If you watch golf on TV, you’ve no doubt seen players on the range, hitting a shot and then looking down at what appears to be an iPad. No, they’re not checking their email or Facetiming their friends. They are checking their club path, spin rate, clubhead speed, launch angle, carry and total distance, smash factor and much more on what’s called a launch monitor.

And, more than likely, they have a full golf simulator at home.

Do you plan to use a #golf simulator in 2021?

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) December 18, 2020

What’s the difference?

“The best way I can describe it that the launch monitor is the engine and the simulator is the entire car,” says Aaron Hardy of Foresight Sports Canada. Hardy is the exclusive Canadian distributor of Foresight, a product used by more than 170 PGA TOUR pros. TrackMan and SkyTrak are other popular products used by golfers and instructors worldwide, among other reputable brands.

While a monitor is portable, a simulator is a permanent or semi-permanent installation that may include some or all of the following: a monitor, net or screen, hitting mat, laptop computer, projector and, of course, a suitable indoor space. You have the option of virtually playing some of the world’s most famous courses. Foresight even offers a “Canadian course mega-deal” software package that bundles Glen Abbey Golf Club, Essex Golf and Country Club and Cobble Beach Golf Links.

Do you need a launch monitor and/or a simulator?

Yes, if you’re a serious golfer, according to Harry Nodwell, Senior Director of Product Testing at My Golf Spy, an independent online reviewer and evaluator of all things golf. “It’s a must-have if you want to get feedback and dial in your game all year round.” That last bit is especially important for golfers trapped indoors during a Canadian winter. And even more so during these COVID-19 days.

Do you want one?

The best ones are not cheap. For example, Foresight’s basic GC2 monitor starts at US$6,500 while the top-of-the-line GCQuad (what Nodwell calls the “Holy Grail of launch monitors”) starts at US$11,000. As mentioned, if you want a full in-home simulator setup, that can double that number at least.

Chris Nickel is My Golf Spy’s Director of Business Development. He is a self-diagnosed “golf and equipment junkie.” That may explain why he has a fully decked-out Foresight simulator in his basement. (That, along with the fact he has seven daughters and lives in snowy Colorado.) He says your decision is basically a cost/benefit analysis based on your desired outcome.

“You have to decide what your priorities are based on your desires and your budget,” Nickel says. “What are the deal breakers? Do you just want something to have fun with your family and friends or do you seriously want to understand how to be a better golfer?”

For proof of that closer to home, you need look no further than Tristan Mullally, Head Coach of Golf Canada’s Women’s Amateur and Young Pro Squads. He recently had a Foresight simulator installed in his garage in Dundas, Ont. As an instructor, he has used the best launch monitors available for more than 15 years to provide feedback and help his students improve. He says it’s not only made his students better but it helped him be a better instructor. But his home simulator was more of a personal purchase so he could spend quality time with his two children.

“With the COVID lockdown, every golfer wants a place to practise and we are looking for different ways to do things with our family,” Mullally says. “Why hit blindly into a net when you can actually play golf on a simulator?”

Don’t despair if you’re an avid golfer on a restricted budget. Nodwell points out that product testing at My Golf Spy has shown there are more affordable options — if you are prepared to sacrifice some accuracy and data.

Let’s say you want the whole enchilada right now, a complete home simulator setup. You will need sufficient space for all the components and to have a full swing. Hardy says his basic setup requires an area seven feet wide by seven feet high by 10 feet deep while the traditional simulator needs a space at least 12 feet wide by nine feet high by 15 feet deep. Having said that, the 6-foot-1 Nickel can’t swing his driver in his basement with its nine-foot-high ceiling. “I really needed another foot of clearance,” he says.

Hardy’s company offers Sim-In-A-Box, a “full-size, true-to-life golf simulation in a compact, easy-to-assemble format delivered right to your door.” Hardy says the kits can be put together with an Allen key, a couple of wrenches and a second set of hands. Alternatively, depending on mandated pandemic restrictions in your area, you can have a custom simulator professionally assembled in your home or garage.

