Looking Back At Nanaimo Golf Club's Ninth Green. The British Columbia Men's & Women's Mid-Amateur Championships Take Place Here From May 31 - June 2nd - Image Courtesy Nanaimo GC

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

If you haven’t had the opportunity to play Nanaimo Golf Club, chances are you have driven right by it. Drive off the ferry at Departure Bay in Nanaimo and head north up Island and you can’t miss it on the right hand side of the road. 

It's been there since 1962, which is only slightly longer than head professional Kerry Davison, who joined the course in 1983 and never left. That was not the original plan.

Victoria's Naomi Ko, Who Plays Out Of Royal Colwood GC, Has Qualified For This Summer's U.S. Women's Open - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Naomi Ko called it the round of her life and it could not have come at a better time for the 18-year-old Victoria native. A clutch five-under 67 in the second round of a 36-hole sectional qualifier at The Home Course in Dupont, Wash., earned Ko a spot in this summer’s U.S. Women’s Open.

Ko, a member of Canada’s national amateur team and former B.C. Junior Girls champion, topped a field of 48 players to earn the one spot available at the Monday qualifier.

The Oregon Golf Association Reclaimed The PNGA Cup At Richmond Country Club By One Point Over Washington's Team With BC Golf And Idaho Coming In 3rd And 4th - Image Courtesy BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The PNGA Cup is headed back to Oregon, where it should feel right at home. After all, the Oregon Golf Association won five of the first seven PNGA Cup competitions, which began back in 2006. But after its win in 2012 the well went dry. Oregon had been blanked in the past three PNGA Cups. That changed Friday at Richmond Country Club when Oregon reclaimed the cup, beating Washington by a single point in the Ryder Cup-style team competition that also featured squads from British Columbia and Idaho.

Ex-Major League Pitcher Erik Hanson Has Transitioned Very Nicely From The Mound In Baseball To The Tee Box In High Level Amateur Golf

Former Major League Pitcher Now A Top Amateur Golfer In Washington State

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

A nasty curveball was Erik Hanson’s bread-and-butter pitch when he was striking out batters in the majors. As an amateur golfer, Hanson now prefers to pound the ball straight down the middle. When his pitching career ended back in the late 1990s, Hanson transitioned to golf. He will tell you that switch came easy and that pitching and golfing have a lot in common.

Craig Doell (L) And Partner Lance Lundy (R) Were Looking Out For Each Other During The Opening Day Of The PNGA Cup Matches At Richmond CC - Image Credit Bryan Outram

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Craig Doell and Lance Lundy had a nice opening day at the PNGA Cup, but were left lamenting the half-point that slipped away. After winning their morning four-ball match 5&3 over Jim Dunlap and Tom Greller of the Oregon Golf Association, Doell and Lundy had a one-up lead heading to the 18th tee of their afternoon alternate-shot match against Erik Hanson and Scott Johnson of the Washington State Golf Association.

Team BC, Led By PNGA Cup Veterans Alison Murdoch (Above Left) And Craig Doell (Above Right) Will Be Looking To Use Home Field Advantage To Bring Home The PNGA Cup (Above Middle)

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

This is Year No. 11 of the PNGA Cup and Alison Murdoch can tell you about every one of the previous 10. Murdoch has played in them all and once again will be part of Team British Columbia when this year’s PNGA Cup matches are played Thursday and Friday at Richmond Country Club.

“It’s a really, really good kickoff to the competitive season,” Murdoch said before she played her practice round Wednesday at Richmond. “You run into the really good people from around the region at the beginning of the season, so you have an idea of how your game is shaping up. I only get to play match play a couple of times a year, so I always enjoy this competition.”

via British Columbia Golf

British Columbia Golf is proud to announce the election of Patrick Kelly as the association's newest President. Kelly assumes the role from now immediate Past President David Atkinson, who has held the position since 2013.

Patrick, who operates a consulting business, is a member of the Leq:amel First Nation (Sto:lo Nation.) and was elected their Treaty Representative for treaty negotiations, a role he held from 1998 to 2001. He has had a number of high level positions including a five-year term as Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor of BC.

Clockwise From Top Left: Southern California Golf Association Executive Director Kevin Heaney, The Honourable Mary Polak, BC's Minister of The Environment, USGA agronomist Larry Gilhuly, Western Canada Turfgrass Executive Director Jerry Rousseau And British Columbia Golf Executive Director Kris Jonasson

British Columbia Golf

The highlight of the recent Annual General Meeting for British Columbia Golf, other than simply holding the event at the beautiful Tsawwassen Springs facility, was definitely the morning seminar and the presentations made by the distinguished guest speakers. 

British Columbia Golf Executive Director Kris Jonasson assembled a very impressive lineup that included USGA agronomist Larry Gilhuly, whose talk was entitled 'Sustainability...And The Real Story of The U.S. Open at Chambers Bay', Southern California Golf Association Executive Director Kevin Heaney, Western Canada Turfgrass Executive Director Jerry Rousseau and the Honourable Mary Polak, BC's Minister of The Environment.

 Langley's Jessica Wallace Sits Fifth On The Symetra Tour Money List After Her Latest Top 10 Finish On The LPGA Tour's Developmental Circuit - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Langley’s Jessica Wallace recorded her second top-10 finish Sunday in three Symetra Tour starts this year at the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial tourney in Fort Myers, Fla. Wallace closed with a one-under 71 to finish the 72-hole event at two-under par and tied for eighth place.

