British Columbia Golf members could win $1,000 from belairdirect, our group home, condo, and renter’s insurance partner! 

There are two prizes awarded monthly in the Win More $$$$’s @ belairdirect contest, and there are still lots of prizes up for grabs as the contest runs until February 28^th, 2022!

To enter the contest, simply complete the entry form at belairdirect.com/winmore - be sure to select British Columbia Golf as your group.

BONUS PRIZE DRAW EXCLUSIVE to BC Golf members – WIN a pair of CANUCKS vs LEAFS tickets!!!

L-R: Savannah Grewal, Salimah Mussani (Assistant Coach) And Noémie Paré - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

via Golf Canada

Together with the PGA of Canada, Golf Canada is excited to announce the continuation of the National Women in Coaching program and formally open applications for the 2022 cohort.

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

Each participant receives in-depth career development support that is focused on four main areas: individualized learning plans, virtual and in-person coaching education, hands-on training experiences with coaches and top players, and new for 2022, integration with the PGA of Canada mentorship program.

Courtesy GOLF CANADA

Golf Canada is pleased to announce the group of 46 junior and amateur athletes selected as part of the Team Canada player development program for 2022.

Professional players who will be part of Team Canada in 2022 will be determined and announced in January.

British Columbia Golf is looking for a few internet-savvy golf enthusiasts to do some part-time research and writing…

Approaching The Fourth Green At Jericho Country Club Golf Course (circa 1908) - Image via City of Vancouver Archives

British Columbia Golf is pleased to share an article that will be published in the November 2021 Vancouver Historical Society newsletter, accompanying the promotion for renowned Pacific Coast golf historian Michael Riste’s lecture on Thursday, November 25th at 7:00 pm on Zoom. 

Readers are welcome to join the lecture, they would need to email the VHS (Vancouver Historical Society) to ask for the link. Instructions to register can be found at the end of the article.

(OCTOBER 26, 2021)

Golf’s new Rules of Amateur Status have been published by The R&A and the USGA ahead of coming into effect on January 1, 2022.

The work was the latest step by the governing bodies to make the Rules easier to understand and apply, and follows the modernization process of the Rules of Golf in 2019. The new Rules were informed by golfer and golf industry feedback as a part of a comprehensive review, to ensure they continue to reflect how the modern game is played by millions of golfers around the world.

Longtime British Columbia Golf board member and volunteer, Helen Steeves, passed away Thursday, October 7th, 2021.

British Columbia Golf would like to join the entire golf community in expressing our sorrow with this loss and also extend our sincerest condolences to her many friends and to her family at this unfortunate time. 

Just a few of Helen's contributions to the provincial golf association, the zone level and to her home club are outlined in this passage below as submitted by her friend and colleague, Susan Kennedy, a past ladies captain at Sunshine Coast Golf & Country Club, at the time of Helen's Volunteer Service Award in 2013.

The R&A

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. and ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – The R&A and the USGA have announced that a new Model Local Rule (MLR G-10) will be available beginning on 1 January 2022 to provide those running professional or elite amateur golf competitions with the option of limiting the maximum length of a golf club (excluding putters) to 46 inches.

The proposal was announced in February 2021, which opened a notice-and-comment period to allow the industry the opportunity to provide feedback as part of the equipment rulemaking procedures. The comments received from the golf industry, including players, professional tours and equipment manufacturers, were carefully considered before the decision to proceed with the new MLR was reached.

British Columbia Golf would like to offer our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Lynne Marie Jeannette Powlik who passed away peacefully on the afternoon of September 27th,  at the age of 77. 

Obtaining her National Status as a golf rules Official, her valuable rules knowledge was an asset to many BC Golf tournaments. Lynne was given the Volunteer Recognition Award in 2011, and certainly was deserving for her work with British Columbia Golf. Lynne was also a member of the Fort Langley Golf Ladies Club for years, and was very giving of her time and support to the club.

Motorized carts have ferried golfers from hole to hole for 50 years, but more players these days are walking their rounds, and some courses have shunned carts entirely - Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski

By Bill Pennington/NYTimes

There is a new movement afoot in recreational golf: walking.

In swelling numbers nationwide, golfers are spurning the motorized golf cart — a standard-bearer of American golf rounds for more than 50 years — and instead choosing to stride or stroll from shot to shot.

It has contributed to a substantial rise in rounds played and spawned another novel phenomenon: The verifiable notion that golf, when a round is walked, is exercise that can supplement a fitness regimen since golfers routinely burn 700 calories or more in an outing that can traverse up to six miles.

Scott Vannatter (L) Is Seen Here With Fellow Volunteer Ray Flynn. Scott Was A Long Time Volunteer & Rules Official For BC Golf 

British Columbia Golf was saddened to hear of the passing of long time volunteer official, Scott Vannatter, at Peace Arch Hospital on the afternoon of Thursday, September 30th, 2021.

Scott was a tremendous supporter of the game of golf, especially junior golf. He acted as a BC Golf and Vancouver Golf Tour (VGT) rules official, was a Zone 3 Director for British Columbia Golf as well as a Board Member for the Player Development Trust Fund.