For example, Andy McWilliams, a former Scottish golf professional now based near Ottawa, launched Golf Sim Gurus after seeing a demand for simulator sales, service and installation. “Things have really taken off since people haven’t been able to get out like they could before COVID,” he says. “Plus, it’s a long winter, especially if you can’t get away down south this year.” In addition to permanent installations, McWilliams sees potential in renting and installing simulators on a seasonal basis to golf courses, retail outlets and even homeowners.

Business also increased for Hardy as a result of the pandemic but it was a two-edged sword. “Demand went up but, because of the restrictions, we couldn’t go into residences to do custom installations. We were like the pool guys: People were stranded at home and need something to do to stay active, something to keep themselves and their families entertained.” He equates the price of a home simulator to that of a couple of family vacations and it is a lot more permanent than memories and souvenirs.

“I get a call just about every day from someone who bought one of our simulators,” says Hardy. “They say it’s almost like therapy. One person told me, ‘I never would have gotten through this (COVID) without my golf simulator.’”

Click here for more on Foresight Sports Canada.

Regina’s Ken Rodgers is being enshrined into the Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame.

Following a similar path of most accomplished golfers Rodgers began playing with his father at the Royal Regina Golf Club.

He is a two-time Saskatchewan senior champion and has competed at nationals 13 times. In Rodgers five senior Canadian performances he’s yet to miss the cut.

Golf Saskatchewan sat down with Rodgers to discuss his impressive career and Hall of Fame honour.

TORONTO – In a year unlike any other, which included the PGA TOUR’s longest hiatus since World War II due to Covid-19, a record number (7) Canadians held PGA TOUR status while the country as a whole impressed across both the amateur and professional ranks.

The Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) is proud to announce Brooke Henderson, Mackenzie Hughes, Laurent Desmarchais and Brigitte Thibault as the 2020 Players of the Year as voted by GJAC members across the country. Along with the player awards, the surge in popularity in golf across Canada was voted as the story of the year.

“Each year, GJAC is proud to recognize and applaud the incredible performances by Canadian professional and amateur players,” said Rick Young, GJAC President. “While 2020 was a difficult year, players across Canada continue to record performances that make covering their achievements and telling the stories behind them a joy for our members.”

After claiming two wins in 2019 to become the winningest Canadian golfer of all time, Henderson continued to make headlines in 2020, making all but one cut on the LPGA Tour, including five top-10 finishes and a runner-up showing at the ANA Inspirational. The 23-year old finished the season with the second-lowest scoring average on Tour (69.7) and is currently the sixth-ranked female professional player in the world.

Mackenzie Hughes was named Male Professional of the Year after recording his best season to date, earning six top-10 PGA TOUR finishes in 22 starts. The 30-year old’s season was highlighted by a runner-up finish at the Honda Classic, where he posted 66 in both the third and final round, and the Tour Championship, where he finished in 14^th place in the FedEx Cup standings, the best of any Canadian since 2013 (Grahem DeLaet, 8^th).

For the second-consecutive year, Rosemére, Quebec’s Brigitte Thibault earned honours as Female Amateur of the Year after another standout season that included wins at the Women’s Western Amateur and the Women’s Dixie Amateur. In addition, Thibault earned two top-3 collegiate finishes with the Fresno State Bulldogs.

Finally, Longueuil, Quebec’s Laurent Desmarchais was named Male Amateur of the Year after claiming a victory over both amateurs and professionals in the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada’s Canada Life Series Championship at TPC Toronto. In addition, Desmarchais was named to the Golf Canada’s National Amateur team due to his standout play.

The PGA of Canada has named the finalists for their 2020 national awards with several Saskatchewan professionals being finalists.

The PGA of Canada has 3,600 members from coast-to-coast. Association President Teejay Alderdice said being nominated is an accomplishment in a news release distributed today.

