Rosie Bee Kim (L) And Matthew Wilson (R) Are NextGen Fall Series West Championship Champs - Golf Canada Photo

For Immediate Release

Golden, B.C. – The NextGen Fall Series West Championship, fueled by JOURNIE Rewards, wrapped up at Golden Golf Club Sunday with Matthew Wilson of Nanaimo, B.C. and Rosie Bee Kim of Edmonton, Alta. besting a field of 90 young amateurs to take home the respective Junior Boys and Girls titles.

In the Junior Girls Division, 15-year-old Rosie Bee Kim, a member of Highlands, Golf Club, used a final-round, even-par 72 and tournament-total 3-under 213 (69-72-72) for a 4-shot, wire-to-wire victory over runner-up Erin Lee of Langley, B.C. at 1-over 217. Lucy Lin of Vancouver, B.C. (+3) finished alone in the third while Kelly Zhao of Richmond Hill, B.C. (+5) and Elisa Liu of Richmond, B.C. (+5) rounded out the top 5.

Mark Kitts Holds The Dick Munn Memorial Trophy For The Second Time After Winning The 2022 Srixon/Cleveland Golf PGA of BC Club Professional Championship Presented By Oakcreek Golf & Turf LP And Nike Golf - PGA of BC Image

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SEPTEMBER 21, 2022 - OLIVER, BC (PGA of British Columbia) – Mark Kitts (Shadow Ridge Golf Club) overcame difficult scoring conditions at Fairview Mountain Golf Club on his way to victory at the 2022 Srixon/Cleveland Golf PGA of BC Club Professional Championship presented by Oakcreek Golf & Turf LP and Nike Golf.

In a week that presented wind gusts of up to 50 km/h and peak-season green speeds, the Kelowna-based Head Professional overcame the elements to top a field of 45 Club Professionals to claim his second Dick Munn Memorial trophy.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Tee times in Langley figure to be tough to come by the next few months as another area course is forced to close temporarily due to the TransMountain pipeline expansion project. 

The West Coast Golf Group says Belmont Golf Course will close in mid-October and is not expected to re-open until sometime next summer. “Construction of the pipeline is scheduled to be complete by June 2023, with the course needing a period of recovery before re-opening,” WCGG said in a weekend message to its customers.

“We will advise everyone of our anticipated re-opening date as soon as we are able.”

Kevin Stinson Tees Off During A VGT Event - Image Courtesy Vancouver Golf Tour

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Kevin Stinson has collected something much more valuable than a bunch of frequent-flier points the past three weeks. He has stored away some precious golfing memories that will last a lifetime. 

It has been a September to remember for Stinson, a Mission resident who plays and teaches out of Cheam Mountain Golf Course in Chilliwack. He’ll never forget the camaraderie he had with his three teammates at the inaugural Four Nations Cup in South Africa and the immense pride he felt when they won the competition for Canada. 

“Probably one of the coolest golf experiences I have ever had,” Stinson said in an interview.

‘Your Heart Can Be In Two Places,’ Says Former UBC Golf Star Kat Kennedy (R) - Brad Ziemer Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

They were the best days of her golfing life and as Kat Kennedy reflected upon them she wondered if she could perhaps recreate them in a different kind of way.

Not as a player, but as a coach. And as it turned out, not with her UBC alma mater, but with Simon Fraser University.

Kennedy is just a couple of weeks into her new job as the SFU golf program’s first full-time assistant coach and is loving every minute of it.

Belmont GC, Part Of The West Coast Golf Group, Will Be Closed Until Next Summer

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Tee times in Langley figure to be tough to come by the next few months as another area course is forced to close temporarily due to the TransMountain pipeline expansion project.

Kimberley, BC's Jared du Toit Will Head To DP World Tour Q School This Fall - BC Golf Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Qualifying school usually means a trip or two to southern California or Arizona, but this Fall Jared du Toit will do his ‘studying’ abroad. And he’ll have lots of Canadian company. 

The Kimberley native has decided to travel to Europe for the DP World (formerly the European) Tour Q School. “I am putting my eggs in that basket,” du Toit says. “Costs are kind of crazy to do both. It’s $6,500 US to do the Korn Ferry Q School, which is nine grand Canadian, and the Euro school is about three grand Canadian. So that played a factor.”

Du Toit was also influenced by the fact his close friend Aaron Cockerill of Manitoba is experiencing success playing the DP World Tour.

