Cam Forrester had an incredible career as a golf manager and professional which included stops at premiere courses such as Waskesiu and Riverside.

Now retired from the industry he has taken his talents from the course to the canvas becoming a full-time artist and one of the five men who make up the group Men Who Paint.

Golf Saskatchewan sat down with the Saskatoon resident and learned more about his careers.

For more information on the group, visit their Facebook page of check out their Youtube videos.

The R&A and the USGA have re-engaged with the golf industry on the Distance Insights project, which aims to help achieve a more sustainable long-term future for golf.

2 February 2021, St Andrews, Scotland and Liberty Corner, N.J., USA: The governing bodies are issuing specific Areas of Interest to help mitigate continuing distance increases and three proposed changes to the Equipment Rules to ensure their effectiveness in relation to distance limits.

The delivery of research topics related to hitting distances and golf’s sustainability was delayed in 2020 to allow the golf industry to focus on the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The Areas of Interest notice, sent yesterday to golf equipment manufacturers, follows the conclusions of the Distance Insights Report delivered last February. It is the first step of the established Equipment Rulemaking Procedures, which give the opportunity for golf’s stakeholders to provide research and perspectives on topics that might lead to equipment rules changes.

In addition, three proposals related to equipment standards were also sent to the manufacturers yesterday and have been published – two to modernise equipment testing protocols and the other to consider the adoption of a Model Local Rule that would provide flexibility for committees, if they so choose, to limit the maximum length for clubs other than putters from 48 to 46 inches. Notice and comment periods have begun immediately to invite feedback on each of the three proposals from golf industry stakeholders.

Research Topics/Areas of Interest
Download Here (Research due by 2 November 2021)
The Areas of Interest notice addresses two specific Areas of Interest:

• The potential use of a Local Rule that would specify the use of clubs and/or balls intended to result in shorter hitting distances. This would enable committees conducting competitions to stipulate whether such equipment should be used. It could be available at all levels of play and would also allow golfers playing outside of competition to choose for themselves.
• A review of the overall conformance specifications for both clubs and balls, including specifications that both directly and indirectly affect hitting distances. This review would consider whether any existing specifications should be adjusted or any new specifications created to help mitigate continuing distance increases. It would not consider revising the overall specifications to produce substantial reductions in hitting distances at all levels of the sport.  A list of club and ball specifications to be reviewed can be found in the official notice.

Stakeholders are invited to participate in the process by sharing any data or perspectives they might have on these topics by 2 November 2021.

The topics are purely areas for research. No solutions or decisions are being proposed at this stage. Any proposals for Rule changes that might result from this research will be communicated in accordance with the Equipment Rulemaking Procedures.

Proposed Equipment Standards changes 
Download Here

The R&A and the USGA are addressing the effectiveness of current equipment testing processes, protocols and standards with respect to distance limits. As a result, the governing bodies are seeking comment from equipment manufacturers on three proposed Equipment Standards changes, as follows:

Proposal 1: Club length – reduction to 46 inches available as Model Local Rule (MLR) (Original proposal delivered in 2016 and paused in 2017 due to the Distance Insights project). Comment period ends on 4 March 2021.

Proposal 2: Update on testing method for golf balls. Comment period ends on 2 August 2021.

Proposal 3: Change to testing tolerance – Characteristic Time. Comment period ends on 2 August 2021.
The 2020 Annual Driving Distance Report

The R&A and the USGA also today released the 2020 Annual Driving Distance Report. The full report can be found here.

The R&A and USGA comments

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “We are now able to progress with the work on this critical topic and are beginning the next phase as expeditiously as possible. The research topics and the proposed changes we have announced will be the focus of our attention in the coming months and we look forward to gaining insights from the golf industry and fully understanding their perspectives on these key areas. We remain fully committed to conducting this hugely important exercise for the sport thoroughly, efficiently and collaboratively.”

