The First Study To Assess Spectator Physical Activity While Watching Golf Shows Fans Averaged Nearly 12,000 Steps Per Day, With 82.9% Achieving Their Recommended Daily Step-Count - Image Credit (LET/Tristan Jones -ladieseuropeantour.com)

(ST. ANDREWS, SCO) – The University of Edinburgh in conjunction with the Golf & Health Project released new research about the health benefits of golf spectating, showing those who attend golf events could potentially gain benefits similar to those playing in them. 

The study is the first to assess spectator physical activity while watching golf, showing that of the fans surveyed, 82.9% met the recommended daily step-count levels by achieving on average 11,589 steps.

The study suggests that golf spectating can provide health enhancing physical activity; whilst also allowing spectators to spend time in green space, socialise with friends and family, and watch their sporting heroes compete in real life.

The much anticipated start of British Columbia Golf's 'Get Out And Play' program launches this Sunday commensurate with Golf Canada's 'Get Out And Golf Day' celebration. 

The goal is to see 150,000 British Columbians partake in 1.5 million golf activities in a span of 150 days beginning on May 28th. As of right now, the Golf Activities Centre is up and running on the Golf Canada site and we will begin officially 'counting activities' beginning this Sunday, the 28th.

It's a simple process to become involved and help reach this goal as we help celebrate Canada's 150th in a fun, healthy and inclusive enviroment.

FAR HILLS, N.J., USA and ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND (March 1, 2017) – The USGA and The R&A have unveiled a preview of proposed new Rules of Golf, as part of a joint initiative to modernize the Rules and make them easier to understand and apply.

The online release of this preview begins a six-month feedback and evaluation period during which all golfers worldwide can learn about the proposed changes and provide input before they are finalized in 2018 and take effect January 1, 2019.

A sport environment in which participants - athletes, coaches, volunteers, and officials - are exposed to negative experiences such as bullying can be harmful and cause individuals to quit.

55% of BC sports organizations surveyed know of athletes who have dropped out of #sport because of bullying. 

That’s why viaSport and the Government of B.C. have launched a new #ERASEbullying initiative for every provincial and local sport organization, and all B.C. citizens.

Click HERE or on the image above to take the online Erase Bullying in Sport pledge. 

On February 22, 2017, provincial sport organizations will celebrate the Province’s first Declaration of Commitment to erase bullying in sport across B.C.

Learn more about this initiative and how you can get involved as an organization or individual at www.viaSport.ca./erasebullying

Adam Helmer/ Golf Canada

As golf’s governing body in Canada, Golf Canada, in conjunction with the R&A and the United States Golf Association (USGA), today announced a new Local Rule which will come into effect January 1, 2017.

Along with the R&A and USGA, Golf Canada holds a unique position as the only other governing body that sits on the Joint Rules Committee.

Golf Canada will be implementing this Local Rule as part of their Standard Local Rules which will be formally ratified at our annual general meeting by the Rules and Amateur Status Committee.

The 2016 Winner Of The Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship, Colin Montgomerie, Advocated For Having The Event Return To Victoria Locale And He'll Get His Wish - Image Credit Bryan Outram/British Columbia Golf

Courtesy Golf Canada

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The Champions Tour announced today its 2017 tournament schedule, featuring 26 official tournaments and two “Challenge Season” events.

The 23-event regular season will again highlight the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, which will be used to determine the season-long Charles Schwab Cup champion. The Tour will contest events in four countries and 18 states, with total prize money of $55.7 million (U.S).

Canada will once again have two Champions Tour stops. The Shaw Charity Classic will be played September 1-3 at Canyon Meadows G & Country Club in Calgary.

The Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship will be contested at Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria, B.C. from September 15 – 17.

Syngenta Golf Ambassador Carin Koch & Syngenta Global Head of Lawn & Garden Jeff Cox Launched The New Report At The HSBC Golf Business Forum. (Photo/Syngenta)

CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom — Women account for just 24% of golfers worldwide, yet the number of prospective female players could add $35 billion to the global golf economy.

These are the findings of a groundbreaking global study into female golf participation commissioned by Syngenta and conducted by an independent international market research company.