“On behalf of the PGA of Canada, I would like to congratulate all nominees and finalists for their outstanding accomplishments this year. I look forward to celebrating their collective achievements later this month during our virtual National Awards Ceremony,” he said.

Swift Current’s Jeff Chambers is a finalist for the George Knudson Teacher of the Year and the Ben Kern Coach of the Year honours.

Saskatoon Golf & Country Club Head Professional Brennen Gee is a finalist for the Murray Tucker Club Professional of the Year Award.  Paul Schatz, the head professional at Joanne Goulet Golf Course in Regina is up for the Jack McLaughlin Junior Leader of the Year Award.

Lloydminster’s Marty Wheaton of the Lloydminster Golf & Curling Centre is one of the finalists for the Pat Fletcher Retailer of the Year Award. Long Creek Golf & Country Club proshop manager in Avonlea, Brad Lovatt is one of the finalists for the Moe Norman Apprentice Professional of the Year Award.

To see the entire list of nominees and previous winners click here.

Each year, a National Selection Committee evaluates nominations from professionals across Canada. Winners for each national award are traditionally recognized during PGA of Canada Night at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla., however, this year will see winners revealed live during the association’s virtual National Award Ceremony on Jan. 28, 2021.

TSN’s Bob Weekes and former PGA Tour professional Ian Leggatt will host the virtual awards.

After eight years at Cooke Municipal Golf Course in Prince Albert, Ryan Wells finally got his first head professional job last year in Grande Prairie. He had no idea the move would be short lived but “he’s beyond excited” to return to Saskatchewan.

Wells spent last season at the Dunes Golf and Winter Club but was recently announced as the new head pro at Elk Ridge Resort. Despite just one season in northern Alberta, Wells has nothing but positive things to say about the short stint.

“I would recommend the Dunes Golf and Winter Club to anyone,” Wells said to Golf Saskatchewan. “It was a good year but a difficult one with everything going on. Like any other golf course we put the right policies and procedures in place and all in all it was a wonderful experience. Looking back it was not a bad decision to come out here at all.”

Wells has known Ryan Danberg, one of Elk Ridge’s managing partners, for about ten years. After news broke of the Elk Ridge sale to Danberg and the group Wells reached out with a congratulatory message and the discussion elevated.

“When I seen the news on paNOW I kind of reached out and congratulated Ryan on this adventure he was going on. We started talking and I joked, do you need a pro? You know, ha-ha. Just being friends with him going back and forth, he said they would be interested if I would consider moving back and we just went from there,” Wells said.

Wells is currently wrapping up his tenure in Grande Prairie and will be returning to Prince Albert with a mid-February start date at Elk Ridge. He said heading the golf team at Elk Ridge is a premier job not only in Saskatchewan but the nation. Aside from a professional stand point Wells said reuniting with his wife and two-year daughter makes the situation an amazing fit.

“Me and my family, we’re over the moon excited, I can’t even put it into words for you how exciting this opportunity is,” he said. “It’s in our backyard, Waskesiu is our next-door neighbour. Just the resort itself, four seasons and all the amenities they have up there, it’s beyond exciting.”

Elk Ridge is now back open for business, anyone looking for more information on what the resort has to offer can visit their website.

The entire staff at Golf Canada hopes you enjoy a safe and happy holiday season and we extend our best wishes for the New Year.

Please be advised of our hours of operation for Golf Canada and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum during the holidays.

Hours of Operation

Closed beginning Monday, December 21, 2020 and will reopen at 9 a.m. on Monday January 4, 2021.

Just how busy were golf courses across Canada in 2020?

Early one morning at the beginning of the season, Stephen Jardeleza positioned himself in front of his computer at GreyHawk Golf Club. On his screen was a blank tee sheet for the Ottawa club where he is the Director of Operations.

In a few minutes, the computerized tee-times reservation system would open for members to begin booking tee times for the upcoming Saturday. Up for grabs were 130 tee times across the club’s 36 holes, which, if fully booked, would work out to 520 golfers.

