After careful consideration, the PGA of Canada has made the difficult decision to cancel its final two national events of the season: the PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada presented by Callaway Golf and PGA Head Professional Championship of Canada presented by Callaway Golf and supported by G&G Golf.

The decision was made in consultation with playing members and partners and comes as a result of ongoing domestic and international restrictions on travel, as well as safety concerns caused by the pandemic.

The PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada presented by Callaway Golf is typically held within Canada in the fall, while the PGA Head Professional Championship of Canada presented by Callaway Golf and supported by G&G Golf is historically held south of the border toward the end of November.

“We surveyed our playing members to gauge their interest on a combined national championship within Canada later this season,” said Teejay Alderdice, the association’s president. “Some players expressed their willingness to travel but a significant portion shared their unease in light of the current climate. We feel it is in the best interest of everyone involved to come back bigger and stronger in 2021.”

“We value our relationship with the PGA of Canada and our connection with golf professionals from coast-to-coast,” said Callaway Golf Canada’s General Manager Bruce Carroll. “We will miss the camaraderie and competition this year, but the well-being of players is of utmost importance. Our team looks forward to staging two fantastic championships with the PGA of Canada in 2021.”

In addition to supporting two national championships, Callaway Golf Canada is the founding partner of the PGA of Canada’s #PatronizeYourPGAPro social media campaign, aimed at encouraging golfers to support their local pro shop. The online activation, which ran Aug. 7 to Sept. 15, provides golf professionals with the chance to win a VIP digital experience with PGA Tour player and Callaway ambassador Adam Hadwin.

The cancellations will have no impact on the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC, which were frozen earlier this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

With the health and safety risks around COVID-19, and the inability to deliver a “phenomenal” event, the Niagara 2021 Canada Summer Games have been postponed until 2022.

The Canada Games Council (CGC) and Niagara Host Society announced the decision Wednesday after consultations with the Niagara Region in southern Ontario, and the provincial and federal governments.

“Like everyone else in sports events and the world generally we’ve all been watching how the pandemic unfolds, and following all the updates, trying to do our contingency planning and assess what impact it would have for us,” said Dan Wilcock, the CGC’s president and CEO.

“The Canada Games is a very large event . . . A lot of preparation goes into it. And we’ve been staying in close contact with all our all our various stakeholders trying to assess what a Games looks like in the context of the pandemic.”

Originally scheduled for August of 2021 in the Niagara Region, the Games have been rescheduled to the summer of 2022.

Held every two years, alternating between summer and winter, the Canada Games are the country’s marquee multi-sports event for up-and-coming athletes, with more than 5,000 competitors and 4,000 volunteers expected to participate in the Niagara version.

The Canada Games have eligibility rules such as age limits that are different for each sport. No decisions have been made on whether those eligibility rules will change to reflect the postponement.

Some sports have managed to return in Canada. The NHL reconvened in “bubbles” in Edmonton and Toronto, with the conference finals and Stanley Cup final being held in the Alberta capital. Canada’s three MLS teams are playing in their home cities, with the majority of matches in front of no fans.

The Canadian Elite Basketball League condensed its season into a two-week tournament in St. Catharines, Ont., with no fans. And the Canadian Premier League is playing out its soccer season in Charlottetown.

But none of those events drew the number of athletes the Canada Games does.

Wilcock said the numerous options including bubbles were analyzed, but the health and safety risks were too high.

“The Games brings together athletes and spectators from hundreds of communities across the country,” he said. “So, we’re not just focused on the health of participants and spectators in Niagara at the time of the Games, but also the hundreds of communities that people will return to across the country.”

Athletes are under different COVID-19 restrictions depending on municipal and provincial governments, so an athlete in one province or territory might not have the same access to training facilities as someone in another. Wilcock said being able to provide a fair Games for all competitors was important.

Also, Wilcock said hosting next summer wouldn’t ensure an “extraordinary Games experience.”

