By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It has been a tough few years for Bald Eagle Golf Club, the Point Roberts layout that was forced to close during the Covid pandemic, then re-opened in 2022 only to close again for the 2023 season.

It is now scheduled to re-open sometime early this summer with a new, but familiar name and a new owner. The course is returning to its former name, Point Roberts Golf & Country Club, and has targeted June 15 as a re-opening date, although there is a good chance it could be a week or two after that.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It all started six years ago in a friend’s garage, which is where Haywood Golf built its first clubs. Back then, the Vancouver-based company was a one-club specialist that produced wedges only. Lots has changed since then.

Haywood can now fill your golf bag. They manufacture full iron sets, drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, a driving iron and putters. Oh, they can now sell you that golf bag, too. The company’s remarkable growth forced Haywood out of that garage four years ago and into their own facility in North Vancouver. It was tiny, but it was a place of their own.

Now, Haywood has moved again into larger digs in Burnaby that company founder Josh Haywood says better fits its needs for the future.

- New Economic Impact Study Released -

For Immediate Release

OTTAWA, May 23, 2024 – After a four-year pause due to COVID-19, the National Allied Golf Associations (NAGA) are on Parliament Hill leading National Golf Day and discussing with Parliamentarians the many positive benefits of golf for Canadians.

The golf industry representatives are also releasing the results of a new Canadian Golf Economic Impact Study highlighting golf’s financial contributions and incredible popularity as the number one participation sport in Canada.

National Golf Day also celebrates golf’s physical and mental health benefits, its safe sport attributes, social merits, environmental stewardship, diversity, life skills for youth, and economic value to the business community.

National data indicates that hundreds of thousands of Canadians have entered the sport since Covid-19, totaling six million Canadian golfers and further strengthening golf’s status as the number one participation sport in the country.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Things get a little busy late Wednesday afternoons this time of year at Sheep Pasture Golf Course in Lillooet.

In addition to the herd of 80 or 90 sheep and lambs grazing on the course, there are almost as many kids swinging clubs on the nine-hole layout. “We have created a bit of a monster,” club president Bob Sheridan jokes as he discusses the club’s popular junior golf program.

The 2024 Women's Golf Day celebration, with events being held in various locations from May 28th - June 4th this year, is now underway.

British Columbia Golf is pleased to direct anyone wishing to take part at a facility event to the posters below. We will add more as they become known.

Meanwhile, everyone can find out information on the WGD website HERE.

UBC's Women's Golf Team Finished 3rd At This Year's NAIA Championship

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

You can’t win them all, which the University of B.C. women’s golf team discovered last week in Illinois. The Thunderbirds entered the NAIA national championship tourney at TPC Deere Run looking for what, officially, would have been a three-peat.

Unofficially, they were attempting to win their fourth straight title. In addition to their 2022 and 2023 crowns, the T-Birds also won the national championship in 2019. The event was not played in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic and UBC was not permitted to travel to the tournament in 2021.

Doug And Janet O’Mara Crossed The Century Mark Of Their Epic Golf Journey Deep In The Amazon Rainforest In Manaus, Brazil

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Doug and Janet O’Mara really didn’t set out to play golf in 100 different countries. It kind of just happened.

The Whistler couple love to travel and are also avid golfers. After a number of different trips to all corners of the globe, it suddenly occurred to them that they had played a lot of golf in a lot of different places. So they started counting.

- Regional Recipients Announced For Premier’s Awards For Indigenous Youth Excellence In Sport -

Traditional Territory of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples / Victoria B.C. (May 14, 2024) – The Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation Council (I·SPARC) is pleased to announce the regional recipients of the 2023 Premier’s Awards for Indigenous Youth Excellence in Sport.

Victoria, BC's Jeevan Sihota - Image Credit: Bernard Brault/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The Latin American portion of the PGA Tour Americas circuit concludes at this week’s Inter Rapidisimo Golf Championship in Bogota, Colombia, where Victoria’s Jeevan Sihota must make the cut to secure his playing privileges for the tour’s North American swing.

Sihota enters the tournament ranked 61st on the Fortinet Cup points list. The top 60 players after this week’s event will be exempt for the nine Canadian events and one U.S. tournament on the North American swing that begins next month in Victoria.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Jake Lane grew up in the northern B.C. community of Charlie Lake and caught the golf bug playing Lake Point Golf & Country Club.

Like all kids, Lane dreamed big. During those countless summertime rounds at Lake Point, when the sun didn’t set until late into the evening, Lane would imagine maybe becoming good enough to play professional golf and one day competing in a tournament he watched on television every year.

The RBC Canadian Open was a major in his eyes and now Lane is going to play in it.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It was a day later and Una Chou was still thinking about the putt that won her the individual women’s title at the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship at the famed Stadium course at TPC Sawgrass.

