Teaching Professional And BC Golf Hall Of Fame Member Phil Jonas Has Had To Become Resourceful In His Methods Dealing With Students During Covid-19 - Image Credit Brad Ziemer/BC Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia

Golf courses have never been busier, but the same cannot be said for those who teach the game. COVID-19 has most certainly had an impact on the golf pros who derive a significant portion of their income from lessons. Demand for lessons has slowed and our new social distancing world creates additional challenges for teaching professionals.

Group lessons, at least for now, are not happening. And those one-on-one sessions figure to be far less up close and personal. In other words, less hands-on. “When I get a new student and especially someone that is new to golf, that is hard,” says Phil Jonas, who along with his wife Patty, runs a golf academy at Hazelmere Golf Club in Surrey.

Riley Wheeldon (Top Left) And James Allenby (RIght) Will Have To Wait Another Year To Get Back Out On The Mackenzie Tour - Images Credit BC Golf/Golf Canada (Chuck Russell)

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

James Allenby and Riley Wheeldon were not surprised by the official word that the 2020 Mackenzie Tour - PGA Tour Canada season was being cancelled. Just profoundly disappointed.

Their professional golf dreams are on hold for another year. Langley’s Allenby and Comox native Wheeldon both had exempt status for this year’s Mackenzie Tour, which was officially cancelled on Friday.

The Full-Operational Focus For The Mackenzie Tour - PGA TOUR Canada Points Toward A 2021 Restart - Image Courtesy Mackenzie Tour/Golf Canada

TORONTO, ONTARIO – Due to border restrictions, mandatory quarantines for those entering Canada and gathering restrictions in all provinces because of COVID-19, the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada announced Friday that it is canceling its 2020 season.

“With growing uncertainty surrounding the border and the 14-day quarantine regulations, among other factors, we’ve weighed all of our options and concluded that it is not feasible to play this summer,” said Mackenzie Tour Executive Director Scott Pritchard.

As Long As the Canada-U.S. Border Remains Closed, So Will The Point Roberts Course - Images Courtesy Bald Eagle GC

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

With his course stuck in the golfing equivalent of no-man’s land, Kyle German is finding it increasingly difficult to believe a season can be salvaged at Bald Eagle Golf Club.

Golf courses have re-opened in both British Columbia and Washington state and by all accounts business is brisk. But at Bald Eagle, located across the border in Point Roberts, there is no business at all. With the U.S.-Canadian border closed until at least June 21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bald Eagle remains shuttered.

Due to the COVID - 19 pandemic, the Ministry of Health's safety regulations around travel and ViaSport's mandate that no competitive sport be played at this time, B.C. Golf has decided to not go ahead with the 2020 B.C. Women's Amateur Championship.

No Word If These Bears Had An Official Tee Time At Whistler GC, But They Are Okay For Social Distance Rules As They're From The Same Family -   Image Courtesy TripAdvisor.com/Traveller photo submitted by Navigator664564 (Aug. 2016)

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

British Columbia golf resorts that rely heavily on tourist traffic are hoping the provincial government will soon give the all-clear for non-essential travel.

“The golf course is in great shape, the bears are running around like crazy,” says Alan Kristmanson, the longtime general manager and director of golf at Whistler Golf Club. “Everybody who is playing here is having a great time. We’re ready, for sure.”

Written by Golf Canada

The World 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.

Each year, provincial associations analyze numerous factors to determine their active seasons. This ensures consistency of when scores would be posted by the majority of golfers to help keep Handicap Indexes accurate.

L-R: Golf Canada National Team Coaches - Robert Ratcliffe, Derek Ingram & Jennifer Greggain - (K2 image by Pavel Novak/ Everest kalapatthar.jpg)

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Junior golfers in British Columbia aren’t just doing their school work on-line these days. They’ve also been firing up their laptops the past month for a series of golf webinars.

With tournament play and group instruction on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, British Columbia Golf organized a series of 10 webinars aimed at elite junior golfers not only here in B.C. but across the country.

“In-person instruction has been tough, so we are doing everything we can to help them out,” says Doug Hastie, manager of field operations/tournament director with British Columbia Golf.

Courtesy Allied Golf Association - BC (AGA-BC)

Today is a day to celebrate one more step in our road to recovery in British Columbia as food service establishments are now permitted to resume operations with the following rules and proper COVID-19 protection protocols in place!

