By: John Chidley-Hill/Canadian Press

Team Canada’s Brooke Rivers is ready to take the next step in her golf career by following in Arnold Palmer’s footsteps.

Rivers has declared her intention to play for Wake Forest University in the new school year, Palmer’s alma mater. The decision isn’t just based on Palmer’s legacy, but the contemporary reality that the Demon Deacons are the No. 2 ranked women’s golf program in the NCAA.

LEARN MORE ABOUT TEAM CANADA’S BROOKE RIVERS

“I’m very excited to be going to such a top golf school, I will be around girls that are very competitive, and I’ll be able to learn from them and grow my golf game by learning from them,” said Rivers. “I will also be able to play in really high rank tournaments, which again, will expose me to play against really good competition, to better myself.”

Rivers, who was born in Brampton, Ont., and raised in Turks and Caicos, signed on at Wake Forest on Friday along with American Macy Pate. The Canadian said the legacy of Palmer, one of the greatest golfers of all time, was just one of the reasons why she wanted to play for Wake Forest.

“Having very good alumni that come out of school, just shows how great the golf program is,” said Rivers, referring to Palmer who arrived at Wake Forest in 1948 and was the school’s first individual NCAA champion in 1949.

But Rivers’s interest in the college in Winston-Salem, N.C., goes beyond its NCAA ranking or history of producing strong professional golfers. She was attracted to its facilities and the strength of its academic curriculum.

“I’m very excited to use the (Arnold Palmer Golf Complex) practice facilities and all of the technology and different resources that they have available there, as well as the amazing (Old Town Club) golf course,” said Rivers, who intends to study business.

“Everything is very close to the dorms so I will be able to spend my time practising and balance my time management.”

Kim Lewellen, the head coach of Wake Forest’s women’s golf team, said she has kept close tabs on Rivers throughout her junior and amateur career.

“She has a nice athletic stature, hits the ball a long way, and has a good golf IQ,” said Lewellen, who noted that Rivers’s parents Tammy Glugosh and Gregg Rivers are also impressive golfers. “I think she also probably got that from her parents, so this was a total package.”

Although Rivers said she chose Wake Forest to learn from some of the best collegiate golfers in the world, she’s no slouch herself. She impressed Lewellen when she tied for 10th representing Canada at the World Amateur Women’s Team Championship on Aug. 27.

Rivers also won the 2021 North and South Junior Championship and tied for eighth at the Scott Robertson Memorial that same year. In 2020, she won the AJGA Visit Tallahassee Junior Championship and tied for second at the Ontario Women’s Amateur Championship.

She also won the Coca-Cola Junior Championship in 2019 and the Future Links Quebec Championship the same year, and was runner-up at the Ontario Women’s Match Play.

“Golf is a tough game, you can have your good rounds, but you can have your bad rounds and golf can hurt your feelings. You have to have a little bit of thick skin,” said Lewellen. “I think Brooke shows the confidence that you need to have for those days that aren’t great.

“She’s not going to feel sorry for herself.”

By: Terry Lenyk

They are some of Canada’s most renowned golf legends, a list amassed of professional and amateur players, course architects and administrators. They have all contributed to the growth of the game of golf in this country. However, their contributions to golf pale in comparison to their contributions to the fabric of our nation.

November 11 is Remembrance Day. A day we remember and pay tribute to the brave men and women who have served in our armed forces. What better day to remember Canadian golfers of the past who helped our nation during its greatest times of need.

The following are just some of the contributions Canadian golf legends made to the Allied forces during the First and Second World Wars.

To these and other notable figures in Canadian golf who have supported our troops as well as all of the brave men and women who have served our country – thank you.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Together with the PGA of Canada, Golf Canada is excited to announce the continuation of the Women in Coaching program and formally open applications for the 2023 cohort. 