“And that’s certainly what the host society has promised to the Niagara region and the country,” he said. “The pandemic would significantly hinder our ability to stage the Games in the way they were envisaged, things like opening ceremonies, mass gatherings, etc. . . . looking questionable.

“So I think by postponing to the summer 2022, we can address both those things, we can better protect the health and safety of participants, but also deliver a phenomenal Games experience for all.”

If there’s a silver lining, Wilcock said, it’s that a later start date means additional time to for full testing of new facilities at Canada Games Park and the Henley Rowing Centre. Canada Games Park, at Brock University in St. Catharines, will include a sport and ability centre, arenas, gyms and an outdoor facility with a track, athletic field and beach volleyball courts.

No dates have been set for the 2022 Games in Niagara.

The Canada Games were first held in 1967 in Quebec City, and since then have seen more than 75,000 athletes compete, including Sidney Crosby, Steve Nash, Hayley Wickenheiser, Catriona Le May Doan, Martin Brodeur, and Lennox Lewis.

Red Deer, Alta., hosted the last Canada Winter Games in 2019, while Winnipeg was the site of the 2017 Canada Summer Games.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Mirim Lee chipped in three times Sunday, the last one for eagle on the final hole that got her into a three-way playoff at the ANA Inspiration that she won on the first extra hole with a birdie.

It was another wild finish in the LPGA major that moved from the first weekend of April to the 100-degree heat of September, and no one was more surprised than the 29-year-old Lee.

She was never in the lead at any point until she calmly holed a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th to beat Nelly Korda and Brooke Henderson, who each had the lead on the back nine.

“Yeah, I definitely played really well this week, which is definitely a really nice feeling and definitely gives me confidence moving forward,” said Henderson. “I felt like I missed a lot of putts, especially those final rounds where I feel like maybe it could have been a different story, but Mirim and Nelly played great, and I really fought my way around, so I’m happy.”

Lee pitched in from long range for par on the 16th, dropped a shot on the next hole and appeared to be out of it until her chip from behind the 18th green rammed against the pin and dropped for eagle and a 5-under 67.

Korda, the 22-year-old American going for her first major, had a two-shot lead with four holes to play and couldn’t hold it. With a one-shot lead going to the par-5 18th, Korda missed the fairway, had to lay up and missed the green to the right, having to scramble for par and a 69 just to match Lee at 15-under 273

Henderson lost the lead with a double bogey on the 13th hole that nearly cost her. But she birdied the 16th and was saved by the wall, a blue-covered structure behind the 18th that kept her second shot on the 18th from running through the green and into the water behind the island green.

She got up-and-down for birdie and a 69 to join the playoff.

On the first extra hole, Korda again missed the fairway and had to lay up, and her wedge was 25 feet short for a birdie putt that never had a chance. Henderson’s second shot came up just short, and she used putter for her eagle attempt that rolled out some 7 feet past the cup on the sun-baked, fast greens of Mission Hills. Her birdie putt missed on the left side.

Lee hit 5-wood just over the back of the putting surface, chipped to 5 feet and made the winner.

Even with world No. 1 Jin Young Ko and U.S. Women’s Open champion Jeongeun Lee6 staying home because of travel concerns with the coronavirus, Lee made it 10 consecutive years with a South Korea winning a major.

It was her fourth LPGA Tour victory, and first since the Kia Classic three years ago.

Her victory spared more conversation about the blue wall behind the 18th green, which the tournament erected in place of a hospitality chalet that was not needed this year because there were no spectators.

It was talked about all week, and the chalet in a normal year has blocked shots hit too hard. But it nearly decided the tournament. Henderson was one shot behind with her ball sitting up in the rough on the 18th in regulation. She hit 5-wood through the green and under the blue bunting, allowing for a drop.

She chipped down to 2 feet for birdie to join the three-way playoff.

