image courtesy FairwayVision/Duncan O'Brien

Back in 2019, British Columbia Golf held its Annual General Meeting at Tsawwassen Springs with some special invited guest speakers. One of those guest speakers was USGA Agronomist Larry Gilhuly. Mr. Gilhuly's presentation at that time focussed on the growing need to recognize the value of 'forward tees' for a large portion of the golf population, and definitely not just women. BC Golf writer/reporter Brad Ziemer wrote about Gilhuly's thoughts and reasonings on the subject and you can read that story HERE. Below we share a story written recently by Libby Gilliland for GolfPass.com. She carries on the conversation from a woman's perspective and makes some excellent points. 

By Libby Gilliland/GolfPass.com

Part of the reason golfers love the game is its variety.

The morning maintenance crew sets up a new course every day, making each round a new challenge. New pin locations, varying green speeds and thickness of the rough are all alterable factors that change the way the game needs to be approached.

These physical changes add excitement to each round, but beyond that, there is one key decision every golfer makes when he or she tees it up: picking which tee box to play. This has led to what I believe to be one of the most negative stereotypes in golf - the notion of "ladies tees." It's a term I'd love to see disappear. So would a lot of other women.

Click HERE to see the complete story...

Vancouver hometown tennis athlete Rebecca Marino and her Team Canada teammates, Leylah Fernandez, Bianca Andreescu and Gabriela Dabrowski will take on Belgium right here in Vancouver, at the Pacific Coliseum, April 14-15, in the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers, the World Cup of Women's Tennis. 

The tie is going to be a fabulous showcase of some of the best athletes our country, and the world, has to offer. By attending, watching and following, you're directly supporting and elevating women's sport in Canada.

BC Golf members can get 20% off single-day tickets to cheer on Team Canada at the Pacific Coliseum. See promo code details below.

Family Feud Canada is dedicated to finding a variety of contestants nationwide and for our fifth season we want to step it up a notch.

With our host Gerry Dee being an avid golfer and an enthusiastic fan of the sport, we are excited at the potential of inviting like-minded players and their families onto the show.

If you’re new to the sport and always end up in the bunker, an old pro waiting to brag about your hole-in-one & share your funniest golfing stories, or anywhere in between, British Columbia has some of the most beautiful golf courses in the country and we’re looking forward to hearing from the golfers who play them.

Not to mention golfers usually have the competitive edge we’re looking FORE!

Click HEREto apply to be on Canada's Family Feud. 

BC's Victoria Liu Wins Third Ivy League Title This Year - Image Courtesy GoPrincetonTigers.com

Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Victoria Liu headed to Princeton University with more than a little apprehension about how she would balance the academic challenges of an Ivy League school with playing college golf.

It turns out the Lord Byng high school graduate from Vancouver need not have worried. Liu is registering excellent grades as she pursues a computer science degree at Princeton and is absolutely acing things on the golf course.

Nk'mip Canyon Desert Golf Course In Oliver, BC - Image Credit Steve Austin/Nk'mip Canyon GC

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Dave George, the longtime general manager of Nk’mip Canyon Desert Golf Course, discovered golf relatively late in life.

Baseball and fast-pitch softball were his sports of choice in his younger days. Then he caught the golf bug and George is happy he did. “I started golf at a late age but when I finally did take up the game I fell in love with it so much I quit playing ball, other than occasional tournaments, so I could concentrate on my golf,” George says.

“It’s a therapeutic sport. It’s a sport that you can never, ever master. You are forever learning and it will frustrate you and then at another point it will make you ecstatic. The game has meant the world to me.”

Christna Proteau Holds The Canadian Women's Mid-Amateur Trophy In 2021 - Golf Canada Image

Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Christina Proteau is a multiple winner of national and provincial golf championships and also qualified to play in the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open.

She cherishes each of those victories and all of the special moments she’s had playing the game she loves, but perhaps none of those events will be as meaningful as the one the Port Alberni native will compete in at the end of May.

Proteau will not only play in the inaugural Indigenous Championship British Columbia, she has also agreed to serve as chair of the tournament, which goes May 28-30 at Nk’mip Canyon Desert Golf Course in Oliver.

OPPORTUNITY

Title: Championship Operations Assistant

Reports to: Tournament Director, Championships

Location: British Columbia Golf Office / Remote (hybrid)

Status: Contract / Paid Internship

Ideal Start Date: May 1, 2023 (possibility of earlier start date)

End Date: September 1, 2023

Shelly Stouffer Was Recongized For Her Tremendous 2022 Season At The Sport BC AOY Dinner - Image Credit BBrault/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Nanoose Bay’s Shelly Stouffer, UBC coach Chris Macdonald, the UBC women’s golf team and Debbie Pyne, the longtime managing director of player development at British Columbia Golf, were all recognized at Sport BC’s 55th annual athlete of the year awards ceremony.

Stouffer was selected master athlete of the year after an incredible 2022 season that saw the 53-year-old become the first British Columbian to win a United States Golf Association championship when she captured the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur in Alaska.

ALL BCGA VOTING MEMBERS

ALL SECRETARY/TREASURERS OF ZONES

ALL ZONE CHAIRS 

SECOND NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The 20^th Annual General Meeting of the British Columbia Golf Association will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. The meeting will take place virtually utilizing Zoom technology. Details as to how to attend the meeting will be circulated  to voting members prior to the meeting. All supporting documents can be found on our website at the bottom of this page. 