The Women in Coaching program is an initiative that launched in 2021 with nine inaugural participants, that strives to deliver a stronger gender balance among high-performance coaches. Each participant receives in-depth career development support focused on four main areas: individualized learning plans, virtual and in-person coaching education, and hands-on training experiences with coaches and top players.

The Golf Canada Foundation continues to be a key financial contributor to the program, including through the new Jocelyne Bourassa Scholarship.

“The Women in Coaching program gives women in our industry an opportunity to network with likeminded, talented, and strong leaders to help increase the female representation in the sport.” said Jennifer Ha, 2022 program participant and assistant coach of Team Canada – NextGen. “This program is led by women who are driven to make coaching in this country more equal and equitable.”

The 2023 Women in Coaching cohort will kick off with an in-person session at a national team training camp in Phoenix, Ariz., where participants will shadow national team coaches and engage in activities including technical skill development and women in sport leadership.  

“The Women in Coaching program presents an opportunity for some of Canada’s most-accomplished female leaders as well as up and coming coaching talents to further their career developments together,” said Jennifer Greggain, associate coach of Team Canada – Women. “The strong collection of PGA of Canada members will continue to drive the initiative through knowledge and experience sharing on the way to building a foundation for the future.” 

Now in its third year, the Women in Coaching program is led by Greggain, Emily Phoenix (Manager, High Performance Sport, Golf Canada) and new for 2023, Beth Barz joins the team. Barz brings over 20 years of coaching experience from rugby, is a coach developer and advisor with COACH+, and is currently pursuing her PhD at Queens University.

PGA of Canada professionals interested in the National Women in Coaching program can click here to apply and are encouraged to reach out to Emily Phoenix (ephoenix@golfcanada.ca) with any questions. 

Applications close on Monday, Dec. 5 at 11:00pm EST.

By: John Gordon

It appears modern technology is about to threaten another time-honoured golf tradition.

Yes, the days of taking wicked pleasure from hitting the screen-enshrouded ball picker at the driving range may be numbered. (This pleasure intensified exponentially if you knew the person driving said picker.)

This latest innovation is the Korechi Pik’r, an automated robot that hooks up to any existing golf ball picking unit.

Korechi Innovations Inc., based in Oshawa, Ont., for several years has been producing agricultural robots for seeding, weeding, cultivating and other routine farming tasks. In 2019, they demonstrated a unit at a golf course, thinking it would work as an autonomous mower.

Such mowers are already marketed by other, more prominent companies so the course superintendent wondered whether the robot could be harnessed to a gang-style range ball picker instead. The engineers at Korechi took that insight, rigged up a universal hitch and returned to the course.

“There were about 20 of us standing there watching this thing go back and forth across the range like a Zamboni, just scooping up every ball,” recalls Jim Clark, Korechi’s Chief Sales and Marketing Officer. “But, we asked ourselves, is there a market for this? Or is this the solution to a problem nobody has?”

During the subsequent two (pandemic) years, there was extensive testing at the Oshawa Golf and Curling Club until, this fall, the Pik’r was revealed in what Clark calls a “soft release” on social media and LinkedIn. The reaction was stunning.

“Now I know how it feels when something goes viral,” says Clark. “Calls and emails came flooding in from clubs in Canada and the U.S. and they are still coming every day.”

Since the high-capacity Pik’r can retrieve up to 4,000 balls in an hour and run 10 hours on a single charge of its lithium batteries, Clark was somewhat flummoxed by the number of high-end clubs with relatively small memberships that expressed interest.

While high-volume ranges (15,000 balls and up daily) are the target market, Clark says it is Pik’r’s cool technology and uniqueness that intrigues these clubs. “It’s sleek, almost stealth-like. There really is a ‘wow factor’ when you see it.” (He’s right. Watching the video on the Korechi website is almost mesmerizing for a golfer.)

