The 2020 class of inductees into the Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame have been announced.

Lindsay Bernakevitch, Pat Buglass, Melodie Lawrek, Brad Phelps, and Ken Rodgers will make up the group going into the Hall.

Lindsay Bernakevitch – Player (Saskatoon)

• Four-time (consecutive) Saskatchewan men’s amateur champion
• Member of Team Canada 2001-2004
• Represented Canada at nine international events
• Six Canadian amateur appearances
• Two-time Glencoe Invitational winner

Pat Buglass – Builder (Indian Head)

• 20-year club captain at Saskatoon’s Holiday Park
• 25 years in roles as Saskatoon Women’s Golf Sports Council, City Championships chair
• President Canadian Ladies’ Golf Association Saskatchewan branch
• Chair, Western Canada Women’s Golf Tournament in 1998, committee member for Canadian Women’s Amateur at Riverside in 1986
• Course rater since 1992, referee since 1997

Melodie Lawrek – Builder (Regina)

• Three-time Royal Regina Golf Club lady’s president
• 16 years on Regina City Ladies’ Tournament (1994 – 2000)
• Former Golf Saskatchewan president
• National referee since 2007
• Observer/official U.S. Women’s Open Championship

Brad Phelps – Player (Saskatoon)

• Two-time Saskatchewan mid-amateur champion (2008, 2017)
• 12-time national competitor (two-time medal winner at nationals in team event)
• Six-time Saskatchewan mid-masters (40+) champion
• Three-time Order of Merit champion (2009 – 2011)
• Publinx, Lobstick, Central Amateur, Prince Albert Northern, Wildwood Open, and Holiday Park Open winner

Ken Rodgers – Player (Regina)

• Two-time Saskatchewan senior men’s champion (2017, 2019)
• 13-time national event competitor
• Four-time Tor Hill club champion
• Four-time PGA of Saskatchewan sales rep of the year
• 2011 Titleist Canadian sales rep of the year

The 2020 induction banquet has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A new date will be announced in the future.

Golf Saskatchewan will have full video features with all five inductees over the next few weeks.

Now that winter is officially here in Saskatchewan the focus for golfers, both competitive and recreational is shifting to indoor facilities.

Luckily for residents in many areas of southern and central parts of the province your community or one nearby has a facility you can hit balls in. Some provide a simple space with a net and warmth, others like Garrett McMillan’s First Tee Indoor Golf Centre in Regina have top of the line equipment to give golfers a feel for the real thing. First Tee is western Canada’s largest indoor facility with 10 simulators that were upgraded last year. McMillan said the spill over from a tremendous golf season is evident.

“From October to November (2019) we weren’t overly busy and we figured it’s because people had played so much in the summer they didn’t want to come inside and play or they were going to Phoenix or whatever, there was some sort of golf hangover. Our first two months are genuinely slow but since we put in this new technology we’ve got more and more people practicing and playing. I’ve got 15 to 20 people in here right now at 11 a.m. on a Friday trying to improve their golf swing,” McMillan said.

First Tee’s Swing Golf Simulators are the same brand used by PGA players Jordan Speith and Tiger Woods. McMillan is also a PGA of Canada professional. He said the data feedback off his simulators provides top of the line responses to elevate any players skill set.

“It’s really easy for them to come in and if they’ve taken a lesson it shows this is what you should focus on and this is what you should look at. They can come in and see that. Why can’t I get my path a couple degrees inside today? The overhead cameras give you a slow-motion playback of the golf club travelling through impact which is pretty cool,” he said.

Being a coach, McMillan strived to provide the best technology to allow himself the data to share with his clients. From a teaching standpoint he said no matter how you can play in the winter; the offseason is the best time to make changes to your game.

“The winter time is the perfect time to making changes especially if you want to commit to making big pattern changes,” he said. “There’s really no consequence, if you shoot a high number inside it’s easier on the ego than inside. You can really develop a new pattern over the winter and not be overly concerned about the consequence side of it. If you develop your pattern properly over the winter by the time you get to the course you hopefully have new shots in the bag you can roll with.”