Henderson needed a break after having to spend the final hour trying to catch up to Korda. The Canadian took her only lead on the 12th hole when Korda made bogey, and it didn’t last long.

Henderson drove into the right rough on the 13th and 6-iron in the wrong place – right again, with a bunker guarding the front right pin. She flopped that into the bunker and didn’t get up-and-down, leading to double bogey.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Respect ? Great run down the stretch from @brookehendersongolf, who finished T2 behind first-time major winner Mirim Lee ??

A post shared by CP Women’s Open (@cpwomensopen) on Sep 13, 2020 at 4:43pm PDT

Korda answered with a tee shot into 5 feet for birdie on the par-3 14th, and suddenly her lead was at two. But she couldn’t hang on. Henderson’s 8-foot birdie putt curled in the left side of the cup on No. 16 with perfect speed. Korda held onto the lead at the 17th with an 8-foot par putt, and that set up the big finish on the 18th.

Through it all, Lee was an afterthought until her stunning finish.

She already chipped in for birdie from short of the green at No. 6. Lee gave herself a chance by pitching in from short of the 16th green to a back pin. And after a bogey on the 17th, she went long of the 18th and chipped in for eagle, dropping her head with a soft smile in disbelief.

Lexi Thompson, going after a second title at Mission Hills, was never a serious factor after bogeys that slowed her momentum. She closed with two birdies on her last three holes for a 69 to finish two shots out of the playoff.

U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Rose Zhang birdied the 18th for a 72 to tie for 11th. She finished at 8-under 280, setting the record for lowest score by an amateur.

In the summer of 2013, at just 15-years-old, a young golf prodigy of Smiths Falls, Ont., was entering the final round of her third LPGA Tour event. A future Canadian golf star, Brooke Henderson was paired with Canadian golf legend Lorie Kane. Walking up to the final hole of the tournament, surrounded by Canadian fans at the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic held in Waterloo, Ont., Kane grabbed Henderson’s hand.

“I remember the feeling I had when I took [Brooke] by the hand,” Kane said. “I was saying to myself, whether I said it to [Brooke], ‘you are the future’.”

Flashforward to the summer of 2020, where Henderson appears alongside Kane at the CP Women’s Leadership Summit, no longer as the rookie and the veteran, but as two Canadian women in golf paving the way for future generations of women in sports.

Kane’s gesture of grabbing her hand was a subtle act, but it’s a moment that’s stuck with Henderson all these years later.

“That was just an incredible moment for me,” Henderson said.

Listening to the Summit, it became clear that moments like these; moments of pure, genuine leadership that may not seem like much at the time, can make dramatic impacts on the lives of the people influenced by them.

On Sept. 1, a diverse panel of women in positions of leadership came together for the third annual CP Women’s Leadership Summit. This year though, things were a little different because of COVID-19. Organizers pivoted to host the event virtually to accommodate safety restrictions with in-person gatherings.

Hosted by TSN anchor Lindsay Hamilton, the goal of the event was to provide inspiring stories and a networking opportunity, while also accepting donations for the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation. While the networking component wasn’t able to flourish like it has in the past, the Summit was “a success story for us” according to Mary Beth McKenna, the assistant tournament director of the RBC Canadian Open who has co-led the event since it began three years ago.

The event was divided into four sessions, each with different women discussing their experience as leaders in their respective positions. Speakers included Canadian golfers Kane and Henderson, and Olympians Marnie McBean and Perdita Felicien, among other prominent women in leadership positions.

A three-time Olympic Gold Medalist and Canada’s chef de mission for the 2020 (though postponed to 2021) Tokyo Summer Games, McBean knows a thing or two about leadership.

Though, even McBean indicated she’s always actively learning how to be a better leader. As the Summit’s first speaker, McBean spoke about her early days with rowing teammate Kathleen Heddle, and how it wasn’t necessarily the match made in heaven their later results would make it seem.