The Pik'r™ golf ball picking robot automates all major golf ball picking machines in the market. Learn more at: https://t.co/IOnpQwDJIC

In order of appearance: @PickerEasy, @WittekGolf, Hollrock & @RangeServant#GolfRobot #BallPickingRobot #Pikr #GolfAutomation @cognashene pic.twitter.com/RlCQjcWDko

— Korechi Innovations Inc. (@KorechiInnov) October 12, 2022

Perhaps the element most impactful to Pik’r’s potential success is the labour crisis across every industry, including golf. In fact, the cover story on an upcoming PGA of America magazine is about staffing challenges—that’s how much it is affecting the industry.

Pik’r will be in the Innovation Spotlight section at the PGA Merchandise Show in Florida in January which is attended by about 40,000 industry professionals (pre-pandemic). The fact the robot shows up for work every day, rain or shine, may be its most attractive feature for courses and ranges plagued by staffing issues. Pik’r is available for rental only, which means a facility pays only for the months it is needed.

“Lots of courses and ranges have to close earlier than they want at the end of the season because their staff have gone back to school or whatever,” Clark says. “That won’t happen with a Pik’r.” The company also claims the unit reduces by up to 90 percent the labour and material input required.

Other advantages include the fact that it is battery-powered (no fossil fuel), lighter than most conventional pickers (less soil compaction) and can be remote-controlled through an app (no direct human supervision).

For more information, visit www.korechi.golf.

(Jim Clark, a longtime Golf Canada volunteer, is a Golf Canada Honorary Life Governor and recipient of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada’s Dick Grimm Award for significant lifetime contributions to Canadian golf.)

By: Dan Pino/Golf Canada

Scholarship fund in honour of the Canadian golf legendary competitor and administrator will celebrate Bourassa’s deep legacy as a long-time supporter of the game

Jocelyne Bourassa Scholarship Program launched during the Golf Canada Foundation’s annual Trustee Cup as part of Foundation’s $70 million DRIVE Campaign

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One of Canadian golf’s most accomplished and admired ambassadors will be celebrated with a new legacy scholarship fund in honour of the late great, Jocelyne Bourassa.

The Jocelyne Bourassa Scholarship Program will provide impactful education opportunities for women in Canadian golf who are developing their careers as professional coaches or professional players. The goal of the scholarship fund is to advance more Canadian women into positions of prominence as leaders and role models for golf in Canada.

The launch of the Jocelyne Bourassa Scholarship Program was recently announced by the Golf Canada Foundation at Hamilton Golf & Country Club during its annual Trustee Cup, a Foundation event that honours donors for contributions towards First Tee and Team Canada.

The Jocelyne Bourassa Scholarship Program was established through a committee – led by  former Golf Canada President Diane Dunlop-Hébert, PGA of Canada Professional Emeritus Debbie Savoy Morel, former LPGA and PGA of Canada Professional Christine Greatrex, and trusted colleague Libby Skinner – who were inspired to give back as a tribute to their friend and mentor. To date the fund has raised over $300,000, with a goal to reach a $750,000 endowment.

“With her LPGA win in 1973, Jocelyne not only inspired an entire nation of golfers but inspired Canadian athletes in their quest to represent Canada in international championships in all sports. Jocelyne went on to make the DuMaurier Classic the best recognized and most attended event on the LPGA Tour,” said Diane Dunlop-Hébert, who served as President of Golf Canada in 2012. “She was a beloved and outstanding mentor to golfers and golf administrators everywhere.”

The Jocelyne Bourassa Scholarship Program will provide support to women in two primary ways. The first is funding the educational needs of professional high-performance coaches by enhancing the Golf Canada and PGA of Canada’s Women in Coaching program. The second will provide university scholarship support to Canadian women who wish to continue their post-secondary educations while also competing in professional golf.

TO LEARN MORE OR TO DONATE, CLICK HERE

Bourassa, who passed away Aug. 4, 2021, is revered as one of the premier athletes and ambassadors for Canadian golf over a distinguished 60-year career. After a successful amateur career that included three Quebec Juniors, four Quebec Amateurs, Bourassa turned professional in 1972 and was named both LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year and Canada’s Female Athlete of the Year.