A good player in his own right, Scott was the 2002 Zone 3 Senior Men's Champion.

Condolences go out to Scott's family and friends at this difficult time, he will be missed. 

Please visit the Zone 3 website here to see a more detailed background of Scott's contributions to the game. Click here to see the official obituary for Scott. 

The LPGA Amateurs Vancouver Island Chapter is excited to announce a two-player women's best ball event taking place at Duncan Meadows GC on Friday, October 22nd. Lots of on-course games and prizes and a welcoming environment for LPGA Amateur members and guests.

The registration deadline is Tuesday, October 19th. See the poster below for more details.

Image Courtesy Province of British Columbia

On September 30, 2021, individuals and communities honoured Orange Shirt Day, as well as the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada.

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.

By Latash Maurice Nahanee

Golf is a game that is both fun and challenging. Golf can be a game of leisure and/or demand the best of a great athlete. One element that differentiates this sport from contact sports such as soccer or football is the etiquette.

“First Tee – British Columbia, is a youth development program offered by Golf Canada that introduces the game of golf and its inherent values to young people. We teach values such as integrity, respect and perseverance through the game of golf,” says Shayain Gustavsp, Manager, First Tee - British Columbia.

Through after school and in school programs, First Tee – BC instills character development as a fundamental element of Golf Canada’s junior golf program.

Kelowna's Jessica Claggett With Past BC Golf President Patrick Kelly - BC Golf Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Jessica Claggett of Kelowna has been declared the winner of the B.C. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship after Victoria’s Alyssa Herkel was disqualified due to a rules infraction.

Tournament director Doug Hastie said Herkel contacted him over the Labour Day weekend to discuss a shot she attempted on the seventh hole during the final round of the event, which was held Aug. 31-Sept. 2 at Gorge Vale Golf Club in Victoria.

Herkel told Hastie she “whiffed” a chip shop attempt from the rough on the par 5 hole.

Former British Columbia Golf President Peter Bentley Is Shown Here With Current President Michelle Collens - Image Courtesy Michelle Collens/Twitter

British Columbia Golf is saddened to learn of the passing of past BC Golf President, Peter Bentley (March 17th, 1930- September 6th, 2021). 

Peter John Gerald Bentley OC, OBC, LLB (Honorary) died peacefully in his sleep in Vancouver, B.C. September 6, 2021 at the age of 91. He is survived by his wife Sheila (nee McGiverin) and their 5 children, Barbara Hislop (John), Susan Kololian (Vahan), Joanie Ball (Mik), Michael Bentley (Lesley) and Lisa Turner (Terrence), 15 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Peter, highly respected in the BC golf & hockey communities, was named to the order of Canada in 1983 and later also became a BC Sports Hall of Fame WAC Bennett Award winner, and served as the Hall's chair in 1974-75 as well as being a long-time board member.

Nanoose Bay Resident Shelly Stouffer With The Trophy Haul From Her Canadian Senior Women’s Championship in Bromont. Que. - Image Credit Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

As you can probably imagine, there is no quick way to get from Nanoose Bay to Point Clear, Ala., the site of this week’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship. 

Shelly Stouffer was scheduled to leave on a 6 a.m. flight Tuesday from Comox to Calgary, where she’ll connect to Atlanta. From there she’ll fly to Pensacola, Fla., where she is supposed to catch a shuttle for a one-hour ride to her hotel near the golf course.

Stouffer’s win at last week’s Canadian Senior Women’s Championship in Bromont, Que., earned her a spot in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur. “I didn’t realize the tournament was this week, so I was like holy crap,” Stouffer says with a laugh. “But I’ve got my negative COVID test and I am ready to go . This whole experience has been a whirlwind.”

Christina Spence Proteau Collected Her Sixth Career Mid-Amateur Title At Golf Château Bromont - Image Credit Bernard Brault/ Golf Canada

Golf Canada/Media Release

BROMONT, Que. – Christina Spence Proteau of Port Alberni, B.C. won the Mid-Amateur division at the 2021 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur & Senior Championship on Thursday at Golf Château Bromont in a playoff over Vancouver’s Nonie Marler.

Proteau entered Thursday’s final round one stroke back of Marler, who held the Mid-Amateur lead for the first two rounds, and whose first-round 72 would end up being the lowest and only single-round score under par for the entire tournament.

The two B.C. golfers were tied at 5 over par after the final hole of the 54-hole tournament, forcing the division to go to a sudden-death playoff. Proteau came out victorious after a birdie on the first playoff hole.

2021 BC Men's Mid-Amateur Champion Craig Doell - BC Golf Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Craig Doell knew he would have to play a solid round and also get some help from the guy he was chasing on the final day of the B.C. Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Victoria’s Gorge Vale Golf Club.

He got both and completed his B.C. Mid-Am hat trick with his third victory in the competition for players aged 25 and older. The 49-year-old Doell played near flawless golf in Thursday’s final round.

He made just one bogey in his two-under round of 70 and it came on the 18th hole when he already had the tournament won. He beat Courtenay’s John Robertson, who had led through the first two rounds, by three shots.