Mike Davis, Chief Executive Officer of the USGA, said, “The research conducted through Distance Insights clearly shows that hitting distances have consistently increased through time and, if left unchecked, could threaten the long-term future of our game at every level and every golf course on which it is played. This is the first forward step in a journey and a responsibility the USGA and The R&A share with the worldwide golf community, to ensure that golf continues to thrive for the next hundred years and beyond.”

Updates Since February 2020

During the pause in distance-related research caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, The R&A and the USGA completed their regular review of equipment testing processes, protocols and standards to ensure their effectiveness in relation to distance limits.  The proposals detailed above are the outcome of this regular review of equipment testing processes, protocols and standards to ensure their effectiveness.

As such, these proposals were not conceived and are not intended to be solutions to the distance issues identified in the Distance Insights Report.

All notices related to golf equipment follow the Equipment Rulemaking Procedures adopted in 2011 by The R&A, the USGA and golf equipment manufacturers, which provide an open process of dialogue for all involved. The procedures can be reviewed here.

The Distance Insights Report released last year highlighted the impact of long-term hitting distance increases on some of golf’s essential elements, including changing the strategic challenge of the game, altering the variety of skills needed to be successful and risking courses becoming less challenging or obsolete. Further, the report states that the overall trend of golf courses becoming longer has adverse consequences that ultimately affect golfers at all levels of the game. The governing bodies are working with the key stakeholders in golf to address these issues in a way that brings the game together and which ensures it continues to thrive for many years to come.

Work is also currently being conducted to develop industry-wide recommendations and best management practices on course design, set-up and course conditions related to distance for all golf courses and golfers, as detailed among next steps in the Distance Insights conclusions document delivered last year.  The USGA is currently conducting field testing and research, with outcomes to be delivered throughout 2021.
For more information visit www.RandA.org and www.usga.org.

OAKVILLE, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Golf Canada is pleased to announce the 10 athletes who have been selected to represent the 2021 Team Canada Young Pro Squad.

Comprising the 2021 Women’s Young Pro Squad will be returnees Brittany Marchand (Orangeville, Ont.), Jaclyn Lee (Calgary, Alta.), and Maddie Szeryk (London, Ont.). After becoming a first-time mom in July, Golf Canada is also pleased to welcome back Anne-Catherine Tanguay (Quebec City, Que.) to the Young Pro Squad as she makes her return to the LPGA Tour.

The 2021 Men’s Young Pro Squad features a six-pack of familiar athletes led by Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ont.). Other members of the Men’s Young Pro Squad for 2021 include Jared du Toit (Kimberley, B.C.), Chris Crisologo (Richmond, B.C.), Stuart Macdonald (Vancouver, B.C.), Joey Savoie (La Prairie, Que.), and Hugo Bernard (Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que.).

For the bulk of the athletes returning to the Young Pro Squad, 2021 is an opportunity to build of off the adversity of 2020 and take a next step in their developing careers.

“This is a very exciting time for young professional golfers in Canada, and we are really looking forward to seeing their continued success in 2021,” said Golf Canada Chief Sport Officer Kevin Blue. “For most of the athletes returning to the Squad, the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on scheduling, training, and competition in 2020. With the support of our key partners and the drive these athletes have to overcome adversity and succeed, I’m positive we’ll see even more great results from this talented group of athletes.”

Men’s and Women’s National Team coaches Derek Ingram and Tristan Mullally – both award-winning PGA of Canada members – will continue as head coaches for the Young Pro Squad.

Now in its eighth year, the Team Canada Young Pro Squad helps to bridge the gap for top-performing amateurs transitioning into professional golf.

Click here to read Team Canada Young Pro Squad player bios.

Emerging Player of the Year Award

The Golf Canada Foundation has also announced the creation of a new award – the Emerging Professional Player of the Year Award, presented by Andrew Cook. The inaugural recipients of the award are Young Pro athletes Taylor Pendrith and Maddie Szeryk who will each receive $10,000 towards their continued development in professional golf.

Andrew Cook, a proud Trustee of the Golf Canada Foundation and past President with Golf Canada, established a $20,000 fund to annually recognize a top male and female emerging Canadian professional golfer from the Young Pro Squad having success on golf’s developmental.

