Vancouver - Image Courtesy Wikimedia

Courtesy Flagstick.com

On the back end of a record-setting time for participation in golf for Canada it comes as little surprise that the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada (NGCOA Canada) has announced their upcoming annual business and trade show is sold out. The Ottawa-based organization also says it will be their biggest ever, since it’s founding in 2001.

The NGCOA Canada Golf Business Canada Conference & Trade Show in Vancouver will see some 500+ industry professionals converge to network, take in education, and check out products.

Click HERE to read full story...

Courtesy Women's Golf Day

November is here, and the holidays are around the corner. Now is the time to think about GOLF! We wish you all a wonderful autumn.

We are happy to share some exciting news with you regarding WGD 2023! By popular demand, we are extending the dates of Women's Golf Day to a Weeklong Celebration this year.

Mark your calendars! We hope to see you online or in person at the PGA Show for the Women's Golf Day session on Thursday, January 26th. We will send out details soon.

Also, as we approach the holidays, are you looking for great gifts for friends and family? We have some ideas included below!

Image courtesy Golf Canada

John Gordon/Golf Canada

It appears modern technology is about to threaten another time-honoured golf tradition.

Yes, the days of taking wicked pleasure from hitting the screen-enshrouded ball picker at the driving range may be numbered. (This pleasure intensified exponentially if you knew the person driving said picker.)

This latest innovation is the Korechi Pik’r, an automated robot that hooks up to any existing golf ball picking unit.

Click HERE to see complete article...

Photo: Bernard Brault, Golf Canada Ste-Julie, Québec: Canadian Junior Boys Champion Jean-Philippe Parr

Courtesy Flagstick.com

The early signing period for the NCAA began this past week and saw a number of young Canadians make their formal commitment to schools in the United States and in Canada.

We covered the flow of announced on our Twitter stream but wanted to share them here on Flagstick.com for those who do not visit that social media platform.

Please Click HERE to see the list of Twitter announcements posted on Flagstick.com including from BC's Angela Arora, Brendan O'Brien, Dana Smith and Justin Bjornson...

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...

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.

Click HERE for complete story...

Campbell River's Dana Smith - Image Courtesy SFU Athletics

By Steve Frost - Associate Director Marketing & Communications (sfrost@sfu.ca)

BURNABY – Dana Smith of Campbell River, one of the top junior golfers in British Columbia, has signed National Letters of Intent to join the Simon Fraser University women's golf program in fall 2023, head coach Matt Steinbach announced today.

Smith has a resume full of accomplishments. She's competed in the Canadian Women's Amateur and Canadian Junior Girls tournaments, and she's recorded multiple top 10 finishes in provincial tournaments. Smith has been crowned the North Island (zone 6) Junior Golfer of the Year four years in a row (2017-2021) after winning the tournament championship each year.

Click HERE for complete story...

BC's Chris Crisologo - Image Courtesy Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The final stage of Korn Ferry Tour qualifying school is as much a test of players’ nerves as their golf games, a place where one mistake can make the difference between a passing and failing grade.

Richmond’s Chris Crisologo learned that the hard way at the recently completed Q-school in Savannah, Ga. Crisologo missed finishing inside the top 40 and ties and earning guaranteed starts on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour by six shots.

While that may make it sound like Crisologo wasn’t particularly close, the 26-year-old Simon Fraser University graduate will look back at one hole of the 72 he played as being the difference.

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.

Stuart Macdonald Is Shown Here Competing In The RBC Canadian Open - Image Credit BBrault/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Stuart Macdonald made it look easy as he sailed through the second stage of Korn Ferry Tour qualifying school in Murrieta, Calif.

But the 27-year-old Vancouver native will tell you it was anything but. Q-school, Macdonald says, is never easy. 

“Obviously, it felt good to get through and just be able to battle through everything that comes along with Q-school,” Macdonald told British Columbia Golf in a telephone interview.

“It feels like you are playing for your life, like your life is literally on the line. That’s what it feels like. I couldn’t eat for four hours after I played because your stomach is just in knots and it’s not very fun at all.”

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. 

Richmond, BC's Chris Crisologo Wears Vancouver Canuck Colours At The Canadian Open In 2019 - Golf Canada Photo/Marcus Oleniuk

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

At the beginning of this year, Chris Crisologo sat down and made a list of things he wanted to accomplish during 2022 in his journey as a young professional golfer. 

He just crossed off one very important goal from that list. 

By surviving the second stage of the Korn Ferry Tour qualifying school last week in Albuquerque, N.M., the Richmond resident has earned himself Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2023.

Courtesy PGA of Canada

Teams from Canada, USA, Australia, Great Britain & Ireland, South Africa, and Sweden are set to head to Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico next week for the second PGA Women’s Cup, where Canada will look to build on their runner-up finish from the 2019 event in Texas.

Two new players, Caroline Ciot and Katy Rutherford, will join second-time competitors Emma de Groot, Casey Ward and Christine Wong at Twin Warriors Golf Club. Wong was the top player on the Canadian squad in 2019, firing the team’s low score two out of three days in the form of a 70 and 71.

If you are, or know a young competitive golfer, you may well be interested in knowing that the Zone Golf Academy is holding a university ID Camp at Lake Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on December 3 & December 4, 2022

Led by Coach Taronne (TJ) Atley, Zone Golf Academy is a leading elite junior golf academy working out of multiple facilities in the Lower Mainland and specializing in USA and Canadian university placement.

As per their Mission Statement:

"Zone Golf Academy is designed to equip the player in all aspects of the game, from the technical fundamentals, short game, on course management, to physical and mental conditioning. The result is ultimately an improved game which is coupled with scholastic readiness. Finally, the player would gain entrance to their top North American University of their choice, ideally on scholarship."

Richmond, BC's Chris Crisologo Wears Vancouver Canuck Colours At The Canadian Open In 2019 - Golf Canada Photo/Marcus Oleniuk

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

At the beginning of this year, Chris Crisologo sat down and made a list of things he wanted to accomplish during 2022 in his journey as a young professional golfer. 

He just crossed off one very important goal from that list. 

By surviving the second stage of the Korn Ferry Tour qualifying school last week in Albuquerque, N.M., the Richmond resident has earned himself Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2023.

Talking Rock Golf Course Head Professional Nathan Grieve Is The PGA of BC's 2022 Dick Munn Golf Professional Of The Year - PGA of BC Photo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

OCTOBER 13, 2022 - RICHMOND, BC (PGA of British Columbia) - The PGA of BC proudly named the provincial recipients of its annual honours for 2022 during the Association's Awards Celebration presented by Replay Golf Supplies & Tribal on Wednesday evening at the River Rock Casino Resort.