Padraic O'Rourke, The 2021 PGA of BC Club Professional Champion, Is Heading To Marine Drive As The Venerable Club's New Director Of Golf - PGA of BC Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Padraic O’Rourke grew up on the west coast of Ireland and had the opportunity to play many of the famed links courses in his homeland.

He quickly gained an appreciation of the game’s history, something he said was top of mind in accepting the position of director of golf at Vancouver’s Marine Drive Golf Club. “The history of the club was definitely an attraction,” said O’Rourke, who has spent the past nine years as head professional and director of golf at Chateau Whistler Golf Club.

“It’s known for producing some great players and having a very active playing membership. I’ve met lots of Marine Drive members over the years working at the Chateau and I always found them to be very, very pleasant to deal with.

In a very well done short documentary aired by Skratch, Erik Anders Lang travels to Bald Eagle GC in Point Roberts, WA, a formally 'unreachable' course to find out what happened to so completely isolate the facility in this episode of Adventures in Golf, presented by United Airlines.

Golf boomed during the pandemic...everywhere except here. Two years later, it's finally making its comeback. Bald Eagle GC has a unique story of being virtually abandoned during the pandemic, which was far from unique in the U.S. and Canada at the time, but is slowly making a comeback thanks to the local volunteers who are helping as they play.

To see Brad Ziemer's recent story and interviews on Bald Eagle's comeback click here. 

Vancouver's Stu Macdonald Celebrates His Ace In The GolfBC Championship - PGATourCanada Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Kimberley’s Jared du Toit and Chris Crisologo of Richmond both played their way into PGA Tour Canada’s season-ending Fortinet Cup Championship and Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald recorded his ninth hole-in-one. 

Those were the British Columbia highlights of the $200,000 GolfBC Championship at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf & Country Club in Kelowna. Du Toit tied for 18th at 14-under par and Crisologo tied for 45th at nine-under.

Those finishes were enough to keep them inside the top 60 on the points list, which also makes them fully exempt for the 2023 PGA Tour Canada season.

Clockwise From Top Left: Pierre-Alexandre Bédard, Gordon Burns, Kevin Stinson and Branson Ferrier To Represent PGA of Canada professionals at Kyalami Country Club In South Africa - PGA of Canada Image

Courtesy PGA of Canada

The PGA of Canada is set to take on teams from the PGA of South Africa, PGA of Australia and PGA of New Zealand from August 31-September 4 in the inaugural Four Nations Cup.

The team from the PGA of Canada was chosen based off the PGA of Canada Points Rankings and ability to attend.

“The team is so excited to be competing this week in South Africa,” said PGA of Canada Championships Manager Matt Mueller, who is joining the team in Johannesburg. “It isn’t often that players get to compete in a team-based format, so for some of our top players to have the opportunity to represent our country and the PGA of Canada will be a phenomenal experience.”

Triple Title Winner Shelly Stouffer - Image Credit Golf Canada

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Shelly Stouffer keeps winning golf tournaments and making history. The Nanoose Bay resident not only defended her Canadian Senior Women’s Amateur title at Breezy Bend Country Club in suburban Winnipeg, she also won the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur and Mid-Master championships that were being played concurrently.

Call it golf’s version of a hat trick.

Stouffer becomes just the second Canadian to win the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship and the Canadian Senior Women’s Amateur Championship in the same year. World Golf Hall of Famer Marlene Streit was the first to do it in 1995.

Golf Canada

(September 1, 2022) – Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada are committed to providing opportunities for people with disabilities to experience the physical, psychological, and social benefits golf can offer.

As part of this commitment, the national golf organizations have launched the EDGA 359 Pilot Project, presented by Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada, partnering with EDGA (formerly the European Disabled Golf Association) on coach training designed to demystify adaptive golf and give coaches the confidence needed to launch and develop programs for golfers with disabilities across Canada.

“Through this coach training, we are eager to increase support for golfers of all abilities and make our sport inclusive of more Canadians,” said Laura Wilson, Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Safe Sport for Golf Canada.

Click HERE for complete article...

View Of The 13th Hole At Bald Eagle From 2019 - Image Courtesy Facility

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

It’s hard to argue that the Covid-19 pandemic has been a boon to the golf industry. Golf courses have never been busier and prime time weekend tee times have become something of a precious commodity.