At 7 a.m., the tee sheet came alive. “In 40 seconds, our tee sheet was fully booked,” Jardeleza said. “And this happened every day.”

The 2020 golf season—and the year—will go down in infamy as one of the strangest that most of us will ever experience.

Faced with a mysterious and deadly nemesis, golf provided a beacon of badly needed joy amid fear and frustration. We were smitten. We couldn’t get enough golf.

“It didn’t matter that there was a worldwide pandemic,” said Simon Bevan, General Manager of Riverbend Golf Club in London. “Golf was like a drug. We all wanted to hit the little white ball.”

Now that the season has ended, the golf club industry in Canada is celebrating a record year in which rounds skyrocketed to historic proportions. Thousands of people took up golf—some for the first time, and some came back to the game—and veteran golfers played more than they ever have.

But right out of the be-careful-what-you-wish-for playbook, the industry faced the challenge of how to mollify established golfers frustrated that they could no longer get to the first tee when they wanted.

Back in April, with cities around the world looking like ghost towns, and major league sports and the PGA TOUR shut down, golfers held on to a slender thread of hope that a golf season might be possible.

By early May, golfers in Ontario and Quebec had endured two months of a gruelling lockdown, made worse by a tantalizingly warm spring that screamed golf. Golfers ached for their game. A friend said, “Golfers can distance. I play golf with people. I don’t dance with them.”

After weeks of consultation with the golf industry on safety measures, the Ontario government said courses could open May 16. Quebec set May 20 as its opening day.

Golf clubs had only a few days to finish their preparations in order to keep golfers safe. Staff removed ball washers, water coolers, benches and outfitted flagsticks with doo-hickeys that allowed you to extricate your ball without having to touch the stick.

Held back from their usual start to the season, golfers were ravenous. On May 15—the first day that tee times could be booked—thousands of ClubLink Members went online to reserve their tee times at 7 a.m., causing the system to crash.

Many technology platforms serving the golf industry were overwhelmed. When Golf Ontario opened its online tournament registration on June 24, 17,000 people visited its site in a matter of minutes, causing it to crash for the first time in its history, according to executive director Mike Kelly.

On those first wonderful days of the 2020 golf season, golfers were over the moon to play and golf club personnel were cautiously nervous.

“We were hoping that members wouldn’t contract the virus just from touching things,” said Paul Carrothers, Director of Golf at Royal Ottawa Golf Club.

Thousands of golfers wanted to play the game—not just because they are an extremely obsessive bunch—but also to escape the same four walls at home. Without having to travel for work or commute, working from home also afforded many golfers the freedom to play when they wanted. More or less.

With offices and schools closed, and nearly every other option for having fun shut down, golf became the ‘it’ activity. Spouses, friends and kids who had not tried golf, and those who had given up the game, were playing.

“Almost all of the guys that I played slow-pitch with every Tuesday for 20 years were now playing golf,” said Kevin Thistle, CEO of the PGA of Canada. “The way we play golf, work, watch sports—it’s all changing, and forcing us to adapt.”

From the once-a-year golfer to the 100-rounds-plus player, everyone played more—and wanted more.

“Players who would normally play 30 to 40 rounds played 70 to 80 rounds,” said Adam Tobin, Director of Golf at Whistle Bear Golf Club in Cambridge.

Even with most corporate events cancelled at most clubs, tee times became a precious commodity.

By the end of June, Canadians had played more than 1.5 million rounds during the month, an increase of 17 per cent over June 2019. And that’s a monumental feat folks when you consider June is THE busiest and best month to play. For an industry that faced media reports a few years earlier that it was declining, business was booming.

But for avid golfers who routinely play three or more rounds a week and were used to convenient tee times, it was not all sunshine and rainbows.

“There was a lot of frustration,” said Jason Wyatt, Head Professional at Sunningdale Golf & Country Club in London, where demand shot up 52 percent over 2019 with the same number of members. “There were people who wanted an 8 a.m. time but had to settle for hours later.”