The new report, ‘The Global Economic Value of Increased Female Participation in Golf,’ surveyed 14,000 people in eight markets in North America, Europe and Asia.

After 10 Years At The Helm Of Golf Canada, CEO Scott Simmons Is Stepping Down - Image Courtesy Golf Canada Archives

Dan Pino/ Golf Canada

(Oakville, Ont.) – Golf Canada announced today that after 10 years at the helm, CEO Scott Simmons has made the decision to depart the organization in early February 2017.

Originally hired to lead Canada’s National Sport Federation for golf in the summer of 2007, Simmons will continue to lead the organization during the transition period and assist Golf Canada’s Board of Directors in the search for a successor as CEO.

Kelowna's Megan Osland Was The Low Canadian In The Field In Stage II Of LPGA Q-School Earning Her Way Along With 3 Other Canucks Into The Final Stage Starting End Of November - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

Courtesy Golf Canada with files from Symetra Tour

VENICE, Fla. – Four Canadians were among 84 competitors that advanced to Stage III of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament on Sunday at the Plantation Golf & Country Club.

Megan Osland of Kelowna, B.C., led all 10 Canadians in the field, finishing at 5-over par (72-72-73-76) to grab a share of 30th. Team Canada graduate and Calgary product Jennifer Ha was the next Canadian in line, closing at 7-over par (69-71-79-76) to end in a tie for 47th.

Four Members Of Golf Canada's 2017 Team Canada Amateur Squad From L-R: Victoria, BC's Naomi Ko, Ontario's Maddie Szeryk, Kimberley, BC's Jared du Toit And Quebec's Hugo Bernard - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

Courtesy Golf Canada

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Golf Canada is pleased to announce the athletes who have been chosen to represent Team Canada as part of the 2017 National Amateur Squad and Development Squad programs.

In all, eight athletes comprise Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad including four players on the men’s team and four on the women’s, with three of those players coming from British Columbia.

There are also 8 players who comprise the National Development Squad and anther three from BC have been named to that group.

Canada's Brooke Henderson Is One Of The Ambassadors For The Golf & Health Project - Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski (JKamphotos)

• New and unique project aiming to assess the health and wellbeing benefits of golf has launched around the world
• An academically rigorous methodology examines pre-existing research
• Innovative new research will fill knowledge gaps and show golf’s role in health and wellbeing

(ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., USA) - World Golf Foundation (WGF) – the non-profit organization developing and supporting initiatives that positively impact lives through the game of golf and its traditional values – announces the launch of the Golf & Health Project, academically researching and highlighting how the game can benefit peoples’ lives.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, led by Dr. Andrew Murray and under the supervision of leading international academics, Professor Nanette Mutrie and Professor Liz Grant, have conducted the largest, most comprehensive study of golf and health, with the results shown in a Scoping Review published in the world’s leading sports medicine and science journal, The British Journal of Sports Medicine.

More than a dozen of the players competing at the 2016 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship were once members of the PGA TOUR Canada.

Brett Standerwick Of Fairwinds Golf Course Has Been A Longtime Supporter And Fundraiser For The Annual Golfathon For ALS - Standerwick Image Courtesy Fairwinds

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Like so many other members of the Professional Golfers Association of BC, Brett Standerwick has been a longtime supporter of the organization’s annual golfathon for ALS. 

Standerwick, who is sales and revenue manager at Fairwinds Golf Course in Nanoose Bay on Vancouver Island, has also tried to put his own personal stamp on a fundraiser that is now more than a decade old. “Typically, guys go out and you play from dawn to dusk and play as many holes and you can,” Standerwick says.

“That’s fun but we all do the same thing, so after the first couple of years I started to think about what I could do that was something different, just to try and increase the exposure a little bit.”

Olympic View Golf Club Will Be The Site Of A Canada Summer Games Selection Camp For The 2017 Canada Summer Games In Winnipeg

For Immediate Release

British Columbia Golf will be hosting a Canada Summer Games Selection Camp on Saturday, October 1st and Sunday, October 2nd, 2016 at Olympic View Golf Club, Victoria, BC. The 2017 Canada Summer Games will showcase the best athletes in Canada who are on the fast track to the Olympics for 2020 in multiple sports, including golf.

