’s field features many first-time players in the PGA Head Professional Championship of Canada presented by Titleist & FootJoy.

Designed by the master designer himself, the Gold Course was created in 1964 to rival another of Robert Trent Jones Sr.’s courses, the famed South Course at Firestone Country Club. At more than 7,430 yards, this long and winding par-72 course will challenge even the finest of golfers, leaving them with club choices that will either reward or reprimand their decisions. The course has previously hosted qualifying tournaments for the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada, U.S. Open and the U.S. Amateur.

The Wigwam was originally built in 1918 as a gathering place for the Ohio-based executives of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company who discovered the West Valley of Phoenix as a prime location to grow cotton for rubber production. As the retreat grew in popularity, additional accommodations and amenities were added and in 1929 The Wigwam opened as a full-service resort with accommodations for just 24 guests.

In its 100-year history, this Phoenix resort has hosted some of the world’s most recognized public figures and sports legends and maintains a reputation as one of the Southwest’s landmark resort destinations.

In 2017, John Cochrane captured the PGA Head Professional Championship of Canada presented by Titleist & FootJoy. The 56-year-old posted rounds of 72-69 at the TPC Eagle Trace in Coral Springs, Fla., bettering Brian Hadley and Jeff Mills by two shots.

This year’s championship will see a few changes—both on and off the golf course. Firstly, the low club professional will be recognized with a separate trophy and monetary bonus. Secondly, all competitors are encouraged to stay at The Wigwam to take full advantage of numerous evening festivities.

The PGA Head Professional Championship of Canada presented by Titleist & FootJoy was played in Arizona in 2014 and 2015. Matt Peavoy captured the ’14 event at SunRidge Canyon Golf Club, while Danny King won in ’15 at Verrado Golf Club.

The Inter-Zone Team Championship, which is comprised of four players per zone (and three scores per team counting), is also handed out after 36-holes.

In addition to competing for the overall championship trophy, players in the PGA Head Professional Championship of Canada earn much-coveted ranking points with hopes of moving up on the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC. Players who are ranked inside the top 64 following the PGA Head Professional Championship of Canada earn exemptions into the following year’s PGA Championship of Canada.

Former champions of the PGA Head Professional Championship of Canada include Adam Chamberlain, Roger Beale, Norm Jarvis, Gar Hamilton, Bob Panasik, Yvan Beauchemin, Graham Gunn, Ken Tarling and Brian Hutton, in addition to the above-mentioned names.

Saskatchewan PGA members in the field include Scott Knapp (Tor Hill Golf Club, Regina); Jeff Chambers (Elmwood Golf Club, Swift Current); Dean Brown (Royal Regina Golf Club, Regina); and John Greenough (Deer Valley Golf Club, Deer Valley).

Click here for the full field.

Coming off “one of the better years in recent memory” Hidden Hills of Shellbrook is investing in their future.

Smaller scale golf clubs such as the 2018 Golf Saskatchewan Rosebowl hosts can rarely spend six figure amounts on course infrastructure, so they chip away year over year with needed but less celebrated improvements. Hidden Hills located about 30 kilometres Northeast of Prince Albert recently purchased new furniture for their club house and a new beverage cart. President Jason McComas said the restaurant upgrades were needed.

“The clubhouse furniture was long overdue to be upgraded and with the financial success we had this year we felt that this was an investment that could be enjoyed by all of our members as well as green fee visitors,” he said.

The purchase of the new cart has a special story behind it. McComas told Golf Saskatchewan a member of the course recently passed away and his family requested donations be made to the course. Along with funding from the men’s club they upgraded the beverage cart.

The Rosebowl was the first provincially sanctioned event hosted at the Shellbrook course. McComas contributes the tournament as well as other events as key drivers for the successful season.

“We continue to try and have a full tournament schedule with something for all types of golfers,” he said. “Our weekly men’s and ladies’ nights along with seniors’ days contribute greatly to our financial success. We also began a partnership with the Sturgeon Lake First Nation this season that focused on providing their band members with a course to play at, tournament sponsorship and a youth golf initiative.”

