Marine Drive's Brian Knoetze  - BKnoetze Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

All that stood in the way of Brian Knoetze completing his goal of playing the top 100 courses in the United States was one of the toughest tee times in golf.

In a journey that began eight years ago, the longtime Marine Drive Golf Club member had crossed 99 courses off Golf Digest’s top 100 list. All that remained was Augusta National.

Knoetze had spent a lot of time wondering whether he was ever going to make that trip down Magnolia Lane. It’s not like you can just call the club and ask for a tee time. If you’re a mere mortal, you need an invitation from an Augusta National member to play the course. “It’s just about the hardest place in the world to get on to,” Knoetze says.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

A new golf shop is about to open in Coquitlam, but there won’t be any equipment from the likes of Callaway, TaylorMade, Titleist or Ping lining its walls. 

Instead, the GreenTee Golf Shop, located on the Lougheed Highway not far from Ikea, will feature names like Honma, Majesty, Fujimoto, Miura and Itobori. Golf Town this is not.

“It’s only 2,500 square feet so it’s minimal if we compare it to Golf Town, but what we carry is actually very top tier,” says Bo Wu, who is director of JK World Group’s golf division. “We don’t carry any of the North American brands.”

Photo credit: Chuck Russell/Golf Canada

The Pacific Northwest Golf Association announced their 2021 Players of the Year this past week and Victoria, BC's Jeevan Sihota has been named the PNGA's Junior Boys Amateur Player of the year. 

Sihota earned the PNGA Junior Boys’ Amateur Player of the Year award after a standout 2021 season. Competing against seasoned tour professionals, he finished runner-up at the Mackenzie Tour DC Bank Open, finished T6 at the Mackenzie Tour ATB Financial Classic, and finished T29 at the Mackenzie Tour Golf BC Championship.

He also finished T4 at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship and T23 at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship.

The Victoria Now has further details on Jeevan's win HERE.

To see the complete story on all the PNGA Players of the Year click HERE.

The Multimat™ Could Be A Real Game-Changer For Golf Courses And Golfers - Image Courtesy Multimat™

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

We are blessed in some parts of British Columbia to be able to play golf year-round. But let’s be honest about it, the courses we play on many of those dreary December and January days are often more than a little wet. 

Hands up everyone who hasn’t received a face full of mud after striking an iron a little fat off a soggy lie. The golf courses also take a beating during winter play as fairways become scarred with divots that won’t grow back.  Some Victoria-area courses have come up with a solution.

Cordova Bay and Olympic View are requiring players to play with specially designed mini mats on fairways. Players are guaranteed a perfect lie and the courses are saved the wear and tear of divots at a time of year when the grass doesn’t grow. It’s a win-win.

The BC Amateur Sport Fund is raising funds to give amateur sports organizations the vital support they need to survive and rebuild in the aftermath of the recent floods in British Columbia.

You can designate your donation to a specific community, sport or club, or make a general donation which will go to the greatest need selected by Sport BC. You cannot donate to support a specific individual.

Your donation can help community sport organizations across the province with costs including rebuilding facilities and replacing equipment, rental of temporary facilities and travel costs.

File Photo

Coquitlam's Henry Lee Has His First Official Pro Paycheque From The PGA Tour Latino-America circuit

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Henry Lee will always remember that his pro golf journey started a long way from his Coquitlam home. About 11,000 kilometres to be exact. He’ll also recall that he cashed a cheque in that first event.

Not a big one, mind you, but he got paid nonetheless. Lee tied for 43rd at the Argentine Open in Buenos Aires, the season-opening event of the 2022 PGA Tour Latino-America circuit.

For that, Lee made $866.25 US from the $175,000 purse. That likely won’t cover airfare, but it’s a positive first step in his professional life.

