By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

British Columbia’s annual golf expo is returning after a two-year Covid-induced hiatus with a new name and location. What is now called the Western Golf Expo is scheduled for Feb. 24 and 25 and is moving from its former home at the PNE Forum building in Vancouver to Abbotsford ’s Tradex facility.

The show is being held on a Friday and Saturday rather than the traditional Saturday and Sunday. “We are switching it up a bit,” says Joan Probert, regional director for the B.C. and Alberta chapters of the National Golf Course Owners Association of Canada, which owns and operates six golf expos across the country.

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PGA of Canada

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Together with the PGA of Canada, Golf Canada is excited to announce the continuation of the Women in Coaching program and formally open applications for the 2023 cohort.

The Women in Coaching program is an initiative that launched in 2021 with nine inaugural participants, that strives to deliver a stronger gender balance among high-performance coaches.

Each participant receives in-depth career development support focused on four main areas: individualized learning plans, virtual and in-person coaching education, and hands-on training experiences with coaches and top players.

By Terry Lenyk/Golf Canada

They are some of Canada’s most renowned golf legends, a list amassed of professional and amateur players, course architects and administrators. They have all contributed to the growth of the game of golf in this country. However, their contributions to golf pale in comparison to their contributions to the fabric of our nation.

November 11th is Remembrance Day. A day we remember and pay tribute to the brave men and women who have served in our armed forces. What better day to remember Canadian golfers of the past who helped our nation during its greatest times of need.

The following are just some of the contributions Canadian golf legends made to the Allied forces during the First and Second World Wars.

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creative commons free photo

Via Golf Canada

The R&A and the USGA have unveiled a regular update to the Rules of Golf as they continue to make the Rules easier to understand and apply. The new Rules went into effect on January 1, 2023.

The 2023 edition continues the modernization process, with an emphasis on both inclusion and sustainability. For the first time, the modified Rules for players with disabilities have been fully incorporated into the playing rules without the need to adopt a local rule.

Tacoma, Wash. – The Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) has announced the region’s Players of the Year for 2022. Those honored include Men’s Player of the Year, AJ Ewart of Coquitlam, B.C.; Women’s, Lauryn Nguyen of Seattle, Wash.; Men’s Mid-Amateur, Andrew Von Lossow of Spokane, Wash.; Women’s Mid-Amateur, Krissy Carman of Eugene, Ore.; Senior Men’s, Erik Hanson of Kirkland, Wash.; Senior Women’s, Shelly Stouffer of Nanoose Bay, B.C.; Junior Boys’, Max Herendeen of Bellevue, Wash.; and Junior Girls’, Lauren Kim of Surrey, B.C.

The PNGA Player of the Year candidates are nominated by the state and provincial golf associations that comprise the PNGA (British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon and Washington), and are selected by a vote of the PNGA Championship Committee.

Click here for a list of playing accomplishments of this year’s recipients and for a complete history of all past PNGA Player of the Year recipients.

The BC Golf Industry Lost A Special Friend With The Passing Of Trisha Larsen

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The British Columbia golf industry and tourism sector lost a great champion and friend with the recent passing of Trisha Larsen. 

Larsen, who was 54, died after a battle with pancreatic cancer. She founded The Web Advisors marketing agency in 2011, but Larsen’s involvement with and promotion of the British Columbia golf industry goes back nearly three decades.

For Immediate Release – October 24, 2022 – (Vancouver, BC) ProMOTION Plus is excited to recognize three deserving women that will be celebrated at the 55th Sport BC Athlete of the Year Awards on Thursday, March 9, 2023 at the Vancouver Convention Centre East.

Two women will be honoured with the prestigious In Her Footsteps, including British Columbia Golf Managing Director of Player Development, Debbie Pyne . . . Celebrating BC Women in Sport recognition program and one recipient will receive the Bobbie Steen Legacy Foundation Award.

The PNGA Player of the Year candidates are nominated by the various state and provincial golf associations that comprise the PNGA (Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington), and are selected by a vote of the PNGA Championship Committee.

Awards are given annually in eight different categories: Men’s, Women’s, Senior Men’s, Senior Women’s, Men’s Mid-Amateur, Women’s Mid-Amateur, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’.

In advance of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) announcement acknowledging the recipients of the 2022 Player of the Year awards, British Columbia Golf is proud to share the names and playing accomplishments of those who are being nominated from our province for the awards. 

BC Junior Girls Representing Canada In The World Junior Girls Championship Clockwise From Left: Yeji Kwon, Michelle Liu, Angela Arora, Anna Huang & Lauren Kim - Images Courtesy Golf Canada

MARKHAM, Ont. – Canada is set to host a global showcase of the world’s best junior golfers as the seventh edition of the World Junior Girls Championship, presented by Sargent Farms will be contested October 10-15, 2022 at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ont.

In total, 54 athletes on 18 teams representing 17 countries—including two teams from host nation Canada—will compete for the team and individual titles. The event marks the celebrated return of the prestigious global competition after two years of cancellation due to the pandemic.

The CP Women’s Open is back! Golf Canada is proud to partner with Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club in Vancouver, BC to host the 2023 CP Women’s Open.

We are excited to bring the world’s best golfers to Canada to compete in the 49th playing of our National Open, hosted at a club with plenty of history and a passionate community.