WorkSafeBC has also released protocols for retail and office operations that are applicable to the British Columbia Golf Industry and please note the new requirement for a COVID-19 Safety Plan and existing requirements for an Exposure Control Plan.

Lastly, this has all been added to our AGA-BC's COVID-19 Protection - Best Practices for the Responsible Operation of BC Golf Courses manual.

Swaneset Bay In Pitt Meadows Has Been Able To Continue Hosting Golfers With Their Social Distancing Protocols In Place - Image Courtesy Swaneset/Twitter

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Golf courses have become a refuge of sorts for British Columbians seeking wide open spaces during the COVID-19 crisis.

In fact, getting a tee time has been almost as tough as finding toilet paper on store shelves was in the early days of the pandemic. Tee sheets at many B.C. golf courses have been filled from dawn to dusk with golfers following strict social distancing protocols as they go in search of birdies.

images courtesy British Columbia Golf/File Photos

Please join Ann Holmes (PGA of Canada Golf Professional and Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology Certified Personal Trainer) for a 30 minute golf season prep session. This is a gentle fitness class and everyone is welcome, especially older adults.

Active Health Solutions is a private fitness studio in Prince George, BC. The owners and staff have the best education in Kinesiology and the highest fitness certifications and training available in Canada.

They are dedicated professionals and safely prescribe exercises, lead classes, and assist with rehabilitation for all members of the community of movers, especially those with medical issues.

Via Press Release

Federal Way, Wash. – Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria, B.C. will be the host site of the 2021 Pacific Coast Amateur Championship. The venerable club had been set to host the 2020 championship this July, but when this year’s event was canceled due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, the club’s board of directors, management, professional staff and committee readily agreed to carry over as the host venue for next year.

The 54th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship, with the host association being British Columbia Golf, will be held July 19-23, 2021. This will be the second time Royal Colwood will have hosted the championship, with it previously being held there in 2008.

via Vancouver Parks Golf

Following the resumption of play at Fraserview and McCleery golf courses last week, the Vancouver Park Board will reopen Langara Golf Course to public use on Friday, May 15. Since reopening, available daily tee times at Fraserview and McCleery have been more than 90% booked.

Langara’s clubhouse will remain closed and staff will continue to use its kitchen to prepare thousands of daily meals as part of a joint effort with the City of Vancouver to provide food to vulnerable residents in the Downtown Eastside.

Due to the COVID - 19 pandemic and the Ministry of Health's safety regulations, B.C. Golf has determined that it would not be in the best interests of our staff, volunteers or players to hold the B.C. Senior Women's Championship. The Senior Women's was scheduled to be played at Talking Rock in Chase from June 9th to 11th.

The B.C. Women's Senior started in 1975 and has a long list of very deserving champions, this will be the first time since then that it has not been contested. We look forward to bringing this championship back in 2021.

This is not an easy decision to make and we thank Talking Rock Golf Resort who were excited to hold this championship. We have not made any decisions on our other Championships for the 2020 season at this time, and will give at least 4 weeks of notice for each event as to whether it goes ahead or not. We all hope to get back on the golf course as soon as it is safe to do so. 

*This article was last updated on May 4, 2020.

Courtesy Golf Canada

Our partners at the Provincial Golf Associations are working incredibly hard to understand the impact of COVID-19 on golf in each province.

They will continue to seek clarity from municipal and provincial government and health authorities to help our member clubs and golfers navigate through this crisis.

Below are summaries and links for each respective provincial golf association.

Coquitlam's AJ Ewart Joins Former Barry U Buccaneer, Surrey's Adam Svennson, As British Columbian's To Be Named To The GCAA All-Freshman Team - Image Courtesy Barry U Men's Golf

Courtesy Hunter DuBois / Barry U Athletic Communications

NORMAN, Okla. -- The Golf Coaches of Association of America announced the GCAA All-Freshman Team on Tuesday, Apr. 28, with the Barry Buccaneer men's golf team's AJ Ewart of Coquitlam, British Columbia earning one of the five spots on the prestigious team.

During this time of uncertainty and disruption to our regular routines both at home and in the community, we'd like to make this space available for readers to access the many golf tips on line that can be done away from the golf course or driving range, so either at home or in the back yard. 

We'll search for informative and hopefully entertaining articles and share the links with you in this section. Check back regularly to see what's been newly posted to help get you ready for when we head back out to the golf course.