Golf has undergone a renaissance of sorts as the pandemic brought new people to the game and those who already played logged even more rounds. 

It’s been a great time to be in the golf business pretty much everywhere but the border community of Point Roberts, Wash. The golf boom never materialized at Bald Eagle Golf Club, which was forced to close for more than two years during the pandemic due to border restrictions.

Photo Courtesy Golf Canada/Youth On Course

By Brad Ewart

Casper the friendly ghost would make a good golf parent.

As an invisible ghost he could always remain out-of-sight and out-of-mind allowing his golfer to play without distraction.

Often when parents think they are helping or doing what’s best for their player — they are doing the opposite. Negatively getting into their player’s mind and disruptively into their game.

Perhaps as a parent-spectator you don’t realize that you could adversely affect your golfer and their result. Let’s hope that moving forward you will begin to help and not hinder your player.

Gallagher's Canyon GC Will Host This Week's GolfBC Championship - Image Courtesy Tourism Kelowna

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

British Columbians Stuart Macdonald and Jared du Toit have some momentum on their side heading to this week’s GolfBC Championship at Gallagher’s Canyon in Kelowna on the PGA Tour Canada circuit.

Both players recorded top-25 finishes at last week’s CRMC Championship in Brainerd, Minn. Macdonald, a Vancouver native who spent this past year on the Korn Ferry Tour, tied for 16th at 17-under par, while Kimberley’s du Toit tied for 24th at 16-under.

Golf Industry Guru Gurus, Scott Masse (L) And James Cronk (R) - Image Courtesy GIG Website 

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Golf is not only a hard game, it’s also an extremely difficult business. Think about it. There’s a lot more to operating a golf course than simply ringing in green fees. There’s the food and beverage side of the operation. There’s the agronomy side of the business. There’s staff to recruit, manage and retain in today’s challenging environment and so much more.

“It’s really complicated,” says James Cronk. “As a manger, a general manager, as an owner, you have to have some understanding of how to run a restaurant, how to grow grass, how to sell and market, how to deal with human resources.”  

Cronk and partner Scott Masse have started a business designed to help golf course operators and their staffs. Golf Industry Guru is now in its second year of operation and has close to 100 clients (golf courses) signed up. They make up what Cronk likes to call GIG Nation.

Cordova Bay Golf Course's Nate Ollis Hoists The William Thompson Trophy As He Claims The 2022 PGA of BC Championship Presented By Axis Insurance At Pitt Meadows Golf Club - PGA of BC Photo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(AUGUST 24, 2022) PITT MEADOWS, BC (PGA of British Columbia) – Nate Ollis of Cordova Bay Golf Course birdied the third playoff hole on Tuesday at Pitt Meadows Golf Club to capture the 2022 PGA of BC Championship presented by Axis Insurance.

The Victoria, BC-native fired back-to-back rounds of 2-under par 70, including a final round on Tuesday that came bogey-free to claim his first PGA of BC victory.

After the completion of 36-holes, Ollis and Seymour Creek Golf Centre’s Bryn Parry (69-71) found themselves tied at 4-under par and heading to a sudden-death playoff.

From L-R: Vanessa Zhang, Gianna Clements And Michelle Liu - Golf Canada Photo

Courtesy Golf Canada

OTTAWA, Ont. – When Michelle Liu qualified for the 2019 CP Women’s Open at 12 years, 9 months and 6 days old, it was a record that many thought would last for the foreseeable future.

Then came Lucy Lin.

On Monday, Lin earned a spot in the 2022 CP Women’s Open via a 3-for-1 playoff in the Final Qualifier at The Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa, Ont. and when she tees it up at Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club on Thursday at the age of 12 years, 7 months and 12 days, she will become the youngest female ever to qualify for Canada’s National Women’s Open.

Michelle Liu Holds The BC Women's Amateur Trophy At Age 13 - BC Golf Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

She isn’t exactly all grown up quite yet, but Vancouver’s Michelle Liu is feeling like she’s much better prepared for her second appearance at the CP Women’s Open.

Three years ago as a 12-year-old, Liu made headlines when she became the youngest player to tee it up in a Canadian LPGA Tour event.

She has some great memories of that tournament, held at Magna Golf Club in Aurora, Ont., but she also remembers being somewhat overwhelmed by the length of the course. Physically, she wasn’t quite ready to handle it.