Each year, over 1,200 people dedicate their time and hard work to make the CP Women’s Open possible.

VIASPORT BRITISH COLUMBIA - On September 30, individuals and communities will be honouring Orange Shirt Day, as well as the second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada.

Collectively, we are marking this important occasion by encouraging members of the sport, physical activity, and recreation sectors to actively participate in this day of Truth and Reconciliation.

The individual and collective journeys of Truth and Reconciliation are enduring. It isn’t a destination, but rather a lifelong path of reflection, learning, and understanding.

Accordingly, we are inviting everyone within the sport, physical activity, and recreation sector to make a personal and/or organizational commitment to reconciliation.

It's time to rally together through programs and activities that encourage all British Columbians to get moving!

Spread the word!

The vast majority of British Columbians believe that sport contributes to healthy communities and individuals. Over the last two years, it was clear that sport connects us and helps us thrive.

Triple Title Winner Shelly Stouffer - Image Credit Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Shelly Stouffer keeps winning golf tournaments and making history. The Nanoose Bay resident not only defended her Canadian Senior Women’s Amateur title at Breezy Bend Country Club in suburban Winnipeg, she also won the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur and Mid-Master championships that were being played concurrently.

Call it golf’s version of a hat trick.

Stouffer becomes just the second Canadian to win the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship and the Canadian Senior Women’s Amateur Championship in the same year. World Golf Hall of Famer Marlene Streit was the first to do it in 1995.

Golf Canada

(September 1, 2022) – Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada are committed to providing opportunities for people with disabilities to experience the physical, psychological, and social benefits golf can offer.

As part of this commitment, the national golf organizations have launched the EDGA 359 Pilot Project, presented by Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada, partnering with EDGA (formerly the European Disabled Golf Association) on coach training designed to demystify adaptive golf and give coaches the confidence needed to launch and develop programs for golfers with disabilities across Canada.

“Through this coach training, we are eager to increase support for golfers of all abilities and make our sport inclusive of more Canadians,” said Laura Wilson, Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Safe Sport for Golf Canada.

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Photo Courtesy Golf Canada/Youth On Course

By Brad Ewart

Casper the friendly ghost would make a good golf parent.

As an invisible ghost he could always remain out-of-sight and out-of-mind allowing his golfer to play without distraction.

Often when parents think they are helping or doing what’s best for their player — they are doing the opposite. Negatively getting into their player’s mind and disruptively into their game.

Perhaps as a parent-spectator you don’t realize that you could adversely affect your golfer and their result. Let’s hope that moving forward you will begin to help and not hinder your player.

Gallagher's Canyon GC Will Host This Week's GolfBC Championship - Image Courtesy Tourism Kelowna

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

British Columbians Stuart Macdonald and Jared du Toit have some momentum on their side heading to this week’s GolfBC Championship at Gallagher’s Canyon in Kelowna on the PGA Tour Canada circuit.

Both players recorded top-25 finishes at last week’s CRMC Championship in Brainerd, Minn. Macdonald, a Vancouver native who spent this past year on the Korn Ferry Tour, tied for 16th at 17-under par, while Kimberley’s du Toit tied for 24th at 16-under.

The Triumphant Golf Squad From British Columbia - Image Credit Ryan McCullough/Media Release

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Solid gold. That would be an apt description of British Columbia’s performance at the Canada Summer Games golf competition. 

B.C. swept both individual titles and also won the mixed team competition at the Summer Games in the Niagara region of southern Ontario. Tina Jiang of Richmond won the female competition and Vernon’s Cooper Humphreys was the winner on the male side.

All four members of the B.C. team — Jiang, Humphreys, Surrey’s Lauren Kim and Ethan Posthumus of Coquitlam — earned gold medals in the mixed team event.

2022 BC Bantam Girls Champion Rose Chen - BC Golf Image

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Rose Zhiyan Chen was delighted to win the B.C. Bantam Girls Championship, but wasn’t overjoyed with the way she played in the final round at Shadow Ridge Golf Club in Kelowna.  “This is maybe my biggest win, but I don’t think it’s my best win because I know I have played better in other tournaments,” the 13-year-old Langley resident said.

The birdies that were flying for Chen in the opening round of the championship for players aged 14 and under were much tougher to come by in the closing 18 holes.

2022 B.C. Bantam Boys Champion Arav Pabla - BC Golf Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

After he tapped in his three-foot putt to win the B.C. Bantam Boys Championship at Shadow Ridge Golf Club in Kelowna, it took Arav Pabla a brief moment to realize what he had accomplished.

“This feels really good,” said the 14-year-old Victoria resident. “I just walked in here with a positive attitude thinking I could win and I did. After we finished the playoff I realized I had won a provincial championship. That’s crazy.”

Rose Chen Fired A 2-under 70 Take The Early Lead In The BC Bantam Girls Event At Shadow Ridge GC In Kelowna - BC Golf Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Rose Zhiyan Chen had a feeling it might be her day when she chipped in for birdie on her first hole at the B.C. Bantam Girls Championship at Shadow Ridge Golf Club in Kelowna.

Not that the 13-year-old Langley resident was standing over the shot feeling particularly confident about pulling it off. “No, I was standing over my ball thinking how to not screw up this chip,” she said with a laugh.

“And I hit it way too hard, but it hit the pin and went in. I was like, ‘okay, I’ll take that.’”