“I actually actively worked for a long time to get into a different boat because I didn’t think Kathleen had what it took because she was introverted, she was calm and quiet,” said McBean. “I was like, well, that’s not what a champion is.”

It was encountering someone with a personality and working style different to her own that McBean said taught her an important lesson on teamwork and leadership. McBean quickly learned that welcoming “the diversity of the personalities in the boat” would be crucial to their success.

“I learned to accept that as long as I stopped trying to make Kathleen me, and I let her be her authentic self, she’s extraordinary,” McBean said.

“Leadership isn’t about meeting in the middle with people, it’s about earning trust and respect. I give 100 per cent of what I have to give, and if I’ve earned it, I’ll get 100 per cent of what the people I’m working with, who I’m leading, what they have to give,” McBean said.

The overarching message on leadership from McBean was this: humility and communication. It was a theme that seemed to find its way into separate discussions by all the speakers throughout the two-hour Summit. 

Humility and the openness to continue learning and growing was a key aspect of Olympian Perdita Felicien’s discussion on overcoming adversity and her experience as a black athlete.

“It’s lifelong learning, it’s lifelong commitment,” Felicien said on how to be an ally. “I’m also learning, I’m also figuring it out.”

Felicien said she’s had conversations with friends who are white, who’ve called or texted her to say that they want to listen and learn about being an ally.

“They want this to change. They might not know exactly how, but they are here, and they are at the table and they are deciding, ‘you know what: enough is enough’,” Felicien said.

The session prior, with Candy Ho, CEO of The Cape on Bowen Community Development and Pam Arpin, assistant vice president, customer and corporate Services at Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) focused on the importance of communication.

Arpin discussed how she worked on having successful communication with her employees at the beginning of the pandemic when CP was deemed an essential service and many employees continued working at the office.

Arpin said she focused on making sure her employees knew that she was always available despite the fact that she didn’t necessarily have the answers they were looking for. She said it was important, “because any void in communication, people are going to fill up that void with their own speculation.”

Arpin said she thinks it was a missed opportunity “if you haven’t grown as a leader through this.”

It’s that aspect of humility and the willingness to grow that both Arpin and Ho emphasized in their discussion together.

It was apparent that no matter what leadership role you’re in, from CEO to a veteran golfer, being a leader transcends it all.

“We just have to be humble, have that mindset for growth, and then no barrier is a barrier, they’re all opportunities,” Ho said when asked about obstacles she’s encountered in her own career. 

While it may have been possible to view the postponement of the CP Women’s Open and the restriction from having an in-person Summit as a barrier, instead the CP Women’s Leadership Summit went on, taking advantage of the unique situation.

McKenna admitted that having to do the Summit virtually this year was a curveball, but it also opened up new opportunities.

“We had people attend outside of Canada, so you didn’t necessarily have to be in the marketplace to enjoy these great speakers,” said McKenna.

Usually in a space-restricted setting, the event has around 275 attendees, according to McKenna. This year, however, she said there were over 1,100 registrants from various countries.

Canadian Pacific staff tuning in from HQ in Calgary

McKenna also said that everything went seamlessly for the Summit, and she wants to carry that momentum into next year, with the hopes that it can be done in-person if it is safe to do so.

The key takeaway from the Summit is this: what defines a successful leader is not just one thing, on one occasion, it’s finding humility, and it’s about keeping an open line of communication, even when you don’t necessarily have the answers.

And it’s about the small, subtle acts of understanding and empathy, like taking the hand of a 15-year-old walking up to that final hole, despite being her competitor.

Henderson said that golf can teach people a lot of life lessons.

“I feel like almost every day is a challenge out there,” said Henderson. “But that’s part of the reason why we love it.”

The truth can be said about life and leadership, as well.

Built on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River, the North Battleford Golf and Country Club provides scenic views and a top tier course.