Bourassa won the inaugural La Canadienne in 1973 (now the CP Women’s Open) in her second season on the LPGA Tour, a signature moment in Canadian golf. She would later become executive director of the former du Maurier Classic (now CP Women’s Open), served on the LPGA Board of Sponsors, and also provided support and mentorship to countless Canadian athletes through her leadership of the Canadian Women’s Tour and the Jocelyne Bourassa Series. Bourassa’s career as a player and administrator was honoured with the Order of Canada as well induction into the Quebec Golf Hall of Fame, Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, and Canada Sports Hall of Fame.

“For the young women who had the privilege of getting to know Jocelyne very well, she was not only an inspiration and a model for all of us, but she was also a mentor who taught us so much about how to be a professional in golf or any field or path we choose in life,” said friend and PGA of Canada professional Anne Chouinard. “She taught us compassion, generosity as well as perseverance and determination. She made the world a better place. We will never forget Jocelyne.”

The launch of the Jocelyne Bourassa Scholarship fund aligns with the Foundation’s new $70 million DRIVE Campaign, a major fundraising campaign launched earlier this year in support of First Tee – Canada as well the Team Canada high performance program. To date, more than 54% (approx. $38 million) of the $70 million DRIVE Campaign fundraising goal has been raised.

“The roll-out of the Jocelyne Bourassa Scholarship Program as an extension of the DRIVE campaign will help develop a pathway for more women to become world-class high-performance coaches and also support the competitive pathway of Canadian athletes pursuing their LPGA Tour dream without having to make educational sacrifices,” said Golf Canada Foundation CEO, Martin Barnard. “Jocelyne has a been such an icon in our sport and is now an extremely deserving namesake for this meaningful program.”

Donations toward the Jocelyne Bourassa Scholarship Program will be held in an endowment fund to ensure her legacy will continue in perpetuity.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO DONATE, CLICK HERE

The Golf NB Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held at the Delta Fredericton on Sunday, November 20, 2022 at 1:00 PM.

Under Golf New Brunswick by-laws, a notice of the AGM has been sent to all member clubs via email and to the attention of the Club Manager & Member Club Representatives. All member clubs are invited to RSVP one voting delegate to attend the meeting and to vote on behalf of the club.

2022 Golf NB Fall Board of Directors Meeting & Annual General Meeting Agenda

2022 Golf NB Fall Board of Directors Meeting & Annual General Meeting Report Booklet

Golf New Brunswick Members are welcome to attend and are asked to RSVP with Jared Legacy, prior to November 15th.

Golf New Brunswick (Golf NB), a not-for-profit organization founded in 1934, is the official governing body for amateur golf in New Brunswick.  In January of 2006, the New Brunswick Golf Association (NBGA) officially merged with the New Brunswick Ladies Golf Association (NBLGA), resulting in one united governing body for amateur golf in the province.  Programs offered by Golf NB to its 50 partner facilities and over 8,000 individual members include provincial championships, rules of golf education, course rating and handicap services, and junior golf development programs

The R&A and the USGA have unveiled a regular update to the Rules of Golf as they continue to make the Rules easier to understand and apply. The new Rules will go into effect on January 1, 2023.
 
The 2023 edition continues the modernisation process, with an emphasis on both inclusion and sustainability. For the first time, the modified Rules for players with disabilities have been fully incorporated into the playing rules without the need to adopt a local rule. The governing bodies, supported by longstanding partner Rolex, will also promote digital and mobile app access to the Rules while significantly reducing the production and distribution of more than four million printed books.

Several penalties have been relaxed and language has been clarified to help golfers at all levels of play.