“I am very pleased to partner with Golf Canada and Golf Canada Foundation to launch the Emerging Pro Player of the Year Award, as an additional incentive to Canadian professionals around the globe,” said Cook. “As a long-time volunteer of the game, I appreciate the power our heroes have in inspiring the next generation of young players, and my wife (Anne) and I are excited to help continue the tremendous success of the Young Pro Program.”

“We are so excited to announce Taylor and Maddie as our first Emerging Professional Players of the Year,” said Martin Barnard, CEO of the Canada Foundation. “Thanks to the continued generosity of Andrew Cook, we are able to reward these two deserving young professionals with additional financial support that will have an important impact as they chase their dreams.”

Pendrith, a long-time part of Golf Canada’s National Team as an amateur and now a professional, had a breakout year on the Korn Ferry Tour. He currently sits second on the Korn Ferry Tour’s Season Long Points List thanks to five top-3 finishes in 2020. Pendrith also finished T23 at the U.S. Open (finishing as Low Canadian) and jumped from 399th to 128th in the Official World Golf Ranking – all of this just one year after he played on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada.

Szeryk notched her second win as a professional in 2020 in her second year as a pro. In 2020, she also recorded her career-low Symetra Tour finish (T11, FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship) and ended the year as Top Canadian on the Symetra Tour. There were only 10 events on the Symetra Tour last year and the gap between men’s and women’s professional golf opportunities widened during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Current and former team members of the Young Pro Squad, which was established in 2014, have accounted for 43 wins across various professional golf tours including a record nine LPGA Tour wins by Brooke Henderson along with PGA TOUR wins from Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners.

Funding for this program, in large part, comes from the Golf Canada Foundation with generous contributions from founding partners RBC and Canadian Pacific, as well as supporting partners Citi Canada and Bear Mountain Resort – the Official Training Centre of Golf Canada’s National Team program.

“RBC is proud to support the next generation of Canadian golfers through the Young Pro program” said David Agnew, CEO, RBC Wealth Management Canada, “It’s exciting for us to watch golfers we supported as amateurs, like Corey Conners, Brooke Henderson and Mackenzie Hughes, succeed as professionals.”

“From the CP Women’s Open and our deep involvement with Team Canada to ambassador partnerships with Brooke Henderson and Lorie Kane, CP is proud to support these talented athletes representing Canada on the world stage,” added James Clements, Canadian Pacific. “As the best team in the railroading business knows, precision and excellence require a strong team. We are extremely proud to be part of the great team supporting these young professionals in their golf journey.”

It’s the end of an era at Elmwood Golf Club in Swift Current. Long-time General Manager Sheldon Reinhart has moved on from the position after a career that originally started when the now 46-year-old was just 14.

Reinhart got his start in the golf industry after his cousin Dwight Reinhart who worked at the course called him with an offer to pick the range, wash clubs, and conduct other back shop duties. With his first paycheque Reinhart purchased a set of clubs and has been involved in the sport ever since. He continued to work at Elmwood through high school before junior hockey took him to Saskatoon, Yorkton, Billings, and Kimberly, B.C. Reinhart had scholarship offers to play hockey, but he wanted to become a golf professional, so he attended Lethbridge College. Following his schooling, Reinhart went to work in Kimberly at Trickle Creek under former Elmwood professional Kevin May. He spent three years there before a year at Riverside. He went on to get his commerce degree at the University of Saskatchewan. Once that was completed Reinhart started at Elmwood and was there until late 2020, a career that spanned over two decades in Swift Current.

“Without a doubt, the four years of renovations and changing the golf course,” Reinhart told Golf Saskatchewan when asked about the highlight of his time at the southwest Saskatchewan course. “We did $2.6 million in renovations, to go from running a golf course to having a massive renovation project thrown on your lap was a tough thing, but it was exciting. I’m very excited with the results and I’m glad our members can play a new course and greens for the next 25 to 30 years.”