In a year where some courses struggled to turn a profit the success of Hidden Hills according to McComas comes with credibility. He has been a member for 20 years and a member of the executive for a another six. He was involved with the course when the nine-hole facility expanded about a decade ago. McComas says the par-36 track will test all calibre of golfers. A trio of trickier holes open your round, the middle three holes offer more links style and the options tighten again over the last third of holes. McComas said most of your bag will be needed during a round.

“Overall the course is a good mix of holes and styles that results in a good test for anyone’s game and usually leaves a person using most clubs in their bag. Under par is easily attainable for a low handicapper. For the high handicappers the course is a good enjoyable challenge,” he said.

The board is continuing to work on plans to enhance the facility. McComas didn’t pin point any dates but suggested expanding the parking lot and a new cart shed could be on the horizon. Basic clubhouse upgrades and maintenance are always critical for the board as well McComas said. Overall, he said keeping the sport affordable and accessible are important for the club’s continued success.

“We know golf can be an expensive game to play and we want to do everything we can as a board to make it a viable option for as many members of our community and surrounding areas as possible. Another area of focus is to try and increase our youth golf participation. These young golfers will become increasingly important over the next decade or so. This coincides with the cost of golf as well, as most parents only have a certain amount of disposable income to spend on their children’s activities. We want golf to be as cost effective as possible, especially during those years where kids are just learning the game,” he said.

The revitalization of all 18 holes at the North Battleford Golf & Country Club (NBGCC) is a “long range plan” but the metaphoric tee shot has been launched.

Six years ago the golf club underwent a one-million-dollar irrigation upgrade project that was paid for through fundraising and a positive relationship with the city of North Battleford. The course is beginning to redesign all 18 holes, this past season work began on hole four. Director of Golf Dana Johnson said the NBGCC members voted to begin on the troubled par-four.

“We’ve had a hard time getting the grass established on the fairway to make it short and simple,” Johnson told Golf Saskatchewan. “What also contributed to the problem is a 24” watermain that has broke four or five times in two years. This hole has been a problem the last quite a few years.”

Work on the hole was stalled due to the weather across Western Saskatchewan this past season. Johnson said the hole is fun to play leading to the members approving the upgrades first.

“It’s a more modern hole with a slight dogleg uphill and the green is a new modern style green but it’s a risk-reward, par four,” he said. “You can try to drive the green but there are two bunkers facing you. You have to challenge the bunkers and to the left there is a roll out area that collects balls.”

If golfers choose to lay up and sit at 200 yards from the 325-yard tee box a couple fairway bunkers also come into play. Johnson said two holes will be developed on four, potentially in the future the NBGCC will design a new driving range or a smaller scale practice range. Funding programs are in place, but Johnson admits the revenue is slow going.

“The challenges are now, with this new long range plan we’re going to start with hole four and do as much as we can and pay it off as we can. We with then decide what’s next and pay it off as we can,” he said.

If the weather cooperates hole four should be ready for play in the fall of 2019.

Aside from course renovations, Johnson continues to build junior golf in the North Battleford region every year. The NBGCC offers free lessons to upwards of 110 kids per week in the early summer months. Working closely with the Boys and Girls Club of North Battleford, Johnson said giving back goes beyond the benefits of the course.

“The Boys and Girls club do a great job with the different programs offered for kids, and we thought we could offer golf to their current programs being offered.  They do a great job, but we felt by offering golf lessons, the kids had an opportunity to learn a new sport.  We enjoy having the kids during the lessons and have many laughs with the kids during the time at the golf course.”

Golf Canada’s Incident Protection Plan continued to benefit golfers across the nation in 2018 including almost 20 members in Saskatchewan.