Constructed as a nine-hole course in 1971 by Ray Buffle the club became 18 holes in 1984. When asked what makes the course one of the most sought after in the province, Director of Golf Dana Johnson said the putting surfaces are the highlight of the 6,600-yard course.

“First and foremost, Grant (Sawchyn), the superintendent and his staff do a fabulous job,” Johnson said. “The golf course is not overly long in comparison with new golf courses where we get up to 7,000 yards, our golf course isn’t very long. What makes the whole golf course are the greens. You see a lot of people get out here and they think that putt is going to go right edge and it breaks right edge but more than you think. The greens make the course.”

Having the river along the course doesn’t hurt either Johnson added.

“The views are spectacular along the river valley. It’s a wonderful time to come out and golf anytime but especially in the fall with the colours in the river valley,” he said.

This year the course opened a newly designed fourth hole (pictured below). The club had issues with their previous hole, so they hired Alberta designer Gary Browning to revamp the 350-yard par-4.

“It’s a whole new hole, it’s a great new design. It’s got a fairway bunker that unfortunately catches a lot of balls, it’s 230 yards off the tee. It’s a real risk-reward hole. You have to play it once or twice to know where to miss it. It’s a great addition to our golf course,” Johnson said.

The old fourth hole will be kept in playable condition to use in case other holes need to be maintained during a season allowing the course to still have 18 in play.

Johnson has been at the North Battleford course since 1990. He has run successful junior programs over the past 30 years teaching upwards of 200 kids in some seasons. Johnson and the staff set up mini courses for juniors as well as having swing camps early in the season. The programs were idle this year due to the COVID rules but have seen many years of success.

“We see the numbers fluctuate,” Johnson explained. “Last year I think we taught about 240 or 250 kids which is absolutely awesome. We really take the time for the kids. We lose a lot of the kids in the summer time because a lot of the kids are enjoying summer at the lake, so we lose a lot of those kids once school is over. We see them come back in September when they are back in school.”

Johnson added that it’s a special feeling seeing people he taught come back with their own kids to the course.

“It’s a great thing to see. We see these young kids; I think back to when I started in the 90’s when I came back and see these kids and how they developed into great people from what the game of golf teaches you. I see these kids come back with their kids and they look at me say I remember when Mr. Johnson taught me and hopefully I can teach their son or daughter. It’s a great thrill to see how the kids have developed and still playing golf. It’s a family game they can play for a lifetime,” Johnson said.

As the 2020 season ends on Oct. 15 Johnson said the club is beginning preparations next year as the course celebrates their 50^th anniversary.

You can hear more from Johnson below who spoke with Golf Saskatchewan’s Clark Stork.

Home club – I have been a member of Riverside Golf & Country Club for 20 years.

Handicap/Index – I have been able to maintain my handicap at around 8.

Rounds per year – I play about 60 rounds a year.

Favourite player – My wife Sharon and Sergio Garcia

Favourite golf quote – “I’m as surprised as you are!”

Years with Golf Saskatchewan – 12

Area(s) of service – Course rating, Referee, Handicap Committee and instructor.

How did you get involved with Golf Saskatchewan? I got started with Golf Saskatchewan when a friend of mine was doing course rating and he suggested that I would like to do that as well. I have always enjoyed organizing golf events, and being a Course rater, being a rules official, and being the Handicap chairman at our golf club. It has allowed me to be more involved in all aspects of golf.

What do you like about volunteering? It is very rewarding to me to help Golf Saskatchewan and our golf club with rating, rules and handicapping. I also get to associate with other like-minded golfers from around the province.

What would you say to others about volunteering, not only for Golf Saskatchewan but any organization? I would recommend to anyone who is interested in becoming more educated about golf to volunteer in any of these areas with Golf Saskatchewan.

Robert Klombies jokes that his wife has been trying to “get them back to Saskatoon for about 15 years.” In March the family’s goal was met as Klombies took over the role of executive director at Riverside Country Club.