Even playing ‘executive’ or nine-hole courses was a challenge. “There were times that we had six groups lined up to play our nine-hole course,” said Dennis Firth, Head Professional at Royal Montreal which experienced a 30 percent increase in rounds over 2019. “It was unprecedented.”

As a golfer, and the fellow in charge of tracking golfers across the country for Golf Canada, Adam Helmer said he could no longer just head out to play. He had to become organized in scheduling his golf.

“A downside of golf being so popular was that not everyone was able to get the tee time they wanted,” said Helmer, senior director of Golf Services for Golf Canada.

The problem was simple. Demand for tee times appeared limitless, but every course has a finite number of holes and daylight. And to keep golfers from getting too close to one another, most clubs spaced out tee times, which meant fewer golfers on the course.

John Finlayson, Chief Operating Officer of ClubLink, says that—as a general rule of thumb—a private golf club with 18 holes carries about 400 full dues-paying members to sustain its business.

But even in June when the days are longest, there’s only enough room to accommodate about 225 golfers. “If 300 people want to play that course that day, you have a problem,” said Finlayson, whose ClubLink courses saw a 29 percent increase in rounds in 2020 compared with 2019.

Many private clubs responded by restricting the number of guests that members could bring, and restricted access for certain classes of memberships.

“To make room for our full members, we had to restrict our legacy and out-of-town members,” said Ian Leggatt, General Manager of Summit Golf Club in Richmond Hill. “We had to communicate to them that these are unusual times,” said Leggatt, who has since moved to the same position at St. George’s Golf and Country Club in Toronto.

Initially, Leggatt and other senior club managers wondered if golfers would “drift from the game” because they couldn’t socialize in the clubhouse restaurant afterwards,

and the on-course experience was altered.

But with fewer golfers on the course, no need to rake bunkers, and single riders on carts, the speed of play improved dramatically.

“The measures were taken for safety, but it provided a better experience,” Finlayson said. “Most golfers expect to play 18 holes in 4 to 4.5 hours, but this year a 4-hour round was considered a bit slow.”

Nonetheless, many golfers were frustrated about access, and many golf clubs stepped up their communication efforts to help their members adapt.

“You couldn’t over-communicate,” Leggatt said. “This whole thing was shifting, and there was no template on how to make it work better.”

It affected everyone, including ClubLink Member and CEO of the National Golf Course Owners Association of Canada, Jeff Calderwood.

“I’d jump on the computer five days in advance at 7 a.m. this fall, and there were often no times at Eagle Creek (his Home Club in Ottawa),” he said. “It illustrated the dilemma we had.”

Industry leaders such as Calderwood are thankful golf provided a silver lining during a pandemic, but they are also mindful that the industry is challenged by how it satisfies core golfers while retaining new players.

“I don’t claim to have all the answers. You could restructure and find that, perhaps with a vaccine, demand doesn’t stay so high, and then you’re not sustainable if you got it wrong.”

Mike Kelly of Golf Ontario was among the industry leaders who consulted with the Ontario government to allow clubs to open this season, and he’s grateful golfers turned a possible disaster into a banner year for golf.

As a golf administrator who represents the sport in Ontario, as well as players who want to play and have fun, Kelly says he can’t lose focus on what’s truly important.

“Our job is to provide a safe environment. That’s our No. 1 priority during this pandemic. We can’t screw this up. The game has grown and the industry will evolve, but the priority must be safety.”

Tim O’Connor is a golf and performance coach, writer and author of four books, co-host of the Swing Thoughts podcast, and webinar presenter. He is the 2020 winner of the Lorne Rubenstein Media Award given by Golf Ontario. tim@oconnorgolf.ca

The COVID-19 pandemic has infected millions and killed hundreds of thousands around the world. Almost without exception, everyone was affected in some way. Its effects extended beyond the physical toll, causing emotional, psychological and economic impact. We were hard-pressed to find ways to stay positive and active. Many turned to golf as an outlet, even therapy of sorts.

