The ModGolf Podcast this week, hosted by Colin Weston, features Laurence Applebaum, CEO Of Golf Canada - Creating Golf Moments That Matter

"If your best moment is being on the golf course, we want to create more moments like that". This week our host Colin Weston speaks to Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum. Since 2017 Laurence has lead the team at Golf Canada - the National Sport Federation and governing body for golf in Canada - with a mission to "have more people playing more golf and to succeed within the sport more than ever before”.

 See how Canadians fared in professional events around the world this past week.

Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum Unveiled The Association's Three-Year Strategic Plan At The 2019 AGM - Image Courtesy Golf Canada

By Adam Stanley/Golf Canada

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – On the 18th green at TPC Sawgrass, Laurence Applebaum was laughing and chatting with whomever was around.

Usually standing on that intimidating tee – with water up the left-hand side and a thin fairway – you’re not happy at all. But Golf Canada’s CEO caught Canadians Nick Taylor and Corey Conners coming through in the final hole of their practice round, and how could he not be happy?

Taylor and Conners were wearing shorts. Applebaum was clad in a grey monotone ensemble, the pop of colour reserved for the red in the Golf Canada logo on his shirt. It was like a scene you might stumble upon at any golf club in the country when a trio of friends got together at the end of a round – it just so happened that two of the three are some of the best golfers in the world.

Angela Bowers Of Victoria Has Become The First Female Caddy From The Victoria Golf Club To Earn The Prestigious Evans Caddie Scholarship Award - Image Credit Alisa Kerr/Victoria GC

By Brad Ziemer/British Columbia Golf

In caddie parlance, they are called 'loops' and Angela Bowers has made more than 140 of them at Victoria Golf Club.

That’s a lot of walking, sometimes in the rain and wind, with a heavy bag slung over your shoulders, but Bowers never lost sight of the potential reward waiting at the end of her journey.

And now that she has officially earned that proverbial pot of gold at the end of her caddying rainbow -- a prestigious Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship that will take her to the University of Washington this fall -- Bowers is also proud of the fact she made a little history along the way.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MARCH 12, 2019 - RICHMOND, BC (PGA of British Columbia) – The PGA of BC will conduct eight championship events across four of the Association’s geographic regions in 2019, once again providing a variety of avenues for its member Golf Professionals to compete amongst each other and alongside amateurs from their respective facilities.

This year’s schedule includes an event taking place in the Kootenays region, which will mark the first time one of the PGA of BC’s active championships has been held in the eastern portion of the province since 2000. Altogether, seven different British Columbia communities will host zone-wide competitions conducted by the Association in 2019.

For many of us trying to squeeze in the last few rounds of the season, or for those still planning on heading south this winter, it’s important to note the “active season” in the region, province or country you’re playing in.

Golf Canada’s Handicap System stipulates every player is responsible for returning all acceptable scores into one’s scoring record from rounds played on courses observing their active season, which is part of the golf season when courses have acceptable playing conditions.

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of authorized provincial golf associations to declare active and inactive periods, and it is the responsibility of the area club and golfers to observe these dates for posting purposes.

The PGA TOUR and its affiliated Tours boasts a large roster of players from Canada as members. Here is the recap from this past week’s action and their performances.

As Friday, March 8th marks the celebration of International Women's Day, British Columbia Golf is pleased to take part in acknowledging and promoting the involvement of women of all ages and backgrounds in the game of golf.

Golf has made a concerted effort in recent years to bring more women into the game worldwide with events such as International Women's Golf Day being only one example. 

What can be stated without debate is that there have been many great female golfers over the years. Thirty-nine of them have earned enshrinement into the World Golf Hall of Fame including Canada's Marlene Stewart Streit

With all the recent controversy regarding the 'new rules' of golf, particularly due to some very publicized incidents on the PGA TOUR, Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press wrote a piece that puts the onus where it really should be, on the players, to learn, know, understand and play by the rules. He makes some excellent points here illustrating clearly why it should not be that difficult to accept and embrace the effort and intent of the new rules of golf. - ed

By Doug Ferguson/Associated Press

ORLANDO, Florida — The memo PGA TOUR commissioner Jay Monahan sent to players on the new Rules of Golf can be interpreted different ways based as much on the timing as the message.

One theme was to be patient. “We are committed to playing under these rules as we analyze their effectiveness... and it’s important to acknowledge that we are not at the finish line yet,” Monahan said in a memo.

Another was to look at the USGA as a partner instead of a villain.

“This is a collaborative process, one the PGA TOUR has been a part of from the beginning, along with all organizations in the world of golf,” he wrote.