Celebrating its 50th Anniversary and Canada’s 150th Birthday, the Games will be “an extra” special experience for the 4,000 athletes and coaches who will participate in 2017. British Columbia – Team BC Golf has captured every gold medal at the Games since 2009, with past BC gold medalists including: Eugene Wong, Kevin Kwon, Sue Kim and Taylor Kim.

Surrey's Hannah Lee (L) And Mary Parsons Of Delta Are Both On The Canadian World Junior Girls Team Competing Later This Month At Mississauga Golf & Country Club - Images BC Golf

Courtesy - Herb Fung/ Golf Canada

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – The world’s top female junior golfers will head to Mississauga for the third edition of the World Junior Girls Championship from September 25-30 at Mississauga Golf & Country Club.

Two teams of three athletes will don the red and white of the host nation as Canada competes for the title of World Junior Girls champion. Among those representing Canada will be two oustanding juniors from British Columbia, Delta's Mary Parsons and Surrey's Hannah Lee.

Posing Beside The Iconic Olympic Rings In Rio de Janeiro, Victoria, BC's Dale Jackson Has Arrived For The 2016 Olympics In Brazil And Will Blog On The Return Of Golf To The Games - All Images Courtesy Dale Jackson Unless Otherwise Noted

Victoria's Dale Jackson is in Rio as a golf rules official for the 2016 Olympic Games and is providing a daily blog on what he sees and experiences as Canada attempts to defend its Gold Medal from the 1904 Olympic Games the last time golf was a part of the quadrennial event.

Jackson has been involved in giving back to the game as a rules official since becoming interested in this vocation more than 15 years ago. Since then he has risen through the ranks to become a Level Four Rules Official and serving as Managing Director of Rules and Competitions for British Columbia Golf from 2003 to 2007.

More recently, Jackson has been active at the national level and since 2013 has been the Chair of the Rules of Golf and Amateur Status Committee for Golf Canada.

Victoria, BC's Naomi Ko Accepts The Canadian Junior Girls Championship Trophy From Golf Canada President Roland Deveau (R) And One Of Canada's Finest (L) - Image Courtesy Twitter

Mary Parsons Finishes Third As B.C. Places Seven Players In Top 11

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It hasn’t been a great summer in British Columbia, but don’t try telling that to Naomi Ko. She has been so much better than the weather. The 18-year-old Victoria resident’s super summer continued Friday in Shubenacadie, N.S., where she  won the Canadian Junior Girls Championship. 

Ko birdied three of her first five holes en route to a even-par 72 at The Links at Penn Hills and finished the 72-hole event at five-under par. That was good for a four-shot win over Chloe Currie of Mississauga, Ont.

The BC Summer Games Awards Medals Of Course, But The Real Winners Are All The Athletes Who Participate, Compete And Make New Friendships- Image Courtesy BC Summer Games/Keith Graham

by Gino Cutri

With the exception of Ryder and Presidents Cup-style events, there is rarely a team aspect to golf. In this sport you are generally competing for yourself against others, who are doing the same. The BC Summer Games provides golfers that unique opportunity to compete as a team.

For the purposes of identifying teams, British Columbia is divided into eight geographical zones. These zone teams are comprised of both boys and girls ages 12 – 16 who qualified based off of their zone tournament performance.

At the Summer Games these zones competed in a two-day 36-hole tournament. Although there are medals for the top 3 individual scores, the team competition is a combined net score of your zone’s top three scorers.

Victoria's Nolan Thoroughgood Has Enjoyed Success In His Home Province This Summer And Hopes To Have Similar Results As He Goes 'National' With His Game - Image Courtesy Brad Ziemer

By Brad Ziemer British Columbia Golf

Nolan Thoroughgood literally travelled from sea-to-shining sea to compete in his first national championship. The 15-year-old from Victoria, who last month became the youngest winner in the 114-year history of the B.C. Amateur Championship, is in St. John’s, Nfld., to compete at this week’s Canadian Junior Boys’ Championship.

Thoroughgood, who also won gold at the recent B.C. Summer Games in Abbotsford, will also compete in next week’s Canadian Amateur Championship in Ottawa. He knows these two events will be a stern test.