“What an incredibly strange and challenging year,” Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “Golf has been a silver lining, a bright light, call it what you may, in giving people a bit of a break from the pandemic.”

Record rounds were registered across the country consistently throughout the year, played under strict precautionary COVID-19 protocols.

 

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While participation grew across the country, most tournaments and social gatherings at golf clubs were cancelled or postponed, including the RBC Canadian Open and the CP Women’s Open. The Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada cancelled its season. All Golf Canada’s national championships and many provincial association tournaments were shelved.

“We’re going to look back on 2020 and say, ‘amongst all the challenges, amongst a lot of really difficult situations for so many people, golf was a bright light that we built from,’” Applebaum said.

For example, the COVID-19 Golf Relief Fund initiated by Golf Canada and the Canadian Golf Foundation raised more than $400,000. The fund subsidizes non-medical personal protective equipment for golf course employees as well as sanitization, hygiene and protective material expenses. It also subsidizes rounds of golf for front-line workers as well as juniors.

What follows are some of the top golf-related stories from 2020, a very different year. These are just some of the headlines. Details on these stories and many others are available under News on the Golf Canada website.

January

The new World Handicap System came into effect with the goal of making the game more enjoyable by providing a consistent means of measuring performance and progress and to enable golfers of differing abilities to compete or play a casual round with anyone else on a fair and equal basis.

Jared du Toit, a member of Golf Canada’s Young Pro Squad, won the PGA TOUR Latinoamerica Qualifying Tournament Mexico.

#TeamCanada’s @Jareddutoit finishes at 22 under to claim medalist honours at @PGATOURLA Q-School, earning fully exempt status ? pic.twitter.com/UOWNokr13U

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 18, 2020

Grace McCann of Windsor, Ont., a past president of the former Canadian Ladies’ Golf Association, passed away at the age of 85.

The Golf Journalists Association of Canada named Brooke Henderson (female professional), Corey Conners (male professional), Garrett Rank (male amateur) and Brigitte Thibault (female amateur) as players of the year for 2019.

February

Charlie Beaulieu of Lorraine, Que., was elected for a second term at Golf Canada’s annual meeting. Liz Hoffman of Thornhill, Ont., and Dale Jackson of Victoria remain as first and second vice-president respectively. Bill MacMillan of Eastern Passage, N.S., received the Bruce Mitchell Volunteer of the Year Award. Volunteer Richard Smith of Regina and golf journalist Ian Hutchison of Newmarket, Ont., received Golf Canada’s Distinguished Service Award.

Celeste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-L’lle-Perrot, Que., a graduate of Team Canada’s National Junior Squad, won the NCAA’s Gold Rush tournament in California.

Nick Taylor shot a final-round 2-under-par 70 to claim a wire-to-wire four-stroke victory in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California. Taylor overcame 40 mph gusts of winds and finished at 19-under to become the first Canadian to win the event.

Golf Canada named the 2020 Young Pro Squads: Hugo Bernard, Jared du Toit, Stuart Macdonald, Taylor Pendrith, Chris Crisologo and Joey Savoie for the men and Jaclyn Lee, Brittany Marchand and Maddie Szeryk for the women.

 

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March

As the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic enveloped not only Canada but the world, governments ordered the shutdown of non-essential businesses, which in most provinces included golf courses.

The Summer Olympics, scheduled to begin in July in Tokyo, are postponed until 2021 due to the pandemic. They will still be called the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, however.

April

Canadian Scott Pritchard, previously vice-president of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada, is promoted to executive director.

May

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, most golf courses across Canada did not open on schedule this spring. Although those in British Columbia were never ordered to close, those in other provinces were shuttered until they were allowed to open when stringent anti-COVID safeguards were in place. New Brunswick courses opened April 24 with the balance of the provinces following suit throughout the month of May.