First Tee has weekly men’s and ladies’ leagues and is open seven days a week.

Bunkers Indoor Golf

For the first time in 13 years, Cam Koch is back owning an indoor golf facility in Yorkton. Cymbob’s was owned by another person in Koch’s building but upon retiring he took over the business again revamping it as Bunkers Indoor Golf for the first time since 1998. Koch said he’s expanded beyond golf to provide several different indoor activities.

“I decided to move the business to a year-round business from a six-month business when my bingo hall client wanted to reduce their size. In March when we had the COVID shutdown that allowed significant time to do renovations and increase my footprint. Now I offer three golf simulators, two axe throwing booths, a baseball simulator, pool tables and a soccer sized pool game that kids really enjoy,” Koch explained.

Bunkers’ simulators have almost 60 golf courses loaded onto them and every major league baseball park is in play on the ball screen. Koch said business has been steady since the weather turned in October.

“We mostly had customers for the axe throwing, golf was second and the pool stuff is third. It was a real nice start to the season. Usually starting mid-October it’s a lot of opening at 10 a.m. and staring at the walls until 8 p.m. then closing. Not this year, it’s been busy from the get-go,” Koch beamed.

He isn’t running any league play, but he said the groups of golfers have made weekly nights their own and taken on the inside games among themselves.

YXE Golf Lounge

Jordan Orr felt there was an indoor golf facility need in Saskatoon so opened one up prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was busy at YXE Golf Lounge until the lockdown in March. Orr said even with the weather starting to warm up at that point he had ideas of staying open to provide more entertainment in the Bridge City.

“It was a good year last year, every week we broke the previous week’s record until we had to close down,” he said. “I had a couple plans like video games and other ideas because essentially the screens are like theatres. I hung out there a lot even after the lockdown watching Netflix and stuff. My kids loved hanging out there and playing video games, so I had some ideas that never got off the ground.”

“The last week before we closed it was like a party all week in there,” Orr continued. “I thought things were going to slow down in March, but we were booked solid for the first two weeks before we were forced to close.”

YXE Golf Lounge has five golf simulators with 10 feet by 14 feet screens and TruGolf hardware. Orr hasn’t planned for any events or weekly leagues this winter due to the uncertainty the pandemic continues to control. He said the business is currently following provincial health guidelines regarding capacity, a limited food menu and cleaning. Orr said if the province can avoid another shut down he expects to build offer a record-breaking summer of rounds across the nation.

“People are still enjoying it,” he said. “It’s going to be a while before we can get back to the real fun times, but I mean it’s still something for people to do in the winter. Keep swinging, get out of the house, that’s pretty much why I started it, to bring more entertainment. Hopefully we will be able to stay open for the winter.”

OTHER INDOOR SASKATCHEWAN FACILITIES:

• Divots Indoor Golf – Regina – Seven simulators, 80 courses, men’s, ladies, and senior leagues
• Nutrien Sportsplex – Moosomin – Four simulators, 100 courses, different leagues (men’s, ladies, snowbird, and yacht club), several other simulated sports options
  
• The Sweet Spot – Moose Jaw – Four simulators, 90 courses, various leagues four days of the week
• Humboldt Golf Club – Humboldt – Two simulators, 95 courses, three 8-week leagues
• Let’s Golf – Lloydminster – Four simulators, 27 courses, men’s, ladies, and couples leagues
• Royal Regina Golf Club – Coming in December
• The Willows Golf Club – One simulator, 50 courses
• The GolfDome – 37 hitting bays, senior’s discounts, mini-golf course

They are some of Canada’s most renowned golf legends, a list amassed of professional and amateur players, course architects and administrators. They have all contributed to the growth of the game of golf in this country. However, their contributions to golf pale in comparison to their contributions to the fabric of our nation.