According to Golf Canada’s data, 17 claims were filed by Saskatchewan golfers this season totaling payouts of over $11,000 or an average of $665 per incident. A Golf Canada gold membership is $49.95 per year. The program includes incident protection coverage of up to $6,000 which includes lost or stolen clubs, golf cart damage, and glass breakage. Merchandise and ticket discounts plus online handicap tracking is included.

Of the 17 claims brought forward by Saskatchewan players this season, two were for equipment, two claims covered glass damage, four were for golf cart damage and nine covered deductibles owed to insurance companies in theft claims. During the claim process, claimants are asked to provide feedback on the program. October was a busy month of claims, but users were thrilled with the program and the benefits.

“I found the process easy to follow with a quick positive result.  Staff were friendly and helpful,” one claimant said.

For confidentiality purposes identities remain unpublished, however Golf Canada gold member Bill said fulfilling his claim was extremely simple.

“The Golf Canada Incident Protection program is a very beneficial “value add” to membership, I would highly recommend it. The staff were very helpful and accommodating. Processing my claim was very easy,” he said.

In 2017, Saskatchewan produced a dozen claims worth almost $5,800. The program works differently among Golf Saskatchewan member clubs. Some golf courses have the fees included in their membership packages, other clubs don’t include the gold protection plan. Saskatchewan public players can purchase the membership separately. Golf Canada Chief Sport Officer Jeff Thompson said one mishap during the season covers the initial fee.

“One broken window, one broken driver, the membership would more than pay for itself,” Thompson told Golf Saskatchewan.

Nationally 189 claims have been made in 2018 totaling just under $115,000 in payouts. Thompson admits through the first three years of the program changes have been made and the process has been simplified and streamlined. He said some clubs want to be helpful and look after claims for their members, but Thompson suggests the member looks after any incident.

“We’re really encouraging whoever experiences the incident should be the one following up on it,” he said. “this really assists the expediency of getting it dealt with, the turnaround time for the most part is very good. Sometimes the challenges stem from people trying to do the right thing (head pro or GM) by getting involved to help with the process but more often than not this can make it longer than it needs to be.”

“Clarity around who has the incident protection is key, that it’s the member golfer that has the protection and not the golf club. We joke a little in the office that it’s bad shot protection. It’s not the owner of the car whose glass got broken, it’s really the person who has the protection that benefits,” Thompson said.

The Incident Protection Plan is a year-round benefit and covers members who travel to play golf abroad as well. Golf Canada has full intention of layering more added value components to the membership package in the very near future that will bring even greater value to the membership. For now Thompson said a priority is to ensure that our member clubs share information about these benefits to their members and let their golfers know about the everything that comes with being a member of their provincial and national associations.

Snow is on the ground but there’s work going on at the Hillcrest Golf Course. Building for the future will start shortly as the club has received initial approval for a new 35-year lease with the City of Moose Jaw.

The city owns the land that the golf course is situated on so General Manager Jasmine Jackman says this secures their future.

“The lease not only gives us the opportunity to seek out financial aid but it also gives the membership sort of an outlook on that we want to be here for another 35 years,” explained Jackman. “If they’re wanting to support or put their finances behind what we are doing, we want to make them comfortable.”

Now that the lease is technically out of the way, they can focus on their planned expansion to the clubhouse that will include their own washroom facilities as well as a new 120 seat general area to the south of their current building. Jackman believes the expansion that they have planned will breathe new life into the facility and allow them to apply for provincial or even national events.

“We started our fundraising campaign at the end of the last season there and we hit the $50,000 mark,” said Jackman. “Our phase one is scheduled to begin here in the next week, once frost hits. We’re bringing in sewer and water to the facility that will then provide us with the groundwork to behind the construction on top.”

The three-phase project could cost upwards of $400,000 and will take three or four years to complete, depending on community support and any construction delays.

Story courtesy Chris Rasmussen/discovermoosejaw.com

Golf Canada is proud to announce the 17 athletes who have been chosen to represent Team Canada as part of the 2019 National Amateur and Junior Squads.