Key changes include:

• Modifications for Players with Disabilities: The modifications to the Rules for players with disabilities have been made part of the Rules and are in effect for all players who are classified in the categories covered in Rule 25.
• Handicap Usage in Stroke Play: With the continued growth of score-posting technology following the adoption of the World Handicap System™, players are no longer penalised for failing to put their handicap on their scorecard in stroke play. The committee will be responsible for ensuring the accuracy of each player’s handicap.
• Club Damaged During Round: The Rule has been amended to allow a player to replace a club that is damaged during a round, provided the player did not damage it through abuse.
• Ball Moved by Natural Forces: A new exception provides that a ball at rest must be replaced if it moves to another area of the course or comes to rest out of bounds after being dropped, placed or replaced.
• Back-on-the-Line Relief Procedure: The back-on-the-line relief procedure, often used for penalty area and unplayable ball relief, has been simplified so that the player now drops their ball on the line, and the ball must come to rest within one club-length of where it is dropped.

Golfers will be able to learn more about the major changes and review the official 2023 Rules of Golf by visiting randa.org and usga.org/rules. Full updates to the official Rules of Golf digital applications will be available starting on 1 January.
 
Grant Moir, Director of Rules at The R&A, said, “We are continuing to improve and adapt the Rules of Golf to ensure they are in line with the way the modern game is played. That means making the Rules easier to understand and access for all golfers and making the sport more inclusive and welcoming for golfers with disabilities. We are also working to ensure golf has a sustainable long-term future and making more resources available digitally is key to achieving that goal.”
 
“The growing popularity of golf continues to guide our decision-making and modernising the Rules to promote inclusivity and accessibility is clearly a great step in the right direction,” said Thomas Pagel, USGA Chief Governance Officer. “This latest evolution is especially important to the community of golfers with disabilities, and we hope it will encourage more people to play and enjoy the game.”
 
Players are reminded that the current edition of the Rules of Golf (2019) still applies when playing or posting scores for the remainder of 2022.
 
As an extension of its support of the Rules of Golf worldwide, Rolex has made a commitment to support The R&A and the USGA’s efforts to modernise golf’s Rules. The Swiss watchmaker’s contribution to excellence in golf is based on a rich heritage stretching back more than 50 years, forged through pivotal partnerships at every level of the game, from the sport’s leading professional and amateur competitions and organisations, to players at the pinnacle of their sport worldwide.

By: Adam Stanley/Golf Canada

For the first time since prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Golf Canada had a full slate of amateur championships – from coast-to-coast – contested in 2022. The venues were spectacular, the competition was impressive, and the momentum heading into next season is at an all-time high.

Mary Beth McKenna, the Director of Amateur Championships and Rules for Golf Canada, called 2022 “incredible.” Thirty-two championships were contested, including national, elite junior, qualifiers, or NextGen efforts.

“It’s great to be out at all of our courses, engaging with our member clubs, all the volunteers, and working with our officials and providing playing opportunities to our competitive players,” said McKenna. “It was just a really great year, all-in-all.”

There was, of course, so much momentum behind the game of golf in general in Canada through the COVID-19 pandemic, with the number of recorded rounds by Golf Canada reaching never-before-seen levels. That buzz, McKenna said, was definitely felt through the full summer schedule of Golf Canada championships.

There was success at every level, she continued.

Monet Chun was a perfect example. Chun, the Golf Canada National Team Member, won the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship presented by BDO but also went on to play in the finals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur and teed it up at the CP Women’s Open. There was also Shelly Stouffer, who won the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur and proceeded to go on and win the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur plus the Canadian Senior Amateur.

“There were just so many great champions along the way,” said McKenna, pointing as well to the spectacular play of 12-year-old Lucy Lin. “Just to see the progression of some of these players through the calendar year… was just incredible. It was just great to be back at our host clubs seeing the dramatics of amateur golf and seeing their success throughout the summer.”

Golf Canada’s key partners also played an important role in the support and amplification of the amateur championships through 2022. There were also new sponsors like BDO, which came on board as the presenting sponsor of all of the amateur championships and Sargent Farms, which sponsored the World Junior Girls Championship.