November 11 is Remembrance Day. A day we remember and pay tribute to the brave men and women who have served in our armed forces. What better day to remember Canadian golfers of the past who helped our nation during its greatest times of need.

The following are just some of the contributions Canadian golf legends made to the Allied forces during the First and Second World Wars.

Florence Harvey

During World War I, Hamilton, Ont. native Florence Harvey, along with other women golfers in Canada, raised enough money to purchase an ambulance for use in Serbia.

A staunch advocate of women’s golf, Harvey founded and held the position of Secretary of the Canadian Ladies Golf Union – later known as the former Canadian Ladies’ Golf Association (CLGA).

One of the top players of her day, Harvey won the 1903 and 1904 Canadian Ladies’ championship, while capturing the Ontario Ladies Championship on four occasions.

During WWII, the CLGA also raised money, this time their money went towards the purchase of a Spitfire plane.

Karl Keffer is best known for becoming the first Canadian-born golfer to win our national championship – the Canadian Open – in 1909. He also won in 1914.

Keffer, from Tottenham, Ont., was a founding member of the PGA of Canada and held numerous positions during his 29-year involvement with the association including; secretary-treasurer, captain and president. Keffer, a war veteran, pleaded with other golf professionals of his day to join the war effort.

Stanley Thompson

Stanley Thompson

Most golf enthusiasts will know Stanley Thompson as a renowned Canadian golf course architect. Thompson, who was born in Toronto, has 200 course designs to his credit throughout an illustrious career as an architect with a majority of them residing in Canada.

However, many don’t know Thompson was awarded a Bronze Star for his service in WWI.

Donald Carrick

Donald Carrick, born in Thunder Bay, Ont., was a standout amateur golfer. A two time Canadian Amateur champion, Carrick also won the 1924 US Junior Boy’s Championship, several Ontario amateur titles and played for Canada against the British Walker Cup team before retiring from competitive golf in 1933 to focus on his family and law practice. Carrick would become a political figure and also competed as a boxer in the 1928 Summer Olympics.

Carrick also received the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E) for his service in the Royal Artillery during WWII.

Winnipeg’s Geoffrey Cornish, one of the legendary Stanley Thompson’s protégés, fashioned a career in golf course architecture. He was one of the best Canada has ever produced. With a career that included more than 200 golf course designs or remodellings, Cornish turned his attention towards chronicling the history of his field, becoming an author and penning several internationally-acclaimed books on golf course architecture in the later part of his career.

Cornish was a Major in the Canadian Army, serving in Europe from 1940-45.

To these and other notable figures in Canadian golf who have supported our troops as well as all of the brave men and women who have served our country – thank you.

Saskatchewan’s 2019 junior girls champion is going to play college golf in Florida next year.

Autumn Neiszner has committed to the Keiser University Seahawks in West Palm Beach. The grade 12 student at Regina’s Campbell Collegiate said she started searching in the spring for a post-secondary opportunity. After visiting several colleges she decided on a school she never got a chance to see first hand.

“I actually went to eight different colleges, but I didn’t visit Keiser, I did not go there,” she told Golf Saskatchewan. “I think going to the other schools helped me realize what I wanted and what I liked about those schools, but I didn’t have the opportunity to go because of the Coronavirus.”

The Seahawks’ women’s golf team are three-time National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) champions. Keiser student Michela Tjan won the individual NAIA Women’s Championship last year. Neiszner said joining a successful program is a dream come true.

“I didn’t know if going to Keiser was an option because they have such a really great team. I kept in contact with them and this past summer we had a Zoom call and I met representatives from the school. They made me an offer and it was good. They made it sound like they really wanted me, so I was really happy about that because I was never really sure if they were an option,” Neiszner added.

Nov. 11 was national signing day for United States universities. The Neiszner family had a small celebration to acknowledge the accomplishment. The day after Neiszner was still lost for words.

“It’s definitely exciting,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to going down there. I really don’t even know how to put it into words honestly. I’m just really happy to sign and make it official and continue my golf career and see where it takes me.”