In all, seven athletes comprise Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad including four players on the men’s team and three on the women’s team. The 10-member Junior Squad will include five women and five men.

“Golf Canada is pleased to select this outstanding group of elite athletes based on their remarkable performances this past season,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s chief sport officer. “These squads are a product of an immersive training environment led by our head coaches alongside sport science staff, parents, the provincial high-performance programs along with member clubs. They will be fantastic representatives of Canada on the global golf stage.”

From February through early June, the 10-member Junior Squad will be based out of Golf Canada’s National Training Centre at Bear Mountain Golf Resort in Victoria—the second year the program has provided centralized training, accommodation and education for athletes during their high school second semester. Team members will be immersed in a focused centre of excellence, surrounded by world-class technical coaching staff and experts in the areas of mental performance, physiotherapy, biomechanics and nutrition.

The following athletes have been selected to Team Canada’s 2019 Amateur Squad:

WOMEN’S NATIONAL AMATEUR SQUAD

• Jaclyn Lee, Calgary, Alta., Glencoe Golf & Country Club (21)
• Naomi Ko, Victoria, B.C., Royal Colwood Golf Club (21)
• Brigitte Thibault, Rosemère, Que., Club Laval-sur-le-Lac (19)

MEN’S NATIONAL AMATEUR SQUAD

• Joey Savoie, La Prairie, Que., Pinegrove Country Club (24)
• Chris Crisologo, Richmond, B.C., Marine Drive Golf Club (22)
• Josh Whalen, Napanee, Ont., Napanee Golf & Country Club (23)
• Brendan MacDougall, Calgary, Alta., Glencoe Golf & Country Club (20)

Complete National Amateur Squad bios can be found here.

The following athletes have been selected to Team Canada’s 2019 Junior Squad:

WOMEN’S JUNIOR SQUAD

• Céleste Dao, Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Que., Summerlea Golf & Country Club (17)
• Ellie Szeryk, Allen, Tex., Ontario Public Player (17)
• Emily Zhu, Richmond Hill, Ont., National Pines Golf Club (14)
• Sarah Beqaj, Toronto, Ont., Toronto Golf Club (16)
• Monet Chun, Richmond Hill, Ont., Summit Golf & Country Club (17)

MEN’S JUNIOR SQUAD

• Laurent Desmarchais, Longueuil, Que., Club de golf La Vallée du Richelieu (17)
• Christopher Vandette, Beaconsfield, Que., Summerlea Golf & Country Club (17)
• Jeevan Sihota, Victoria, B.C., Gorge Vale Golf Club (14)
• Olivier Ménard, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que., (18)
• Kai Iguchi, Banff, Alta., Banff Springs Golf Club (18)

Complete Junior Squad player bios can be found here.

 Team Canada coaching staff announced

Golf Canada is pleased to announce the 2019 Team Canada coaching staff that will support both the National Amateur and Junior Squads.

On the men’s side, Derek Ingram of Winnipeg, Man. returns as Men’s Amateur Squad Head Coach. Robert Ratcliffe of Comox, B.C. will be leading the Men’s Junior Squad.

On the women’s side, Tristan Mullally of Waterdown, Ont., returns as Women’s Amateur Squad Head Coach. Matt Wilson, from Newmarket, Ont., will oversee the Women’s Junior Squad.

Wilson, who also works as Golf Canada’s director of next generation performance, will resume leadership of the Junior Squad centralized program at Bear Mountain alongside Ratcliffe.

“Derek and Tristan have had tremendous success with Team Canada athletes and the evolution of our national team program will see Robert and Matt play a more significant role through the centralized training environment at Bear Mountain,” added Thompson. “We are excited to build on the success of Team Canada’s new centralized program in helping our young stars make the jump to the next level in their careers.”

Mullally, Ingram, Ratcliffe and Wilson are all Class “A” professionals with the PGA of Canada.

The 2019 Team Canada Young Pro Squad athlete selection is expected in December.