Elmwood is a premiere course in Saskatchewan, it also shares the spotlight with the Chinook Golf Course. Reinhart, who hails from Moose Jaw but has called Swift Current home since his early school days said having two marquee courses in a city of just over 16,000 is something to be proud of.

“I don’t know of a place in western Canada that has two beautiful golf courses like we have. We are so lucky to have these courses. Talking to people that come from Winnipeg or Calgary, all over the place, if we could pick up Elmwood Golf Club and plant it in the city of Calgary for example it would be extraordinary. People can’t believe how lucky we are to have the elevation changes and everything here in Swift Current on the prairies,” he said.

Reinhart is still weighing his future career options but said he would like to use his commerce background and venture into the banking industry.

Elmwood has announced that Mike McEvay will take over the general manager duties at Elmwood beginning on March 1.

Toronto (Golf Canada) – Golf Canada and The Good Beer Folks at Steam Whistle have announced the renewal of a multi-year partnership that will see Steam Whistle continue on as the Official Beer of Golf Canada, the RBC Canadian Open, and the CP Women’s Open.

Through the multi-year partnership – which began in 2018 – Steam Whistle will continue to work with Golf Canada to grow their brand amongst golfers and golf enthusiasts across the country.

Through the partnership, Steam Whistle’s premium product line will be served at Golf Canada’s PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour events—the RBC Canadian Open and CP Women’s Open.

“We are thrilled to extend our relationship with Steam Whistle as Golf Canada’s Official Beer Partner,” said John Sibley, Chief Commercial Officer of Golf Canada.  “There is tremendous interest in golf right now and we are fortunate to have the continued support of Steam Whistle who have aligned their premium brand with our sport. Their commitment to quality craftsmanship and proud Canadian identity are well positioned as the beer of choice to enjoy at our National Open Championships or after a round at golf courses from coast to coast.”

The renewed agreement builds on Steam Whistle’s largest partnership in company history – a significant milestone for the independent Canadian brewer.

“Steam Whistle is committed to supporting the game of golf in Canada and our partnership with Golf Canada is the best example of that,” said Tim McLaughlin, Steam Whistle’s Vice-President of Marketing. “There is so much momentum behind the sport in our country thanks to the great work Golf Canada has done at the grassroots, amateur and professional level, and we are thrilled to be a long-term partner to support their efforts.”

In the first year of the partnership, beer sales at the 2018 RBC Canadian Open were up 200 per cent to the year prior. Founded in 2000, Steam Whistle’s Premium Pilsner has long been a staple of golf courses and refrigerators across the country. The Toronto-based brewery launched a Premium Pale Ale in 2019 and a Premium Session Lager in 2020 to go along with its award-winning Premium Pilsner.

The 2021 RBC Canadian Open will be contested at St. George’s Golf and Country Club in Toronto, with nearby Islington Golf Club housing the official tournament practice facility. It is scheduled for June 7-13. The 2021 CP Women’s Open is scheduled for August 23-29 at Vancouver’s Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club.

Like most of us, Ann Holmes is at home in Prince George, B.C., looking at a snow-covered landscape and wistfully thinking of the coming golf season.

Unlike most of us, she’s preparing daily for that first swing of the year. And, thanks to YouTube, she can make a virtual house call to help the rest of us do the same thing.

Early in the pandemic, in partnership with BC Golf, Holmes created a series of 11 Facebook Live videos intended to improve flexibility, mobility, strength and range of motion, all with a golf focus.

There’s no question she’s qualified. A PGA of Canada professional, she’s the golf coach at Prince George Golf and Curling Club and the former coach at the University of British Columbia. She’s got a Masters in Human Kinetics and is a certified personal trainer, among numerous other credentials. She, along with Tracie Albisser, also a certified exercise physiologist, operates the Active Health Solutions facility (www.activehealthsolutions.ca ) in Prince George.

“There are lots of online fitness resources but they are mostly for the elite golfer,” says Holmes. “These videos are aimed at the average golfer.”