• For the benefit of the delegates, the AGM registration desk will be open at 6:45 p.m.

DATED:  the 14^th day of March 2023

Sheila Van Gisbergen, Secretary

On behalf of the BOARD OF DIRECTORS

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AGENDA

6:45 – 7:00 p.m.           Registration

7:00 – 7:30 p.m.           Annual General Meeting

7:30 p.m. on                 Distinguished Service Award presentation

• Dan Sabourin
• Wilda Schab

The following order of business must be observed at the Annual General Meeting:

1. call to order, welcoming remarks;
2. reading notice of meeting and proof of mailing same;
3. approval of agenda;
4. report as to quorum;
5. appoint scrutineers;
6. reading and disposition of any unapproved minutes;
7. elections of Directors to the Board;
8. review of financial statements and auditor’s report;
9. general business

The following documents are on our website for your consideration:

Second Notice of Meeting

• Minutes from the 19^th Annual General Meeting dated March 31, 2022
• Nominating Committee Memo (As no candidates for Director at Large positions were nominated by voting members, the four candidates proposed by the nominating committee are elected by acclamation)
• Bios of those nominated by the Committee
• Number of Delegates Per Club
• Delegates List for 2022 AGM
• 2022 Audited Financial Report

Details on how to access the meeting will be circulated prior to the meeting.

President of British Columbia Golf, Greg Moody - BC Golf Photo

by Jim Sutherland

The Pacific Coast Amateur is easily one of the most illustrious championships in amateur golf.

For proof, one need only glance at results from the 2015 edition, held at the Eugene Country Club.

That year, current PGA TOUR player Aaron Wise topped the leaderboard, trailed in order by Beau Hossler, Maverick McNealy, Bryson DeChambeau and Will Zalatoris, with Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa further down the list. Big names all, now on the pro circuit.

And that wasn’t a one-off.

Every year the leaderboard is sprinkled with big names. In 2016 and 2017, Wise was followed as winner by Zalatoris and Doug Ghim, yet another pro in waiting.

This year’s Pacific Coast Amateur will be held July 25-28, at Capilano Golf and Country Club in West Vancouver, and you’d expect Championship Chair Greg Moody to be stoked.

Click HERE to read full article...

image courtesy vectorportal.com

British Columbia Golf would like to wish everyone a Happy International Women's Day! 

Everyone at British Columbia Golf salutes International Women's Day #EmbraceEquity #IWD2023 ...and we invite you to check out this YouTube video 'Women In Golf Breaking Tradition'

The Spring Tour Series is BACK!

Vancouver, BC – Zone 3 & 4 Junior Girls Chairs Christine Wong and Ezzabella Hernandez are proud to announce its 2023 Spring Tour Series schedule.

The golf season is just around the corner and after a very successful 2022 season, the planning is underway to continue the momentum into the 2023 season. In what should be another great year for championship golf in BC, 2023 will include some great courses for our junior girls.

Osyoos GC Facebook Photo From 2019

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Osoyoos Golf Club is usually among the first of the Okanagan courses to emerge from winter hibernation. That won’t be the case this year...

We are excited to announce the first Women’s Golf Cloud Series – Presented by British Columbia Golf. We received rave reviews from the Women’s Cloud Scramble Event that we hosted each of the past two years, so we decided to expand and turn it into a series of six events. There will be one event per month from April to September.

Golf Canada's 117th President David McCarthy - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

Iconic McCleery GC (pictured here) To Host BC's First All Abilities Golf Championship This Summer - Image Courtesy vancouver.ca/parks-recreation
 
Delta, B.C. February 28, 2023 - British Columbia Golf is pleased to announce the inaugural All Abilities Golf Championship taking place at McCleery Golf Course from June 12 - 13, 2023.

British Columbia Golf, in partnership with the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia and the Osoyoos Indian Band owned Nk’mip Canyon Desert Golf Course, announce the launch of the inaugural Indigenous Championship British Columbia.

Abbotsford, BC's Nick Taylor - Image Credit Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Nick Taylor went head to head with two of the best players in the world and never blinked. And while the Abbotsford native had to settle for second place, he earned one heck of a nice consolation prize at the PGA TOUR’s WM Phoenix Open.

Taylor took home $2.18 million as he finished the star-stacked $20-million event at TPC Scottsdale at 17-under par, two shots behind new world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler...

image courtesy Iron Lady Golf/Golf Canada

By John Gordon/Golf Canada

“The Rules of Amateur Status.” “Growing the game.”

In the past, those phrases were seldom mentioned in the same breath.

But let’s give credit where it’s due. The Rules of Amateur Status are essential for preserving the integrity of the game by clearly delineating the difference between an amateur golfer and a pro. For example, amateurs must not accept payment or other compensation for giving instruction. (Golf instruction involves teaching the mechanics of swinging a club and hitting the ball.)

That mandate belongs to PGA of Canada members.

But recent changes to those Rules offer an exception if the instruction is part of a program that has been approved in advance. To date, two programs—First Tee ​Canada​ and Iron Lady Golf—have been approved. Each application is reviewed jointly by Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada.

Click HERE to see complete story...

Evans Caddie Scholarship Recipient Aleksej Milojevic - Images Courtesy A. Milojevic/Victoria GC

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

When he began caddying for members at Victoria Golf Club two years ago, Aleksej Milojevic had no idea how profoundly it would change his life.

He was 15 and as green as the grass he walked on to complete his first caddying loops on the scenic oceanside layout. Milojevic knew very little about golf or life...