British Columbia Golf

Clark and Faithfull receive awards

April 1, 2014
Morgan Gibbens (British Columbia Golf)

Betty Clark and George Faithfull were honoured over the weekend with the Distinguished Service Award. The two devoted volunteers were acknowledged with the distinction for their hard work and significant volunteer contributions to British Columbia Golf.

Read more: Clark and Faithfull receive awards

AJ Ewart Claims Victory at Future Collegians World Tours Event

A.J. Ewart, a 14-year-old from Coquitlam, claimed victory at the Future Collegians World Tour event hosted by the Sandpiper GC in Santa Barbara, CA from February 15-16.

Read more: AJ Ewart Claims Victory at Future Collegians World Tours Event

British Columbia Golf Launches New Website and Newsletter

British Columbia Golf has partnered with Inside Golf publications to develop a new website and new newsletter format that will help us improve our communications capability with our members and other interested golfers. We have been struggling with older systems that limit our capabilities and it was time to refresh our look and feel, and how we communicate with our members.

Read more: British Columbia Golf Launches New Website and Newsletter

Royal Colwood's Place In History

by Dale Jackson

Svensson Goes Down in Barry U Record Books with Victory

Adam Svensson made history at Barry University earlier in March, winning his fifth tournament of the season at the Bobcat Invitational in Eatonton, Georgia.

Read more: Svensson Goes Down in Barry U Record Books with Victory

Canada’s Adam Hadwin Wins Chile Classic

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Canada's Adam Hadwin won the Chile Classic for first Web.com Tour title, birdieing the final two holes for a one-stroke victory over Australia's Alistair Presnell.

Read more: Canada’s Adam Hadwin Wins Chile Classic

2014 Annual General Meeting

(RICHMOND, BRITISH COLUMBIA) – The winners of the 2013 Titleist Order of Merit Award were announced Saturday at Mayfair Lakes Golf and Country Club during the British Columbia Golf 11th Annual General Meeting after another abundantly successful season for British Columbia golfers.

The athletes who have collected the most points in their age and gender category are awarded the prestigious title annually.

The 2013 recipients included Kevin Carrigan (Men’s Mid-Amateur), Norm Bradley (Sr. Men’s), Kris Yardley (Men’s Master-40), Adam Svensson (Men’s Amateur), Kevin Kwon (Junior Boys’), Allison Murdoch (Sr. Women’s), Taylor Kim (Women’s), Alix Kong (Jr. Girls’), and Christina Proteau (Women’s Mid-Amateur).

Murdoch extended her gratitude, echoing the sentiments of all the athletes awarded, stating, “I appreciate the support of the association on a continuing basis and also how I consider that I am able to benefit from the high standard of championships put on by British Columbia Golf. I am proud to represent British Columbia Golf wherever I go.”

Distinguished Service Award

Betty Clark and George Faithful were also honoured over the weekend with the Distinguished Service Award. The two devoted volunteers were acknowledged with the distinction for their hard work and significant volunteer contributions to British Columbia Golf.

Clark began working for the British Columbia Golf Association in 1988 and remained with the Association for 20 years. Clark also volunteered with British Columbia Golf on the provincial, club and zone levels, despite working full time, and has continued to be an active volunteer ever since her retirement.

Congratulations on the award were extended to Faithful by Doug Alexander, President of Golf Canada, demonstrating that the volunteer contributions of Faithful have been acknowledged at all levels of golf in Canada. Hailed as a mentor, Faithful has volunteered at countless events provincially and nationally, his hard work never waning.

British Columbia Golf is proud to recognize Clark and Faithful for their tireless volunteer efforts over their many years of contribution.

Election of directors

In addition, British Columbia Golf is happy to announce that returning members, Kathleen Mackenzie and Barry Petrachenko, have been re-elected to the Board of Directors for the upcoming three years.

Moving Forward

As announced by British Columbia Golf President, David Atkinson at the AGM, this year the organization hopes to focus on membership and participation in the sport of golf.

“These days we all know that there are many more sport activity options from which kids and parents can choose, and we want to make sure that golf can be one of those chosen options,” stated Atkinson.

British Columbia Golf hopes to promote the sport through programs such as “Playground to Fairway” for school-aged children that not only helps build the foundation for learning the fundamentals of golf, but generally increases physical literacy in young children.

Going forward widespread physical literacy is the key goal of children’s programs.

“In more remote areas we partner with other sport organizations to cross-train individuals on several sports in the same visit. That program is called SOAR (Sharing Our Activities and Resources),” Atkinson continued.

The Association is committed to promoting physical literacy and the sport of golf as financially responsibly as possible.

With programs in place to help promote the sport, Atkinson is confident membership and involvement will be on the rise.

“I believe that within the British Columbia golfing community, we do have the collective skills, abilities and strength of will necessary for our sport to regain its former health.”

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They Said It: An Interview With Nick Taylor

by Bryan Outram

With an amateur career that rivals the best to ever play the game in not only B.C. or Western Canada but all of the country - (with all due respect to Doug Roxburgh) - Abbostford, British Columbia's Nick Taylor is beginning to show the same consistent skills as a young professional that had him ranked as the number one amateur in the world for a 20 week span in 2009.

Read more: They Said It: An Interview With Nick Taylor

Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews will vote in September on whether to have women as members for the first time in its 260-year history.

A statement from the club Wednesday said all committees are “strongly in favour of the rule change and are asking members to support it.”

The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews has about 2,400 members from around the world and dates to 1754. The clubhouse is among the most famous buildings in golf, overlooking the Old Course at St. Andrews.

Pressure has been building in recent years on the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews to change its men-only policy, especially after Augusta National Golf Club announced in August 2012 that it was inviting two women to join – former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore.

The British Open last year was held at Muirfield, one of three links courses on the Open rotation that does not allow female members.

“This is welcome news from the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, and I urge its members to follow their committees’ recommendations and vote `yes’ for women members,” British sports minister Helen Grant said in a statement. “It would mark a step in the right direction for the sport and I would hope encourage the remaining golf clubs that still have anachronistic single-sex member policies to follow suit.”

The next Open at a men-only club is in 2016 at Royal Troon.

The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews devolved responsibility for running the Open Championship and administering the Rules of Golf to a separate entity in 2004 known as The R&A.

The R&A governs golf everywhere in the world except for the United States and Mexico. It also organizes the British Open and other championships.

Burnaby Golf "reaches out" to 20,000 new youth golfers

By Alfie Lau; It's a Lower Mainland golf success story that has seen 20,000 students in the last decade pick up the pointers of a sport that they play for the rest of their lives.

Read more: Burnaby Golf "reaches out" to 20,000 new youth golfers