She said there is many thanks to pass along as well.

“I want to thank my family for always supporting me in golf and everything. I want to thank Jeff Chambers, my coach for helping me get to where I am in golf. I want to thank the Wascana Country Club and my friends from there, the ladies that played there with me. I want to thank Golf Saskatchewan and the Maple Leaf Junior Tour, and I really want to thank my grandpa for getting me started in the sport,” she said.

Neiszner will graduate from high school this spring, complete her last year of junior golf in Saskatchewan and plans to head to Florida around August pending the COVID-19 situation. For now she will work on her academics and her game.

Neiszner will study in golf management at the university and hopes to work in the industry once she has convocated from the four-year program.

On November 4^th, 2020, members of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC), took part in an online discussion on the topic of Municipal Golf in Canada. This inaugural GJAC Virtual Summit is part of an ongoing series intended to help golf journalists across Canada stay connected, as well as to generate discussion and opportunities around important issues in the game.

Format of these events consist of a moderated question and answer period, followed by a brief opportunity for questions from attendees.

Panelists for the first summit included:

• Jeff Moore, CPGA Head Professional, Golf Operations, City of Brantford
• Ryan Logan, Director, Membership, Golf Canada
• Malcolm Bromley, Former GM, Vancouver Parks and Recreation Facilities

SCOREGolf columnist Rick Young acted as moderator.

The one-hour event was recorded and is available to watch below.

Last October the town of Wynyard cut the ribbon and opened their new multi-sport recreation facility that houses the community’s rink and golf course clubhouse.

The $11.4 million project replaced the courses old clubhouse that was once actually a one room school. The facility was an instant hit and served the town and surrounding area wonderfully through their first hockey season before COVID-19 shut down the world. Director of Leisure Services Sigourney Hoytfox said once the government allowed golf courses to open in May the season went great.

“Our rounds were up from the year before even with COVID,” she told Golf Saskatchewan. “We did very well. I think everywhere around the province is probably in a similar situation where people weren’t travelling as much so they were taking part in recreational activities at home which benefitted us.”

As restrictions were lifted progressively through the summer such as restaurants allowed to reopen with capacities and social distancing guidelines Hoytfox said the new facility was a blessing for the club and town.

“We have a lobby area with 200 capacity and a second-floor lounge with a 200-person capacity so even with the regulations in place that said spread out, have six feet between tables, that sort of thing, we never had to turn anyone away. It was fantastic, it worked out really well,” she said.

The course was able to go ahead with their annual Wynyard Monarchs Senior Hockey Team fundraising tournament but postponed their 18-hole Ultimate Ace event in August. The club has a waiting list for the tournament and hopes it can return in 2021. The course also had a wildly successful Chase the Ace fundraiser that was finally awarded on the last night of the weekly run event. The winner took home over $43,000 and the club generated a large profit on ticket, food, and beverage sales while keeping all protocols followed. Hoytfox said easing into the year with those restrictions allowed the administrators to find the most efficient ways to conduct business.

“We heard nothing but good things from our golfers this year. They were very happy with how things were set up. We took advantage with the fact moving into the new building and the COVID restrictions it made the whole golf club and course a more professional course. A lot of the changes we’re going to hold onto even post COVID,” she said.

Capping the season the town was awarded the Cecil Nobes Facility Award of Excellence from the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association (SPRA). The community applied to receive the award based on the building that heavily improved the town’s carbon footprint. The clubhouse and arena are now under one roof, all the lights are LED and the facility recaptures heat from the ice plant. Hoytfox said the award would normally be handed out at the SPRA annual convention but that will happen virtually which is another benefit as they simply wanted to showcase the amount of work that’s went into the facility.

“That’s exactly it, we didn’t get any money for the award, it’s simply to showcase the building. I feel we lucked out, instead of the banquet the association came out and they did a promotional video for the facility that they will use to showcase the award but the community gets that video and can use it down the road to showcase what we have,” she continued.