After careers in British Columbia, Ontario, and Manitoba across the hospitality and sports membership facilities the departure of Jana-Lyn Fairbairn at the private club opened the door for the Klombies to make the move back to their home province. Klombies took over operation of the course in March shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the shutdown of the club. Despite the uncertainties he said his first season has gone well.

“It’s a great opportunity for golf as an industry,” he told Golf Saskatchewan this week. “The amount of people who are playing, the people who are taking it up, and learning and getting involved with it, it’s been really positive. Obviously it’s not business as usual but we’ve seen the rounds up year over year.”

Klombies said their rounds are up immensely at the club. Rounds increased by 40 percent in June, 74 percent in July, and 38 percent in August from last years numbers. He added that he feels for other sports not operating during the pandemic, but it’s great to see golf flourish.

“It’s been great to see everyone out there and enjoying it,” he said.

Although Klombies has been gone from Saskatchewan for 30 years the Riverside is very familiar to him. His father has been a member for 60 years and at 90 years old he still plays at the club. Klombies said the course is an exceptional place to be.

“It’s got a great layout for one thing and the location on the riverside is second to none,” he beamed. “I’ve golfed a lot of great courses in Canada, this is by far my favourite. Just the layout and topography makes it a special place.”

Riverside is recognized among Canada’s top courses on an annual basis it seems. This year the course ranked was ranked 75^th on SCOREGOLF’s top 100 list.

“It has a good reputation,” Klombies continued. “A lot of people from other areas of the country really enjoy coming here and getting a chance to play. We’re pretty proud of it.”

Klombies added his first season couldn’t have happened without the help of the staff and management team. Superintendent Dave Campbell has been at the club for 47 years after taking over for his father in the position. Professional Earl Scott has been at the club over 20 years. Along with the restaurant, administration and proshop staff, Klombies said their team is fantastic at what they do providing service to their members.

“The services we have is very high quality for our members. We’re always looking to make it better and how can we improve and what can we add to make the experience that much better,” he said.

Having finished in a tie for second spot behind Glen Erickson in 2018 and ending up five strokes back of multi-time champion Colin Coben last year, Medicine Hat’s Warren Gnam once again found himself in the mix for the Senior Lobstick title at the Waskesiu Golf Course this week.

Gnam left nothing to chance on Thursday evening as he made a birdie putt on the final hole to win the championship flight for the first time.

“It’s definitely nice to win it, as eventually you are going to get old and run out of chances,” Gnam joked shortly after he received the championship trophy.

“I don’t know if it’s sunk in yet. There’s a lot of good guys in this tournament and its a great course. It’s a joy to come up here every year.”

Having entered the day just one shot off the lead, Gnam fired a round of 71 for a three-day total score of 219 to edge Brad Phelps of Saskatoon by a single stroke.

Although he didn’t realize it at the time, his short birdie putt on the 18th green proved to be the difference in the tournament.

“Brad and Colin were in the group behind us, but we hadn’t talked to them all day so we really didn’t know where they were at in their rounds,” Gnam said.

“I kind of pulled the (approach) shot a little bit. It hit the hill and ended up bouncing about three or four feet away from the hole, so it worked out pretty well in the end.”

Coben ended up four shots behind Gnam in third spot, with Mark Robinson and Tony Turay rounding out the top five.

Erickson, Martin Ring and Doug Kozak made up the rest of the championship flight.

The finish to super senior event wasn’t quite as dramatic as Biggar’s Keith Silvernagle cruised to a nine-shot victory over Blair Sterling.

“It’s like they always say…fairways and greens,” Silvernagle said. “That’s the approach that I always take and I ended up staying out of trouble all week. Plus, I made the odd putt, which doesn’t hurt either

“This is probably one of the best tournaments to take part in, whether it’s in June or in September like it is this year due to COVID-19. The people that run this event make it something that we look forward to each year.”