Golf Canada announced the formation of the Golf Industry Advisory Council, a volunteer group of experienced professionals to support Golf Canada’s Board of Directors and management team. The council will include course owners, operators, general managers, superintendents and professionals as well as executives from the golf equipment, apparel and footwear industry.

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame announced Lorie Kane of Charlottetown was among six athletes and five builders who will receive the Order of Sports award, Canada’s highest sporting honour.

BIG round of applause for @loriekanelpga, who was announced as an inductee into @sportshall class of 2020/21 ????

Congrats to all inductees! ??https://t.co/WDFgBToJg1

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) May 27, 2020

The Prince Edward Island Golf Association named Alison Griffin as its new executive director.

The PGA TOUR announced that it would resume without spectators in June. The Tour had suspended play since The Players Championship was cancelled in March.

June

Despite months of planning, the celebration of the 125^th anniversary of the founding of Golf Canada on June 6, 1895, also fell victim to the pandemic. Nevertheless, the historic occasion was commemorated virtually with pivotal moments in Canadian golf being recalled on social media platforms using the hashtag #GolfCanada125.

Golf Canada announces that St. George’s Golf and Country Club will play host to the 2021 RBC Canadian Open. The 2020 championship, scheduled for St. George’s, was cancelled due to the pandemic.

July

Team Canada’s Brigitte Thibault of Rosemere, Que., won the Women’s Western Amateur in Illinois.

The LPGA Tour announced it would resume July 31 without spectators after having suspended play in February.

August

Golf Canada and Canadian Pacific announced that Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club will play host to the 2022 CP Women’s Open.

 

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The Golf Canada Women in Coaching Program, a partnership between Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada with the goal of putting the sport on the path to further balance between the sexes at a high level, was announced.

The new and free Golf Canada app was launched, allowing golfers nationwide to record and track their scores, trace where they have played and provide detailed game statistics as a game improvement tool.

🚨NEW FEATURE🚨

The Golf Canada app now includes free GPS distances 👀

Download: https://t.co/7WhwEb7Cyc pic.twitter.com/SlG7eEnewQ

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) September 18, 2020

The PGA TOUR announced that the 2024 Presidents Cup will return to The Royal Montreal Golf Club. The event, which pits the top male pros from the U.S. against the best from the rest of the world (except Britain and Europe), was held there in 2007.

Golf Canada and U.S.-based First Tee announced the launch of First Tee-Canada. The partnership will bring First Tee’s youth development emphasis to strengthen Golf Canada’s junior golf activities —previously conducted under the Future Links brand — that reach kids in schools and at golf facilities. The innovative First Tee curriculum will focus on empowering young people to build strength of character through the game of golf.

 

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September

The third annual CP Women’s Leadership Summit, held virtually due to the pandemic, provided inspiring stories and a networking opportunity along with accepting donations for the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation. Hosted by TSN anchor Lindsay Hamilton, speakers included golfers Lorie Kane and Brooke Henderson, Olympians Marnie McBean and Perdita Felicien and other prominent women in leadership positions. “It was a success story for us,” said Mary Beth McKenna, assistant RBC Canadian Open tournament director who has co-led the event since it began.

The Golf Journalists Association of Canada announced that Kim Locke of Toronto, founder and president of SCOREGolf, was the 2020 recipient of the Dick Grimm Award. The association’s highest honour is awarded in memory of the late Richard Grimm whose legendary service to the RBC Canadian Open and the Canadian golf industry remains unparalleled.

Laurent Desmarchais of Bromont, Que., a member of Team Canada’s junior squad, went wire-to-wire to win the season-ending Canada Life Series Championship at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley.

October

PGA TOUR Champions rookie Mike Weir of Bright’s Grove, Ont., had victory in sight leading by three strokes heading into the final round of the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in Virginia but fellow rookie Phil Mickelson denied him the win. It was Weir’s third top-10 finish in eight starts on the tour.

PGA of Canada member Jennifer Greggain of Chilliwack, B.C., was named coach of the National Junior Squads by Golf Canada, working with head coach Robert Ratliffe.

