New Owners Plan To Re-Open Merritt-Area Course July 1st - Image Credit Bryan Outram/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The new owners of Sagebrush, the highly acclaimed golf course near Merritt that has been closed since 2014, plan to re-open the facility this summer. July 1st has been set as the proposed opening date for the course.

A small group headed by Langley real estate developer Andrew Knott now own the long-term lease on the property, which sits above Nicola Lake. Knott and his partners had supplied former owner Mark Chandler with a private mortgage that Chandler used to buy Sagebrush in 2015.

The Future Is Looking Up For Victoria's Willy Bishop - Image Courtesy Fairways Golf Video Screen Capture

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

When he won the B.C. Junior and Juvenile Boys Championships last summer, Victoria’s Willy Bishop hoped it might lead to some opportunities to further advance his game. That wish has certainly come true.

In November, Bishop was rewarded with a spot on Golf Canada’s national junior team.

His two wins last summer also created considerable interest from collegiate coaches and Bishop recently committed to join Kent State University’s golf program in the fall of 2022.

Abbotsford's PGA TOUR Duo Of Nick Taylor & Adam Hadwin (inset) And Merritt, BC's Roger Sloan - Courtesy VGT/BC Golf File Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf 

BAY HILL BECKONS: The Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando, Fla., is this week’ stop on the PGA TOUR. After a week off, the Abbotsford duo of Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor are both in the field.  In three previous appearances at Bay Hill, Hadwin has finished no worse than tied for 36th. Hadwin’s best finish came in 2017 when he was solo sixth. That was just a week after his win at the Valspar Championship. Taylor has made the cut in two of three previous appearances at Bay Hill. His best finish came in 2015 when he tied for 35th. Taylor enters the week 105th on the FedEx Cup points list, while Hadwin is 120th.

O Canada! Roger Sloan's outdoor rink at his home in Houston, Texas - Image Courtesy Roger Sloan 

The following is an excerpt from Postmedia National Golf Writer Jon McCarthy’s Monday Morning Golf newsletter.

by Jon McCarthy/Toronto Sun

You can take a Canadian out of Canada, but you can’t take Canada out of a Canadian. 

With all the news of snowstorms, blackouts and varying states of emergency coming out of Texas, it seemed like a good time to check in with our man in the Lone Star state, PGA Tour player Roger Sloan.

After missing the cut at Pebble Beach two weeks ago, he was anxious to get home to Houston and see if the forecasted winter weather was actually going to show up. He thought it might be fun for his two young kids to see snow on the ground in the backyard, something that happens maybe once a decade.

“We thought it would be cool but we really didn’t know what we were getting into,” Sloan said.

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Beginning in 2021, British Columbia Golf along with Golf Canada and the other provincial associations have changed Tournament Management Software.

British Columbia Golf will be using Golf Genius for the foreseeable future starting in 2021.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

TOP-20 FOR TAYLOR: Nick Taylor closed with a two-under 69 on Sunday to record a top-20 finish at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Taylor finished the event at three-under par and tied for 20th. That was nine shots behind winner Max Homa, who beat Tony Finau in a playoff. It was Taylor’s best finish in seven starts at Riviera. He earned $101,835.

For Immediate Publication

22 February 2021, St Andrews, Scotland and Liberty Corner, N.J., USA: The R&A and the USGA have announced proposals for significant changes to the Rules of Amateur Status that govern the game worldwide.

These proposals result from a modernisation initiative that has identified a clear need to bring the Rules up to date to reflect today’s global amateur game and ensure that the Rules are easier to understand and apply.

The proposed Rules, along with explanations to key changes, have been posted on www.RandA.org and www.usga.org and the organisations are now inviting feedback from golfers and stakeholders. Comments will be accepted until Friday, 26 March 2021 with the new Rules scheduled to be adopted on 1 January 2022.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Like so many other things in our lives, this year’s British Columbia GOLFEXPO will be a little different. Actually, a lot different.

The annual golf expo, which runs Feb. 26-28, will not require a drive to its regular location, the PNE Forum building in Vancouver. In fact, it won’t require any kind of drive at all. You can take in this year’s show from your couch.

The show has gone virtual, thanks to COVID-19 restrictions. Simply visit bcgolfexpo.ca and you’re there.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Like so many other things in our lives, this year’s British Columbia GOLFEXPO will be a little different. Actually, a lot different.

The annual golf expo, which runs Feb. 26-28, will not require a drive to its regular location, the PNE Forum building in Vancouver. In fact, it won’t require any kind of drive at all. You can take in this year’s show from your couch.

The show has gone virtual, thanks to COVID-19 restrictions. Simply visit bcgolfexpo.ca and you’re there.