The Chico’s tourney had a unique format that saw members of the LPGA’s Legends Tour play with Symetra Tour players on the weekend.

SOAR — Which Stands For Sharing Our Activities And Resources—Combines Curl BC's Capital One Rocks And Rings, British Columbia Golf’s Playground To Fairway And Tennis BC’s Tennis For Schools Programs, Bringing A Three-Day Snapshot To Elementary Schools Across The Province - All Images Courtesy SOAR

Three Provincial Sport Associations Have Collaborated To Reach Elementary Students In The Province’s More Remote Communities

by Haley Cameron  

“Left on what?” prompted Maureen Blaseckie to a gymnasium full of grade threes at Duncan, B.C.’s Alex Aitken Elementary School earlier this spring.

“Lemon!” came the resounding response from the excited group of eight year olds. “And right on what?” asked Blaseckie, holding up an oversized golf club to show its colour-coded grip to the class.“Raspberry!” they replied. “The grip is the hardest part of the game,” Blaseckie explained. “But you guys are experts now, so the rest is easy.”

Blaseckie, an avid curler out of the Archie Browning rink in Esquimalt, was in Duncan for three days at the end of March to lead the local SOAR delivery.

Comox Golf Club's Edith Albrecht (R) Is Welcomed By Club Captain Sharon Crowe At The Zone 6 Spring Captains’ Meeting - Image Courtesy Comox Golf Club/Sharon Crowe

by Sharon Crowe, Comox Ladies Club Capt. 

Recently, Edith Albrecht celebrated her 90th birthday. She started her golfing career at age 25, hitting balls in her brother-in-law’s blackberry field. She was hooked by the game and started participating in tournaments in Zone 6, all over Vancouver Island and BC.

The CN Future Links Mobile Golf Clinics are FREE and they're coming to Eaglequest Golf Centres in Coquitlam and Coyote Creek in Surrey.

The 2016 PNGA Cup is being held this year from May 4-6 at the Richmond Country Club in Richmond, British Columbia.

This Ryder-Cup style championship features some of the most notable amateur golfers in the Pacific Northwest region with 12-member teams representing the regional golf associations that makeup the Pacific Northwest Golf Association, which includes British Columbia Golf, Idaho Golf Association, Oregon Golf Association, and Washington State Golf Association.

Teams play four-ball, foursome and singles matches to select a champion.

British Columbia Golf is a leader and steward of golf, building participation and supporting the sport by providing resources, education and competition for British Columbians.

Thanks to the continued support from viaSPORT British Columbia and the Province of B.C.'s Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, the programs delivered by British Columbia Golf can continue to be made available throughout the province. The funding put forward from the Province of British Columbia is vital to these programs.

image credit Bryan Outram

USGA Agronomist Larry Gilhuly Rebuked Many Of The Vicious Reports Regarding The Condition Of The Greens At Chambers Bay During The 2015 U.S. Open

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Nearly 10 months later, Larry Gilhuly remains adamant that Chambers Bay did not get a fair shake. 

Gilhuly, the west region agronomist with the United States Golf Association, told the recent annual general meeting of British Columbia Golf that there was a lot of misinformation from the media about the condition of the greens at the 2015 U.S. Open.

image courtesy BCGSA via Twitter

Bid On Rounds Of Golf To Support A Great Cause With Rounds 4 Research 

Bid now to get great deals on great golf! Whether you choose to bid on courses that have challenged the greatest players in golf or whether you just want a great deal on a local gem, you are supporting the future of the game by funding turfgrass research programs.

image courtesy GNAC (Great Northwest Athletic Conference)

Simon Fraser University Sophomore Chris Crisologo Has Been Named To The British Columbia Golf Morse Cup Team For The 50th Pacific Coast Amateur 

British Columbia Golf has named its Morse Cup team for the 50th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship being held at the Seattle Golf Club in Washington State from July 26-29. 

The Morse Cup Team Competition has been held as part of the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship since 1967. The last team from British Columbia to claim the title was in 2013 when the event was hosted by Capilano Golf & Country Club.

Image Credit Alfie Lau

BC Provincial Coach Jody Jackson (Left) Will Help Lead The Vancouver Island Provincial ID Camp

courtesy British Columbia Golf

British Columbia Golf will be hosting a Provincial-Regional ID Camp on Saturday, May 7th, 2016 at Arbutus Ridge Golf Course, home of the 2016 BC Junior Boys Championship.

The training/ID camp will be led by two BC Provincial Golf Coaches, Jody Jackson and Matt Cella and is designed to identify juveniles and juniors on the competitive pathway for the "Introduction to Competition" and “Learn to Compete” stages of development under the Long Term Player Development Guide For Golf. The LTPD Guide can be found at www.golfcanada.ca

By Brad Ziemer

The golf industry in British Columbia has managed to get the attention of government by speaking with one clear voice. That was the message Kris Jonasson, executive director of British Columbia Golf, delivered to the association’s annual general meeting at Tsawwassen Springs.

Jonasson, who is entering his 20th year as executive director of B.C. Golf, spoke about the success the Allied Golf Association of British Columbia has had working with government. That association represents a broad cross-section of the industry, from club pros to course superintendents, course owners and club managers.