A large proportion of those “average golfers” this winter are snowbirds and other seniors who, because of travel restrictions necessitated by the pandemic, are stuck north of the border. Holmes suggests they see this not as a disappointment but as an opportunity.

“Off-season training will help maintain the flexibility, endurance and strength you gained in your golf swing over the summer,” she explains. “Instead of taking the winter off, work on all of these fitness essentials for the sport you enjoy.

“The golf swing is a single-action, single-sided, ballistic movement and the goal is to create rotational power for distance. This can be hard on the body, especially the back and shoulders.  And when the golf swing is repeated over and over, injuries and issues can crop up.  Compounding the concern is that, as we age, we lose muscle mass, flexibility and endurance, which are all fundamental to the golf swing.”
Holmes says one of the most common issues for older golfers is that their posture becomes hunched, with a rounded lower back and an inability to rotate the pelvis into a proper spine angle at address. Her translation: “You need to stick out your behind instead of tucking it under.”

What all of that means, she says, “is that the rotation for the backswing is compromised and people swing with their arms instead of turning their shoulders. Ultimately,this causes a reduction in clubhead speed and weak shots that fade. This position also means that people tend to generate more shearing forces on their lumbar vertebrae (equaling pain in their lower back).

“And, finally, the rounded shoulders will reduce the space for the upper arm bone (the humerus) to move within the joint and people will start to complain of rotator cuff problems and injuries.”

One of her favourite catchphrases is “pre-hab.” Pre-hab is mobility and strength work done on an ongoing basis to address common weaknesses or muscle tension. “The body parts that are meant to be mobile, like your neck, hips, shoulders or thoracic vertebrae, should move with ease,” she says. “When these are tight, other parts will move to compensate during the swing.

“If you can prevent injuries or minor deficits before they become a problem, you will enjoy playing good golf and not lose any distance.”

Holmes’s folksy, friendly, cheerful and chatty “golf coach next door” approach requires no special equipment. A towel, key lanyard, wooden spoon, a thick book and a chair will do for starters. A golf club or similar is handy but not for swinging—just to help with extension. Each video is 30 to 40 minutes but, as she points out, “you can do these at your own pace and your own comfort level.”

Take it from me. The “pause” button comes in handy.

Under the guidance of PGA of Saskatchewan professional and Golf Saskatchewan Manager of Sport Development Steve Ryde, the provincial amateur organization is launching a junior development program.

Ryde will work alongside Titleist Performance Institute certified instructor Dallas Mengel as well as experts from Saskatchewan’s Sport Medicine & Science Council. Ryde said the program is designed for junior golfers of all skill levels wanting to improve their game in all areas.

“The program is also aimed to compliment other PGA of Saskatchewan’s coaches programs with having four free mental game webinars and an interactive nutrition webinar as well,” he said. “This program is inclusive to all juniors looking to improve on their games. We want to help create champions in golf and life.”

There is three levels of the program based on what the junior golfer wishes to work on or develop. All three programs will begin in February. Included are virtual mental training sessions, swing sessions at the Saskatoon GolfDome, and training sessions with Mengel and more.

To be eligible golfers must be under 19 years of age as of Dec. 31, 2021 and be a Golf Saskatchewan member of a Golf Canada Public Player.

Fore more information on the program questions can be directed to Ryde by emailing sryde@golfsk.org or calling 306.975.0834.

Novelist Paul Theroux once said: “Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.” He could never have imagined just how true those words would ring right now.

Not that we have much choice. Most of us, the sensible ones that is, are staying home because of the pandemic and the precautions imposed to prevent its spread. Kudos to us.

So what’s a golfer to do? We’re mired in a Canadian winter with travel south of the border restricted and limited opportunities to congregate at public golf simulators, ranges or other golf-related activities.

Don’t despair!

If you don’t have the space, budget or inclination to have a home simulator, there are myriad options to pass the time … “prepare” as Theroux suggested … until, hopefully, golf courses across Canada reopen in spring. Online instruction, social media, podcasts (what?) … even, dare I say, books and magazines … all not only can improve your game but boost your spirits as well.