The executive of the golf club is still pondering what to do with the Chase the Ace funds but Hoytfox hinted at a second-floor deck overlooking the course. The group will be meeting in the future to discuss their next upgrade.

The year was 2002 when Nipawin’s Kim Valleau won the Saskatchewan junior girl’s championship, 18 years later the now Calgary based Class A Professional is still succeeding in the sport.

Valleau, 36, was recently nominated for the Alberta PGA Assistant Professional of the Year for the second time. She wasn’t named the winner but said just to be nominated was a great honour.

“It’s pretty cool, I think we have about 500 PGA of Alberta members and to be able to get into that top-five and be recognized for the work you do is a really great feeling,” Valleau told Golf Saskatchewan. “Especially being a female a lot of people don’t know who you are and get tucked away to the side. It’s really nice to be recognized.”

She looks back fondly on her junior days of golfing in Saskatchewan including a runner-up placing in the 2001 junior championships before winning the next year. Valleau stayed in Canada to pursue her education playing golf at Mount Royal University in Calgary. She now works at the Winston Golf Club and is proud of the work she does and other woman professionals. She said the future is bright for woman wanting to be employed in the sport.

“It’s tough being a female in a very male dominated industry. There’s a lot of advantages and disadvantages but as long as you are confident and willing to learn I think anyone can do well in the industry,” she said.

After discussing the award nomination and her recent success Valleau reminisced about her junior golf days and growing up in the province. Current Evergreen Golf Club President Kevin Duchscherer said Valleau is the best golfer the town has ever produced. Valleau’s parents still call Nipawin home and play regularly, Valleau’s earliest memories are her being about four years-old riding the cart with her mom and dad. High school golf took off for Valleau and she eventually worked at the Evergreen and Waskesiu over the summers while attending Mount Royal. She said the smallness of Saskatchewan is what she remembers most.

“Everyone helps each other, and everyone knows each other,” she said. “There is pros in Alberta I don’t know or haven’t even heard of, there’s just so many. I still look at the PGA of Sask. and I say, oh I know them, they were a junior golfer. If pros from Saskatchewan come to Alberta they always say, oh do you know so-and-so, Tyler Baker for example? Oh I know Tyler, I played ping pong in his garage. Yeah, me too! It’s just a small world.”

Valleau won the juniors at the Meadow Lake Golf Course. She also won the Saskatchewan Mixed Championship twice. She won in 2002 with Lee Fairbairn and in 2005 with Nathan Morgan, another junior golfer from Nipawin. She said the people she’s met and the acquaintances she still has today are what she remembers most about her home province.

“We had a really good group of juniors in Nipawin, we all went to tournaments together. Someone always had a camper or trailer and we were camping with a group of friends I grew up with. I also met so many from other cities like Saskatoon and Prince Albert, you got to know everyone who played junior golf and it was awesome,” she said.

Calgary has now been home for nearly half of Valleau’s life, but she still makes it back to Nipawin every summer and has her annual round with her dad (pictured above) and Head Professional Derek Tallon plus a few of her dad’s friends. She’s made it back every year since 2009.

Valleau finished this season ranked 39^th on the Alberta PGA Top-100 Program that recognizes all aspects of their profession.

The Canadian golf industry generated $18.2B in economic benefits across our nation in 2019, according to a recent economic analysis conducted by Group ATN Consulting Inc. on behalf of the National Allied Golf Associations (We Are Golf).

According to The Economic Impact of Golf in Canada (2019), the Canadian golf industry employs the equivalent of nearly 249,000 people through direct and spin-off effects and contributed to $10.6B in household income. The industry also contributed $4.5B in government tax revenue ($1.8B federal and $2.1B provincial) used to support a variety of programs for all Canadians.