Click on the image below to hear the latest ModGolf Podcast with host Colin Weston as he interviews Charles Dillahunt to share how The PGA of America is working to break down barriers to entry for not only playing golf but to participate as a business supplier within the golf industry.

"My biggest hope for the golf industry is that it one day grows to be more representative of the population of the world, and that it openly welcomes and serves members of all communities and from all walks of life equally and inclusively."

From L-R: Trevor Brown, Barb Silvester and Michael Parker - BC Golf Photo

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Trevor Brown chuckles as he recalls the moment he decided to get serious about learning the rules of golf.

Brown was playing a round with a close friend many years ago and they had a few dollars riding on the match. Brown hit a shot that ended up in a penalty area and that’s where the trouble started and ended with Brown reaching into his wallet to pay his buddy.

“I was in a penalty area and started hitting the grass with my practice swings and he said, ‘hey, you just lost the match’ to me,” Brown says. “And I was like, ‘what do you mean, I'm your friend.’ He said, ‘that doesn’t matter, this is golf. You owe me five bucks.’ So I said to myself, you know what, I am going to learn the rules.”

Image Courtesy @VanParksGolf Twitter

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Not surprisingly, 2020 was a very good year for the City of Vancouver’s three golf courses. And 2021 figures to be even better.

Fraserview, McCleery and Langara logged a total of 162,448 rounds in 2020. That compares to 167,436 in 2019.

But those 2020 numbers are impressive when you consider the three courses were closed for nearly two months last spring due to COVID-19 and then operated for much of the year with much longer tee-time intervals due to COVID safety protocols.

British Columbia Golf would like to wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year 2021 falls on Friday, February 12th, 2021, and celebrations culminate with the Lantern Festival on February 26th, 2021. See the full calendar.

Celebrations last up to 16 days, but only the first 7 days are considered a public holiday (February 11th–17th, 2021).

Chinese New Year marks the transition between zodiac signs: 2021 is the year of the Ox; 2020 the year of the Rat.

The 2021 BC Golf Education Summit series continues Tuesday, February 9th at 7PM. This next session features Colin Lavers and Matt Cella, two coaches from the BC Golf Performance program, who will be heading the 'Planning for Performance' webinar.

Anyone can learn from some of the most knowledgeable people in Canada on how to succeed along the path to becoming the best possible golfer you can be.

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.

Nick Taylor, Wife Andie And Their Apparently Unimpressed Young Son Charlie Posed Following Taylor's Win At Pebble Beach Last Year - Image Courtesy Twitter

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The memories figure to last a lifetime, so one year after the biggest win of his professional career Nick Taylor has no difficulty recalling some of the most special moments of that magical week on the Monterey Peninsula.

One of the best was having his wife Andie and their young son Charlie waiting for him behind the 18th green at Pebble Beach Golf Links after he won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

The memories figure to last a lifetime, so one year after the biggest win of his professional career Nick Taylor has no difficulty recalling some of the most special moments of that magical week on the Monterey Peninsula.

One of the best was having his wife Andie and their young son Charlie waiting for him behind the 18th green at Pebble Beach Golf Links after he won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

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OAKVILLE, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Golf Canada is pleased to announce the 10 athletes who have been selected to represent the 2021 Team Canada Young Pro Squad.

Comprising the 2021 Women’s Young Pro Squad will be returnees Brittany Marchand (Orangeville, Ont.), Jaclyn Lee (Calgary, Alta.), and Maddie Szeryk (London, Ont.). After becoming a first-time mom in July, Golf Canada is also pleased to welcome back Anne-Catherine Tanguay (Quebec City, Que.) to the Young Pro Squad as she makes her return to the LPGA Tour.

The 2021 Men’s Young Pro Squad features a six-pack of familiar athletes led by Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ont.).

Other members of the Men’s Young Pro Squad for 2021 include Jared du Toit (Kimberley, B.C.), Chris Crisologo (Richmond, B.C.), Stuart Macdonald (Vancouver, B.C.), Joey Savoie (La Prairie, Que.), and Hugo Bernard (Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que.).

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

For the past 21 years, Muncie Booth has run golf camps for inner-city children at McCleery Golf Course in Vancouver. The kids are given some golf instruction, run through a series of fun drills and offered a scrumptious brunch inside McCleery’s clubhouse.

They don’t pay a dime to attend the camps, thanks to the efforts of Booth, the longtime head professional at McCleery.

For that work and so much else he has done in his 40 years as a member of the PGA of Canada, Booth was last week named the inaugural winner of the association’s Warren Crosbie Community Leader of the Year Award.

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.