Another incredible achievement for Gerry Nelson.

The blind golfer from Meadow Lake was named to Team North America for the upcoming 2024 Vision Cup. The teams are comprised of 12 men and two women.

The sixth edition of the event that pits golfers with visually disabilities from North America against the rest of the world. This tournament is held bi-annually and rotates hosting location from North America and the Rest of the World locations.

The Vision Cup will be held in Vienna, Austria from July 22 to 27.

The city of Yorkton has been a hotbed for Saskatchewan golfers for decades and with Kade Johnson chasing the PGA Tour dream, Ella Kozak getting set for college, Arden Knoll looking back, and Kathy Ziglo still chasing wins, a local golf fan wanted to hear more.

Dick DeRryk is a life-long Yorkton resident and staple member of Deer Park Municipal Golf Course, where the aforementioned players all got their start.

DeRyk, a former Yorkton city councilor among other positions in Yorkton, hosts a podcast termed ‘Yorkton Stories.’

The east-central Saskatchewan hub has many stories, but earlier this year DeRyk focused on golf with those four stars of the sport in the province.

To listen, click below.

https://yorktonstories.ca/4-for-fore

The PGA of Canada Awards were officially announced on Dec. 22 of last year, but the award winners including Saskatoon’s Mitch Bach were able to collect their prize on Jan. 24 at the PGA Show in Orlando, Flo.

The Willows Club based professional and leader behind Clubhouse Golf Academy took home the Moe Norman Apprentice Professional of the Year Award alongside his Apprentice of the Year honour at the PGA of Saskatchewan Awards in October.

Bach spoke with Golf Saskatchewan after returning from the show and what winning the award means, plus how he plans to make 2024 an even more exciting year in the Bridge City, and beyond.

Oakville, Ont. – Golf Canada is pleased to announce the addition of the Canadian U15 Championship and player development educational summit to its 2024 Amateur Championship schedule. The event will take place August 27-30 at the Elmira Golf Club in Elmira, Ont.

The Canadian U15 Championship, presented by BDO will bring together a field of 78 girls and boys, aged 14 and under from across the country to compete over 36-holes, followed by a player development educational summit.

“We are excited to add the Canadian U15 Championship, presented by BDO and its associated player development educational summit to our amateur tournament schedule this season,” said Golf Canada’s National Head of Talent Identification, Tristan Mullally. “This event is an opportunity for Canada’s top young players to compete for a national championship and also receive important education about the high-performance journey.”

The half-day player development educational summit scheduled for August 30 is required for all participants in the Canadian U15 Championship, presented by BDO. Players, along with their families and coaches, will participate in various interactive clinics to learn about navigating the modern pathway in high-performance golf. Topics will include sport psychology, physical training for young golfers, parenting high-performance athletes, and talent development research. Players will also participate in select Team Canada skills tests and learn about the structure of the national team system.

Elmira Golf Club will play host to the inaugural championship. Founded in 1963, the picturesque 18-hole, par 70 course is situated in a country setting just west of Elmira. The clubhouse, also home to “The Grill on the Green” restaurant, sits perched above the 18^th green and provides panoramic views of the golf course below as it flows through the “Eldale Valley” below. Gently winding through the valley and rolling hills is Larches Creek, offering players interesting shots through the unique mixture of finishing holes. Elmira Golf Club celebrated it’s 60^th anniversary in 2023 and recently underwent renovations that saw the addition of 20 new tee decks along with a complete white sand bunker restoration.

“Elmira Golf Club is thrilled to be hosting the inaugural Canadian U15 Championship. After celebrating our 60^th anniversary this past season at EGC, this special event will certainly create the momentum for the next 60 years in the Club’s history. We are looking forward to welcoming Canada’s best U15’s, their families, and Golf Canada to Elmira this August,” said Jeremy Logel, General Manager and Executive Professional, Elmira Golf Club.

Entry into the Canadian U15 Championship, presented by BDO, can be gained through the following avenues:

1. Top 10 U15-aged players from the 2024 Canadian Junior Boys Championship and Canadian Junior Girls Championship (players must make the cut)

• 2024 Provincial U15 Boys and U15 Girls Champions
• Top 2 U15-aged finishers per gender in the 2024 NextGen Championships
• Host Club exemption(s)                                 
• The remainder of the field will be determined by selection.

The boys and girls individual champions will earn exemptions into their respective 2024 Team Canada NextGen Selection Camp as well as their 2025 Canadian Junior Championship, presented by BDO. The top five finishers in each division will earn spots into two 2025 NextGen Championships.

In addition, the Canadian Junior Financial Assistance Program supported by the Gary Cowan Heritage Fund and the Canadian Seniors Golf Association will extend to this championship. The Canadian Junior Financial Assistance Program provides travel grants to qualifying families to mitigate the costs of participating in Golf Canada national championships. For more information, click here.

The full 2024 Canadian Amateur Championship schedule is expected to be announced next month. Registration for all National Amateur Championships will be open on Wednesday, March 6.