Murray Osborn, defending champion Gary Tuffs, Jim Scissons and Bob Beebe made up the rest of the super senior championship flight.

The final major event at Waskesiu will be the annual Men’s Lobstick tournament, which will run from Sept. 21-25.

Story originally published by the Prince Albert Herald and authored by Lucas Punkari. Republished with permission.

Like many of you, I’ve always been diligent about maintaining an accurate handicap. The reasons are ridiculously obvious: I want to know if my game is improving (or not) and I want to ensure that when I compete in net events, I’m being honest and equitable with my fellow competitors.

I never really thought about the mechanics of the system, perhaps because I was too lazy or disinterested to read through the ponderous Handicap Manual (now called the Rules of Handicapping). I gave full credit to the boffins who came up with the convoluted doorstop but never cared to interview the geniuses behind the curtain.

And then, this year, along came the World Handicap System.

Perhaps because of the restrictions due to COVID-19, golfers had more time on their hands. In any case, I’ve never been asked more handicap-related questions at the course or on social media. So, taking a cue from the manuals that accompany your new car or fridge or TV, here’s my version of a “Quick Start Guide” for the World Handicap System.

Why a new handicap system?

Why not? Golf now has both a globally recognized set of Rules as well as a worldwide handicap system. Even if you never travel outside Canada, you can be assured you are playing the same game as every other golfer around the world. The new system may require some tweaking after it’s been in effect for a while but it’s doubtful there will be another significant revision in the near future.

How does the new World Handicap System work?

At one of the meetings of the 23-member committee tasked with creating the new system, a USGA delegate compared understanding the intricacies of the handicapping system with air travel.

“I have no idea how an airplane works. I don’t understand jet propulsion, aeronautics and so on, but I trust that when I get on that plane, it will get me safely to the destination I intended.”*

Likewise, the process of coming up with the World Handicap System would make your head spin, so just concern yourself with the final outcome.

But if you’re in quarantine or a masochist or one of those aforementioned boffins, you can review the Rules of Handicapping here.

Has the Course Handicap calculation changed?

Yes. To your benefit. Under the old system, there might have been just a two- or three-shot difference in your Course Handicap from the front to back set of tees, despite the fact that those tee decks might be separated by 1,500 yards.

Under the new system, that difference now might be 10 to 12 shots because the par of the course has been integrated into the calculation.

Why doesn’t my Handicap Index go up when I post a high score?

Under the old system, the low 10 of your most recent 20 scores were used to calculate your Handicap Index. Under the new system, the low eight are used. So that bad score may not enter into the calculation. Similarly, using the most recent eight scores instead of 10 may have lowered your Index.

What the heck is Net Double Bogey?

“Net Double Bogey” has replaced the old Equitable Stroke Control system (ESC).

Now everyone’s maximum score for handicap purposes is net double bogey. Simply put, this is the par of the hole PLUS two strokes (double bogey) PLUS any handicap strokes you may be allowed on that hole.

If you don’t want to have to figure that out when you’re posting your score, let the Golf Canada Score Center do it for you. When you enter your score hole by hole, the Score Center automatically adjusts for net double bogey.

And for those of you complaining about posting scores hole by hole: You play the game hole by hole so why not post your score that way? It takes only a couple of minutes and provides some interesting data.

Here’s my Super Easy Quick Start Guide:

Post all your scores hole by hole immediately after your round. Let the Golf Canada Score Centre take care of the rest. And check out the new app which makes the process even easier.

(*Thanks to Craig Loughry, Director of Golf Services at Golf Ontario, for this anecdote and other invaluable assistance with this article. Loughry was the Canadian representative on the World Handicap Operations Committee.)

The 2020 CP Women’s Leadership Summit — conducted virtually for the first time ever.

The Summit features guest speakers such as former CP Women’s Open champion Brooke Henderson, Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Lorie Kane, TSN personality Lindsay Hamilton and Olympians Perdita Felicien and Marnie McBean.