No, It's Not An Island Green - It's The First Tee At Pheasant Glen GC On Vancouver Island - Photo Courtesy Michael Cunningham

(Reposted With Permission From The PGA of British Columbia)

NOVEMBER 16, 2021

RICHMOND, BC (PGA of British Columbia) -- Just two weeks into his new role as Chilliwack Golf Club’s Superintendent, Kaleb Fisher never could have expected a challenge like the one his facility is facing after the extreme weather events that have hit southern British Columbia in recent days.

Talking Rock (Shown Here) Along With Nk’Mip Canyon Desert And St. Eugene Are Just Three Of A Growing Number Of Indigenous Facilities In The Province - Image Credit Talking Rock

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

CHASE -- It opened quietly without much fanfare back in 2007, this golf course built by a small Indian band with big dreams. Initially, Talking Rock Golf Course seemed to almost get lost amid some of the more high-profile courses that were opening at the time in British Columbia.

“Talking Rock was one of those projects that was a bit under the radar because it was being developed at about the same time Tobiano (near Kamloops) was,” says golf architect Wayne Carleton, who along with Graham Cooke designed Talking Rock for the Little Shuswap Indian Band. “Tobiano was getting all the raves.”

But a funny thing has happened in the nearly 15 years since Talking Rock welcomed its first players. It has gone from being a course many had not heard of to being one nearly everyone wants to play. It is not a stretch to suggest that Talking Rock, located on the south shore of Little Shuswap Lake, is regarded by many as one of British Columbia’s top resort courses.

Image Courtesy: @vancouverbasketballfoundation / @victory

First Tee - British Columbia Manager Shayain Gustavsp Sets Up For Golf At The STRONGHER™ Camp

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It’s getting crowded here on the First Tee. We’ve got honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment all ready to play.

So that’s two foursomes and . . . judgment, I guess you’ll have to play as a single. Just kidding, of course. You may have heard of First Tee. If you have, you probably know about the program’s nine core principles that it uses to help instil good values in young golfers learning the game of golf. And if you aren’t familiar with First Tee, you soon will be as it is coming to a community near you.

viaSport is working with the Province of British Columbia and the amateur sport sector to support organizations to operate safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

All sport activities in B.C. must follow B.C.'s Restart plan Step 3 and the PHO Order on Gatherings and Events.

Step 3 of B.C.’s Restart plan is in effect as of July 1st.

B.C.’s Restart is the Province’s step-by-step plan to bring us back together. Please remember, the intention of the Restart is to slowly return to activities. Organizations are asked to turn the dimmer slowly when planning sport programming.

Vancouver's Leah John Is The 2021 B.C. Women's Amateur Champion - image credit Jerome Goddard/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

SUMMERLAND -- A win is sometimes that much sweeter when it has been preceded by so much hard work and occasional setbacks. Perhaps that’s why Leah John seemed so delighted with her win Friday at the116th playing of the B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship at Summerland Golf Club.

Like that noted philosopher Ringo Starr, John knows better than most that moments like this one don’t come easy.

Perseverance paid off for the 21-year-old Vancouver resident, who plays out of Marine Drive Golf Club and collegiately at the University of Nevada. John had come oh so close on a couple of previous occasions at British Columbia Golf championships.

In 2020, Golf Canada partnered with First Tee to launch First Tee – Canada. Together, the partnership will bring First Tee’s youth development emphasis to strengthen Golf Canada’s junior golf activities – previously conducted under the Future Links brand – that reach kids in communities, schools, and golf facilities.

Golf Canada will serve as the national headquarters of First Tee – Canada. First Tee chapters are being established in markets across Canada to deliver programs in their respective regions, with First Tee British Columbia being the first out of the gate.

Former BC Amateur Champion Jared du Toit Is Looking To Compete On The New Forme Tour - Images Credit BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

As a fully exempt member of the PGA Tour LatinoAmerica circuit, Kimberley’s Jared du Toit could have played in this week’s event in Florida. Instead, the former B.C. Amateur champion is joining a few other British Columbians at the new Forme Tour qualifying school at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash.