Winston Grayson has announced he will play collegiate golf for the Minot State University (MSU) Beavers in the fall.

The Kipling, Sask. product has taken a couple years since high school to decide on his educational future, but he told Golf Saskatchewan the sport is something he wanted to continue to play.

With the commitment to MSU, Grayson will study Business as the North Dakota based college that is currently home to Holly Knudsen of Chaplin, Sask. and Chase Gedak of Estevan.

Grayson spoke with Golf Saskatchewan about his start in golf and his road to the Beavers golf team.

Locked in a cold spell to start 2024, Saskatchewan golfers can now start planning their competitive schedule for the summer when the season opens April 15.

The Order of Merit (OMT) schedule is still missing a few dates with events across Saskatchewan, but most of the schedule is complete and can be found here.

The winner of each OMT category will receive an exemption into a provincial championship of their choice the following year. Golf Saskatchewan implemented the incentive following this past season.

To win an OMT championship you must play in a provincial event, the OMT point structure states players can use their top four events, plus the Saskatchewan championships in the OMT race.

Registration will open for provincials on April 15, the schedule can be found below.

You must be a member of Golf Canada/Saskatchewan to compete for an OMT title or compete in a provincial championship.

Regina’s Taylor Carter has been named a finalist for the Saskatchewan Sport Excellence Male Athlete of the Year.

Carter won the Special O World Games golf competition in Germany in June of 2023.

He is the lone golfer on the list of 30 finalists for the amateur sport organizations awards that will be handed out on Feb. 1 in Regina.

For full details of the awards, and tickets click here.

The Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour (MJT) has set their 2024 schedule and will make eight stops in Saskatchewan this year.

The events, that will be played alongside one-day Mini-Tour tournaments, will begin in May and run throughout the summer leading up to the National Championships taking place in Arizona over Remembrance Day weekend of 2024.

The first competition will be hosted by TS&M Woodlawn Golf Club in Estevan on May 11 and 12.

The next tournament is the MJT Spring Classic at Elmwood Golf lub in Swift Current from May 18 to 20.

Wildwood Golf Course in Saskatoon welcomes junior golfers to thir Saskatoon course on June 1 and 2. On June 15 and 16 Yorkton’s Deer Park Municipal Golf Course will host an event from June 15 and 16.

The Yorkton MJT tournament will provide a solid teaser for the Saskatchewan Junior Championships being held at Deer Park from July 3 to 5.

On July 15 and 16 Deer Valley Golf Club will host a 36-hole event, Moon Lake Golf and Country Club does the same on July 29 and 30.

The MJT _ PLYR Series at Elk Ridge Golf Resort is scheduled for Aug. 10 and 11, and the Legends Golf Club in Warman will host the final event of the year on Aug. 24 and 25.

All the MJT events will be part of the 2024 Saskatchewan Junior Order of Merit Tours (OMT). The 2024 OMT schedules will be updated later this month.

Registration is now open for all MJT events, for more details click here.

It’s with sadness the Saskatchewan golf community has lost another Hall of Fame person, and player.

Doug Mader passed away on Dec. 30, 2023.

Since his passing, at the age of 83 due to complications from a fall playing pickleball, words from around the golf community have been expressed to honour the 2011 Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame inductee.

Former Golf Saskatchewan President, and fellow Royal Regina Golf Club (RRGC) member with Mader, Larry Wagman said Doug will be dearly missed at the “Home of Golf.”

“Golf in Saskatchewan and members at the Royal Regina Golf Club lost an icon with the recent passing of Doug Mader,” Wagman stated. “He will be remembered and missed as a competitor and friendly face throughout his host of friends and acquaintances.”

The RRGC sent a message to their members early in 2024, that read;

It is with great sadness that we announce the recent passing of Royal Regina Life Member, Doug Mader.

“Doug was a RRGC member for 60 years having originally joined the Club in 1964. We send our deepest condolences to his wife Barb, and all their family and friends.” 

In June, of 2020 Golf Saskatchewan was able to sit down with Mader at his and Barb’s beautiful Lumsden home to learn more about his career and life. To view the interview click here.

Long-time Regina Leader-Post Reporter Darrel Davis also wrote about Mader’s passing.

Golf Saskatchewan also sends condolences to Barbara and all of Doug’s family and loved ones.

Makstr McIntyre is the latest Saskatchewan junior golfer to announce he’s going to play collegiate golf.

The 17-year-old Swift Current, Sask. product will attend Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont. next year. The Battlin’ Bears compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) college athletic circuit.

The Elmwood Golf Club member still has two years left of junior golf and wants to improve on his T-29th place at juniors over the next couple years. His junior career highlight so far is a final eight appearance in the championship flight of the 2023 Lobstick at Waskesiu.

McIntyre plans to study business while at Rocky Mountain College and hopes to stick in the game once he earns his degree.

Hear from McIntyre below as he speaks about his commitment to Golf Saskatchewan.