Findlay Young of Prince George, B.C., a former Golf Canada president and honourary life governor, passed away at the age of 92.

November

Twenty-nine athletes, male and female, were named by Golf Canada to represent Team Canada as part of the 2021 national Amateur and Junior Squads. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all athletes from the 2020 squad were able to return in 2021, provided they met team eligibility criteria.

Aaron Cockerill of Stone Mountain, Man., finished T4 at the JoBurg Open in South Africa, his best career finish on the European Tour.

The Economic Impact of Golf in Canada (2019) report, conducted on behalf of the national Allied Golf Associations (We Are Golf), was released. Among its findings were that the Canadian golf industry generated $18.2 billion in economic benefits, employs the equivalent of nearly 249,000 people through direct and spin-off effects and contributed to $10.6 billion in household income.

⛳️ Accounts for an estimated $18.2B of Canada’s GDP
⛳️ Directly employed nearly 150,000 full-time positions
⛳️ Contributed $4.8B in household income

More on the 2019 Economic Impact of Golf in Canada
➡️ https://t.co/aTfPBoHUp3 pic.twitter.com/fg7f0Z2LAy

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) November 2, 2020

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., finished in a tie for 10^th at the Masters, which was postponed from its traditional April date due to the pandemic. That finish guaranteed him a spot in the 2021 Masters.

 

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Golf Genius Software, the leading worldwide provider of tournament management solutions, announced that Golf Canada and the provincial golf associations will begin using Golf Genius Tournament Management for their competitions in 2021.

So while what lies ahead for 2021 remains unclear, we can only hope that when we compile next year’s “Year in Review,” life as we know it will have returned to a semblance of normality, on the course and off.

Elk Ridge Resort is proud to announce the hiring of Ryan Wells as the newest team member and role of Resort Golf Professional.

Managing Partner Ryan Danberg stated “We have acquired Ryan to take our golfing experience to a new level! We are overly excited to have him join our team, and I look forward to working with him.”

Ryan is originally from Prince Edward Island and it’s where he fell in love with the game of golf playing at an elite level as a junior and college career. This great game has taken Ryan Coast to Coast. He turned pro in 2006 and worked at Eagle Ranch Resort, Invermere, BC. Ryan spent 6 years at Eagle Ranch honing their customer service platform before making the move to Prince Albert, SK. He worked as the Associate Professional at Cooke Municipal Golf Course for 8 years. Over his 8 years in Prince Albert, he grew the junior and lesson programs with the help of the local community and his driven passion for the game. He was awarded with the 2017 & 2019 Assistant Class “A” PGA of Canada/Saskatchewan as well as the 2019 Peter Cushner Order of Merit Award. Ryan spent the last year as the Head Professional at The Dunes Golf & Winter Club in Grand Prairie, AB.

Our Routes2SK group is excited for Ryan’s arrival. His love and passion for the game of golf, along with his overall leadership with exemplary customer service standards, will be a great asset to the Elk Ridge clientele. We look forward to Ryan joining our team on March 1st, 2021. Please join us in welcoming Ryan and his wife, Megan and their 2 year old daughter, Palmer to the Elk Ridge Resort and community.

We are also please to announce that our new Restaurant The Wyld @ Elk Ridge is now open for the public Friday, Dec. 18 at 3p.m. Visit our web page to get any resort updates.

Release courtesy Elk Ridge Resort.

(Golf Saskatchewan will be reaching out to Ryan for an interview to discuss his return to northern Saskatchewan.)

Tom Kinsman is a long-time Manitoba based golf professional but for the last couple years has called Lloydminster home.

Kinsman assists Marty Wheaton at the Lloydminster Golf & Curling Centre after a lengthy career at Southwood Golf & Country Club in Winnipeg.

Last week he was announced as one of the 2020 Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame inductees. Golf Saskatchewan spoke with Kinsman via Zoom to discuss his career and the honour.