READ

As an author myself, I may be biased but I enjoy turning the pages of a book or magazine. My special area of interest is course architecture so, after rereading the essentials yet again, I look for Canadian authors. Keith Cutten’s The Evolution of Golf Course Design is a fascinating deep dive into the broader question of not just how course design evolved but why. James Harris’s Stanley Thompson and Icons of Canada has no equal in its in-depth examination of Canada’s most iconic architect as a master of his craft and a man. Although not Canadian and actually intended for green committee members and club managers, many of whom (wrongly) think they are qualified for DIY projects on a multi-million-dollar course, Designs on a Better Golf Course (published by the American Society of Golf Course Architects) is a must-read for armchair architects as well as folks whose hobby is second-guessing their course’s superintendent. For pure “golf porn,” there are few better options than Catalogue 18, a luxurious magazine published in Toronto featuring awesome photography and text from around the world.

WATCH VIDEO TIPS

We were all thankful when the PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour returned to TV in January but if you need more than entertainment and climate envy, there are hundreds of videos on social media, many from PGA of Canada instructors. Derek Ingram, Team Canada’s Men’s Head Coach, posts indoor tips on Instagram. Women’s Head Coach Tristan Mullally offers helpful hints on Twitter. (Just between you and me, Ingram and Mullally are collaborating on an upcoming project that distills their extensive experience into instruction for folks like you and me. Stay tuned.

 

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PRACTICE

Once you’ve looked at those videos, you’ll want to practice, so order a putting mat and/or chipping net online. My Golf Spy picked the BirdieBall 4×14 as its best putting mat but the company has a variety of customizable products. Lots of other companies make comparable mats at various price points and in a full range of sizes. A chipping net is a compact and convenient way to hone your short game at a reasonable price. My choice would be the GoSports Chipster. It’s about $60, includes three nets of various sizes and can be used indoors with foam balls or outside with real golf balls.

CONNECT

Find some (virtual) friends with common interests. I’m a member of the Stanley Thompson Society and the Golf Historical Society of Canada. If you’re interested in the history of the game in this country and/or being a collector of anything golf, the GHSC is a fantastic resource.

FANTASY GOLF

Fantasy pools, such as PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, can be a blast if you need some heated competition to warm you up during the winter. Or you can organize your own fantasy league using online resources and invite your friends and colleagues to participate.

VIDEO GAMES

You may not have access to that Golden Tee game down at the local pub but you can order the home edition if you’re addicted. More affordable options are video games such as the highly rated PGA TOUR 2K21. Golf nut Shawn Bell of Kelowna, B.C., has not only played the game since its first release several years ago but has actually designed a course for it. He says he enjoys the experience for many reasons including the fact that “it provides me with an outlet to spend time thinking about and playing the game I enjoy so much. There is also the ability to play with others live which is pretty cool. Played a round with an acquaintance in Ireland the other night. It was fun and a social interaction, playing golf, that would otherwise be impossible.”

PODCASTS

If, like me, you were late to the world of podcasts, a podcast is a conversation or discussion you can download to your personal device and listen to at your leisure. Makes for great company when you’re walking the dog or when you’re just hankering for the sound of someone else’s voice. (Although I do get some odd glances when I bark back at them when they don’t share my own—indisputably correct—opinion.) There are lots of terrific golf podcasts including some with great Canadian content that I subscribe to like Flagstick.com’s TeeTalk, Golf Talk Canada and Swing Thoughts with Tim O’Connor and “Humble” Howard Glassman.

And, remember, in the words of Ernest Hemingway,

“When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be the happiest.”

That won’t be a problem for us golfers!

In early January, TayloreMade Golf released their line of SIM2 irons, hybrids, and drivers to the market.

Saskatchewan Territory Sales and Marketing Manager Mike Langin met Golf Saskatchewan at the GolfDome in Saskatoon to showcase the line to PGA of Sask. Professional and Manager of Sport and Championships Steve Ryde.

Watch below as Langin discusses the new technology.