Based on nationwide surveys completed by golfers and golf course operators in 10 provinces and three territories along with multiple industry data sources, The Economic Impact of Golf in Canada (2019) is a follow up to previous comprehensive and independent assessment studies (2014, 2009) of the economic impact of the golf industry in Canada. The $18.2B economic impact of golf represents a 14% increase in contribution to Canada’s GDP between 2013 and 2019.

“The Economic Impact of Golf in Canada (2019) further reinforces the enormous financial, employment, charitable, tourism and positive environmental impact that the sport and the business of golf are affecting across Canada,” said Laurence Applebaum, Chair of We Are Golf and CEO of Golf Canada. “This third iteration of the study provides the golf industry with a powerful snapshot of the scale and magnitude that our sport has on the Canadian economy and within the communities where we live, work and play.”

The study presents economic insights for each of the 10 provinces and three territories from coast to coast. Also captured in the report are comparisons to international economic insights from select countries and regions including the United States, European Union, and Australia.

The Economic Impact of Golf in Canada (2019) was conducted on behalf of We Are Golf by Group ATN Consulting Inc., a world leader in economic development and analysis for communities, regions, and industries. Group ATN previously conducted the 2014 and 2009 Canadian Golf Economic Impact Studies (based on 2013 and 2008 data respectively) which have allowed the Canadian golf industry to benchmark the game’s economic impact over five-year periods.

“Every industry has its own unique circumstances to allow for, and the ability to repeat the same application of our model for Canadian golf is a significant advantage,” said Tom McGuire, Principal with Group ATN Consulting. “Beyond consistency, we have also been able to further improve certain aspects based upon learnings from the prior studies we did for the National Allied Golf Associations (We Are Golf).”

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF GOLF IN CANADA (2019)

The game of golf accounts for an estimated $18.2B of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is up 14% from the $15.9B reported in 2014*. Included within the 2019 economic impact:

• The golf industry directly employed nearly 150,000 full-time, full-year equivalent positions, representing many more individuals who are employed in the sector. This number grows to approximately 249,000 when accounting for direct, indirect, and induced employment.

• The golf industry directly contributed $4.8B in household income, rising to $10.6B when considering the combined direct, indirect, and induced impacts.

• The golf industry generated $4.5B in government tax revenue; including $1.8B in federal tax revenue and $2.1B in provincial tax revenue.

• Conservatively, course operators invested $727M industry-wide on capital expenditures.

*Note that 2014 figures are adjusted by the consumer price index and reported as current dollars.

Additional Insights from The Economic Impact of Golf in Canada (2019)

• Employment – The golf industry is a significant job provider for youth with 48% of its workforce identified as students.

• Travel – Canadians along with international visitors contributed to $8.6B in golf-related travel nationwide. Canadians made approximately 4.8M trips involving golf, including 3.0M in their home province and 1.8M outside their home province and abroad.

• Golfer Spending – golfers in Canada spent approximately $19.3B on items such as green fees, memberships, lessons, equipment, travel, hospitality, events, and other golf-related expenditures.

• Canadian Course Operators – a total of 2,283 facilities were estimated to be operating in 2019, accounting for 2,043 courses (18-hole equivalent); course operators collectively spent approximately $3.8B in course expenditures.

• Land management – Golf course operations manage between 155,000 and 175,000 hectares, including 30,000 to 35,000 hectares of wildlife and wetland area.

• Charitable Impact – The golf industry generated an estimated $330M in charitable impact through more than 51,000 tournaments and events.

• Golf Participation – Canadian golfers played an estimated 57.0M rounds in 2019.

Although released in 2020, The Economic Impact of Golf in Canada (2019) does not factor in the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Canadian golf industry.

“Establishing a baseline for the economic impact of our sport measured against pre-2020 Covid-19 spending is an important benchmark consideration for the integrity and continuity of the study,” added Applebaum. “Based on what we learned through the 2020 season, the safety of golf through this pandemic and the potential for a lift in participation and spending on the game, we are optimistic in looking ahead.”

An executive summary along with a complete report outlining the results of The Economic Impact of Golf in Canada (2019) is available by clicking here or by visiting any of the We Are Golf partner websites.