“It still feels surreal,” said Chou, who is completing her third year as a member of the UBC Thunderbirds golf team. “I have been looking back at that putt I made on 18 and saying, ‘How did I make that putt?’ It was like a six-foot slider and I knew I needed to make it for the win. I just tried to trust my routine. I was thinking, 'if it goes in, great, if it doesn’t it’s fine.'”

It went in, of course, and Chou picked the ball out of the cup and looked up toward the heavens. “I just felt so relieved,” she said. “It was just like a big sigh of relief.”

Matthew Wilson File Photo - Image Credit Chuck Russell/Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Matthew Wilson wants to end his junior golf career on a high note and the Nanaimo native is off to a terrific start. Wilson kick-started his final round with a pair of chip-in eagles on his front nine at Summerland Golf Club and won the NextGen Pacific Championship by one shot over Joshua Ince of Surrey.

“I have put in a lot of work this off-season and one of the things I really wanted to do, especially with this being my last year of junior golf, is get my game in a good spot to win a lot of golf tournaments,” Wilson said.

British Columbia's Gary Pike - Image Courtesy PNGA

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Gary Pike made his PNGA Lamey Cup debut last year and is delighted he will be back for a second opportunity to play in the annual Ryder Cup-style competition featuring teams from the British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and Idaho golf associations.

“It was a blast,” says Pike, a Victoria resident who won the B.C Mid-Master Championship last spring. “You are representing British Columbia and it’s a pretty cool experience. The event was very well run and meeting other players there was fun. It was a real privilege to play.”

BC's Stuart Macdonald And His Caddie, Father Rob, With The Diners Club Peru Open Trophy - Image Courtesy PGA TOUR Americas

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

When it was over, after Stuart Macdonald had tapped in a short putt to win the Diners Club Peru Open, he accepted congratulations from his two playing partners and then hugged his caddie. And wouldn’t let go.

Macdonald’s caddie was his dad, Robert, who after battling a serious illness, had travelled from Vancouver to South America to carry his son’s bag.

Stu Macdonald will never forget that emotional father-son embrace that followed a win that could change his professional golfing life.

(Photo By Colby Johannson/Par Six Golf)

By Gord Montgomery, Senior Writer, Inside Golf

QUILCHENA, British Columbia –  A course now named as a top play in British Columbia, Sagebrush Golf Course, is prepared to welcome guests with an ever-expanding line-up of amenities.

Sagebrush Golf Club will open for the season on May 3, 2024, and they are ready for those looking for a unique golfing experience. Located in Quilchena, just outside of Merritt, the revamping of this facility will overwhelm guests whether they choose to simply come to play or decide to spend a few days taking on this golfing challenge.

The UBC Men's & Women's Golf Teams Were Both Victorious In The Warrior Invitational - Image Credit Toby Kerr (UBC Communications)

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Officially, the University of B.C. women’s team has won two straight NAIA golf championships. But factor in the two years UBC was forced to miss the national tournament because of Covid, the Thunderbirds have won the last three national titles they have been able to compete in.

Don’t bet against them making it four straight when the NAIA Championships go May 14-17 at TPC Deere Run in Silvas, Ill.

Images Courtesy: BC Sports Hall Of Fame 

Help Us Open The Door For The Next eneration Of Indigenous Athletes & Coaches With A State Of The Art Virtual Reality Experience

For immediate release
April 15, 2024

Vancouver, BC – The Indigenous Sport Gallery at the BC Sports Hall of Fame is the largest known permanent gallery in the world dedicated to Indigenous sport and with the unveiling of one of the most comprehensive digitization projects in sports history, it can now be experienced through virtual reality by visitors from across British Columbia and across the world.

The Digital Indigenous Sport Gallery (DISG) is designed to increase the accessibility of the Indigenous Sport Gallery and highlight the accomplishments and contributions of Indigenous athletes, coaches and builders who have had a profound impact on sport history and culture – and bring their stories to life.

Ledgeview GC, Site Of The 2024 BC Amateur - Image Courtesy Ledgeview GC

We hope you are all enjoying the off-season and are ready for a packed summer of golf. Please see the information regarding the 2024 British Columbia Golf Provincial Championships below.

As the 2024 golf season nears, we are eager to host our Provincial Championships across British Columbia.

New Zealand's Amelia Garvey Tees Off On No. 10 At Vancouver Golf Club - BC Golf Image

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

There just seems to be something about Kiwis and Vancouver Golf Club. New Zealand’s most famous golf export, Lydia Ko, has won a pair of LPGA events at the Coquitlam layout and now Christchurch native Amelia Garvey has produced a little magic of her own.

Garvey dominated a 36-hole U.S. Women’s Open qualifier, shooting rounds of 69 and 71 to finish four shots clear of the field. “I guess I should have called Lydia for some advice,” Garvey said. “I didn’t know she had won on this course.”