The hope is that it will lead players to stop complaining about the rules and simply follow them.

Click HERE to read full story. 

This golf season, get the provincial bragging rights for Fantasy Golf with The BC Golf Fantasy Challenge.

The contest is easy, fun, flexible...and free. Pick your team in any, or all, of six qualifying tournaments through the summer, finish in the top 10% of entrants in any one of the six and you are immediately qualified for the season-ending Championship playoff. Emerge victorious there and you will be crowned BC Golf Fantasy Challenge champion.

The Qualifying Series starts this week with the Players Championship followed by the Four Majors with the RBC Canadian Openalso included. All those who qualify from each tournament will then pick a team of players from the season-ending Fedex Cup Tour Championship.

This format means that, as each of the six tournaments is a separate qualifier for the Championship round, there is no issue if you miss a tournament or two. Qualify early on and you can sit back and wait.

Along the way, participants can win some great prizes. BC Golf will be working with the courses who earned the distinction of being selected as one of the province's top ten favourites by our members to provide green fees for winners in the individual Qualifying Series tournaments. The Grand Prize and presenting sponsor will be announced later this month.

Stay tuned for word on that and in the meantime check out below how you can register to get started in search of 'Fantasy Golf Glory'.

This week host Colin Weston speaks to the USGA's Senior Director of Research, Science & Innovation Matthew Pringle.

Beginning in 2016, Matt has led a new team at the USGA called Research, Science, & Innovation with a mission to, "Create innovative tools that help golf facilities improve the golf experience and reduce the consumption of key resources".

In this episode Matt and Colin refer to the Lean Startup approach to quickly experiment with and validate ideas/products/services. The USGA has embraced Lean Startup's ability to, "Apply entrepreneurial management to drive innovation in any size organization or sector. We’re now up to a team of five and we like to think of ourselves as a scrappy startup within The USGA".

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VANCOUVER, BC (February 27, 2019) — Sport BC is pleased to announce the recipient of the prestigious Daryl Thompson Lifetime Achievement Award is the late John Buchanan, former coach at Simon Fraser University.

The Daryl Thompson Award is proudly sponsored by the BC Games Society and named in honour of the late Daryl Thompson, former chair of Sport BC. Daryl’s contribution to sport as an athlete, coach and executive officer were exemplary.

This prestigious award recognizes an individual who has contributed their time in an extraordinary way to sport over a long period of time or has made a major contribution to amateur sport in British Columbia.

See how Canadians fared in professional events around the world this past week.

Written By John Gordon/Courtesy Golf Canada

"It would not be a bad idea to require each golfer to pass a written examination on the Rules of Golf…”

Don’t panic. That was just the opinion of J.T. Clark, editor of the Toronto Star.

In 1915.

The PGA TOUR and its affiliated Tours boasts a large roster of players from Canada as members. Here is the recap from this past week’s action and their performances.

Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team will return to BC Place for a crucial international match on Sunday, March 24 against French Guiana.

Secure your seats to catch Canada’s next generation of dynamic young stars, featuring former Vancouver Whitecaps phenom Alphonso Davies’ return to Vancouver, by taking advantage of an exclusive British Columbia Golf ticket offer featuring a 30% discount!

With the 2019 Annual General Meeting coming up, British Columbia Golf, the governing body of amateur golf in our province, is using the occasion to shine a light on three of the most important elements identified as part of the continued growth and well-being of the game as we look ahead with '2020' vision.

This year's meeting will take place on Saturday, March 30th from 8:30am (registration) - 3pm at Tsawwassen Springs Golf Club, 5099 Springs Boulevard, Tsawwassen, B.C .

See how Canadians fared in professional events around the world this past week.

2019 Freedom 55 Financial Open Champion Jordan Niebrugge (R) Heads Up The Iconic 18th Hole At Point Grey G&CC With HomeTown Lad Nigel Colclough On The Bag - Image Credit Bryan Outram/British Columbia Golf

The 2019 Mackenzie Tour - PGA Tour Canada season is not far away and the first event on their schedule kicking off the season will be at Vancouver's venerable Point Grey Golf & Country Club.

The Freedom 55 Financial Open takes place May 20 - 26th and leading up to the tournament the organizers are looking for volunteers for a number of roles.

They also need caddies. As it happens, last year's champion Jordan Niebrugge had his bag toted by longtime Pitt Meadows Golf Club member Nigel Colclough, so it could be your turn this time.

Along with the opportunity to be up close with many future PGA TOUR stars (both Abbotsford's Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor played on the Mackenzie Tour and have gone on to record victories on the PGA TOUR), there is a great volunteer package that includes tickets for a Vancouver Canucks game.