“It was kind of a tough decision, but I felt like it was the better move for me to have something for the summer, ideally,” du Toit said. He’ll be hoping to be one of a select few to earn status at Q-School, which runs Tuesday through Friday.

Master Superintendent Tim Kubash Is Determined To Continue In His Chosen Profession Following A Devastating Accident - Image via GoFundme.com

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

His many friends throughout the golf industry and so many others are rallying to support longtime superintendent Tim Kubash after a life-altering accident earlier this month. 

Kubash, a Canadian Golf Superintendents Association Master Superintendent, suffered devastating injuries May 5th when the tractor he was using to smooth the driveway at his Salmon Arm home tipped over a slope.

Kubash was thrown head first into the canopy of the vehicle and snapped his C6 and C7 vertebrae. He was flown by air ambulance to Vancouver General Hospital and has lost the use of his legs.

Meadow Gardens Member Michael Caan Joined Another Very Exclusive Club By Shooting A 59 At Home Course - Image via Instagram/@michaelcaan

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Now that he’s dried himself off and had some time to reflect on the round of his life, Michael Caan still can’t quite believe what happened.

His round of 59, which ended with a celebratory dive into the pond surrounding the 18th green at Meadow Gardens Golf Course that went viral on social media, remains a bit of a blur. Especially the closing few holes, when the 27-year-old Coquitlam pro realized he had a chance to do something special.

via Allied Golf Association - British Columbia

We have the great fortune to continue to play golf in British Columbia amidst COVID-19 as our provincial health authorities recognize the activity is performed outside and can be enjoyed with proper protocols in place and adherence to provincial health orders.

Our British Columbia golf course operators have been provided Best Practices for Responsible Operation of BC Golf Courses and we remind golfers in British Columbia to do their part in golfing responsibly for everyone’s continued enjoyment of the game.

Here linked are a pdf version and a word version for the British Columbia Golf Industry’s use.

With all the uncertainty and ups and downs in the world these days sometimes a little humour is in order. To that end we have some new comic strips from Seattle's Rick Newell.

Newell's humorous comic strip, which centres around golf and the characters whose lives in and around the game are likely very familiar to many of us, was a regular feature in golf publications and on websites in the past.

Life In The Trap tells the story of Clay, Duff, Rosie, Putts and Carrie, the local golf pro, along with the occasional insight from 'Dimples' the golf ball. 

Here are Newell's latest creations for your amusement.

(March 23, 2021 – Golf Canada) – Canadians needing a social outlet and a sense of recreational normalcy during the uncertainty of the pandemic in 2020 turned to golf in a major way.

Now Golf Canada, with the support of industry partners, will build on the excitement, increased interest, and elevated levels of play with a national golfer retention campaign to welcome new and returning players back to the golf course in 2021.

All Images Courtesy Haywood Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

When competing with industry heavyweights like Taylor Made, Titleist, Ping and Callaway, it’s important to have something that sets you apart.

For Haywood Golf, a Vancouver-based direct-to-consumer equipment company, that would be price. “The way we describe our clubs is 'we’re not cheaper, we are just more affordable,'” says company founder Joshua Haywood.

Not even three years old, Haywood Golf is turning some heads in what is an ultra-competitive business. Golfers like the sleek, simple look of Haywood’s irons and they love the price.

An Aerial View Of The Back Nine At Bootleg Gap GC And The Hoodoos - Image Courtesy Bootleg Gap GC

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Since joining Bootleg Gap Golf Course as a young assistant pro in 2004, Trevor Simkins has pretty much done it all. 

Simkins became head pro at the scenic Kimberley course in 2006 and eight years later was appointed general manager. He’s now about to take on the biggest role of his life.

Simkins has bought the golf course.

Simkins, his father Harold -- a former longtime club pro in Kamloops -- and his step-mother Jeanna take possession of Bootleg Gap on Feb. 11 after purchasing it from the City of Kimberley. 

“From assistant golf pro to owner,” Simkins says. “It’s pretty cool.” Yes, it is.