Canada’s next crop of junior golfers will soon learn that they may be alone out on the course, but they’re part of a team off of it.

Jennifer Greggain was announced as the newest member of the coaching staff for Golf Canada’s junior teams last Thursday, working with head coach Robert Ratcliffe. She said that instilling a sense of camaraderie among her pupils is a priority for the 2021 squad.

“When you bring this talent together and bring them to one place, this opportunity to train together and help each other get better, that’s really unique and one of the biggest opportunities for this program and our juniors,” said Greggain, who added that when she was a high-level amateur she would loved to have been around other elite golfers her age.

Greggain has a wealth of experience to draw from, having played on the LPGA and Symetra Tours for 10 years before becoming a coach.

“When I retired from tour, I realized pretty quickly that what I wanted to do when I grew up was to coach,” said Greggain with a laugh.

Greggain was the director of instruction at Chilliwack Golf Club, the assistant coach for the University of the Fraser Valley, and led the B.C. Summer Games Squad on numerous occasions.

First round of the @thegolfcanada Junior Selection Camp underway at Bear Mountain Resort, Victoria. ?? ? #dragons pic.twitter.com/VW46VWkGqf

— Jennifer Greggain ?? (@jengreggaingolf) October 16, 2020

In January she joined the national team program as assistant coach of the women’s amateur and young pro squads with Tristan Mullally before she transitioned into her new role.

Greggain will help guide mental performance, physiotherapy, biomechanics and nutrition for the Canada’s top golfers while she continues her studies at the University of British Columbia’s Master of High Performance and Technical Leadership program.

The junior teams – boys and girls will train together – will be based at the national training centre at Bear Mountain Golf Resort in Victoria, which going forward will have a centralized component from March through June. Athletes will stay at the national training centre during their second semester at high school.

“I really like the model of the junior program because we have this centralized component which gives you a little more consistent contact,” said Greggain.

The World Handicap System stipulates every player is responsible for returning all acceptable scores into one’s scoring record from rounds played on courses observing their active season, which is part of the golf season when courses have acceptable playing conditions.

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of authorized provincial golf association to declare active and inactive periods, and it is the responsibility of the area club and golfers to observe these dates for posting purposes.

Each year, provincial associations analyze numerous factors to determine their active seasons. This ensures consistency of when scores would be posted by the majority of golfers to help keep Handicap Indexes accurate.

Scores made at any golf course observing an inactive season are not acceptable for handicap purposes. The rationale behind this is that posting scores during inactive seasons (periods of poor course conditions) could artificially increase a player’s Handicap Index.

Scores made at a golf course in an area observing an active season must be posted for handicap purposes, even if the golf club from which the player receives a Handicap Index is observing an inactive season. The club’s Handicap Committee must make it possible for a player to post these away scores at the beginning of the active season.

For example, if a player belonging to a golf club in Ontario plays golf in Florida during January, any scores made in Florida are acceptable and must be returned to the player’s Ontario golf club. If the player is also a member of a golf club in Florida, scores must be posted to the player’s Florida club.

In Canada, the active season in each province is as follows:

BC =     Mar.1 – Nov.15
AB =     Mar.1 – Oct.31
SK =     Apr.15 – Oct.31
MB =    Apr.15 – Oct.31
ON =    Apr.15 – Oct.31
QC =    Apr.15 – Oct.31
NS =     Apr.15 – Oct.31
NB =     May.1 – Oct.31
PE =     Apr.16 – Nov.14
NL =     Apr.1 – Nov. 30

It’s also important to note that if you are travelling to other countries, you should determine their active seasons to prevent posting unacceptable scores. Your home club needs all acceptable scores from the “off-season” as well to ensure your Handicap Index is accurate once recalculated at the beginning of the season.

For a detailed list of active and inactive schedule in the United States, click here.

For more information on handicapping, click here.

To enter your scores for an official handicap, become a Golf Canada member here.