“It’s certainly important to support our amateur championships. It just elevates our championships into premiere events. We were so fortunate this year having a number of new partners,” said McKenna. “In concert with our national partners with Titleist, Canadian Pacific, and Levelwear, just the continued support makes our events better and better for our players.”

While the partners play an important role in continuing to elevate the championships, the golf courses where they take place are also important. They could not be played without venues, of course.

In 2022 golfers had the opportunity to tee it up at such fine facilities as Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria, B.C., TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, Westmount Golf and Country Club in Kitchener, Ontario, The Marshes in Ottawa, Point Grey Golf and Country Club in Vancouver, The Thornhill Club, Essex Golf and Country Club near Windsor, Breezy Bend Country Club in Manitoba, and Red Deer Golf and Country Club – just to name a few.

While not all the golf courses are confirmed for 2023 yet, McKenna said her team is particularly thrilled to bring the Men’s Amateur to The Pulpit Club’s two courses, plus Ashburn Golf Club in Halifax for the Women’s Amateur.

“Across the board,” said McKenna, “we’re going coast to coast at really some incredibly facilities.”

With lots of excitement from a fabulous 2022, great players, and amazing courses ready to host, 2023 is set to be another fantastic year of Golf Canada championships.

By: Neil Davidson (Canadian Press)

From Moe Norman to Mike Weir and Sandra Post to Brooke Henderson, Canada has a rich golf history.

But there’s also a little-known golf hotbed in Lunenburg, N.S.

Located on the south shore of Nova Scotia, with a population of 2,396 according to the 2021 census, the port town is home to HB Studios, creator of the new “PGA Tour 2K23” video game.

Founded in 2000 by transplanted Englishman Jeremy Wellard, HB Studios collaborated with various publishers including Electronic Arts on an array of sports games. The studio recruited locally and all over the globe to get expertise in everything from cricket and rugby to soccer, football and golf.

“When I started here, I was definitely one of the local people,” said HB Studios creative director Josh Muise, who has more than 15 years experience with the company. “I was born on the East Coast and grew up out here. I remember walking through the studio the first day and the number of different accents that I came across was certainly delightful and kind of interesting to find in a small sleepy fishing village in Nova Scotia.”

The studio now also has an office in Halifax, with combined staff of about 100 and growing.

“This has become a really major project and it’s become a very big game,” Muise said of the golf title. “We’re very lucky to be able to continue attracting world-class talent and growing the franchise.”

Muise, 40, was born on Cape Breton Island and spent a lot of his school years in New Brunswick. While he admits to some reservations back in the day about moving to “a 1,200- to 1,500-person seasonal fishing village, as beautiful as it was in the postcards,” he is now an unabashed fan of Lunenburg.

“It’s been a wonderful transformation. The town has radically shifted in the last five, 10 years in particular, where you’re seeing a lot of new businesses and you’re seeing a lot of new people coming in. And it’s really become a hotbed.”

The trend toward working remotely has helped bring an influx of young high-tech workers looking to leave the city. The fact that Halifax is only an hour or so away adds to Lunenburg’s attraction.

HB Studios mirrors that growth, as shown by the fact that its newest title features Tiger Woods on its cover.

“The thing that we’re proudest of with that is that we feel like we earned the opportunity,” said Muise, whose name is pronounced muse. “We went from an independent golf game, not all those many years ago, to building up to earning ourself the spot to having the PGA Tour licence come into play and being part of our partnership, ultimately bringing in 2K (Games) and everything that they offer, and then leading up to bringing in Tiger Woods as well.

“The team worked very very hard to put a great game out there. We worked with the community. We were receptive to the feedback. And we kind of grew together. So for it all to culminate with the best, I would say, single-sport athlete of all time on the cover of the box, nothing could feel better.”

That first independent golf game was “The Golf Club,” released in 2014, which eventually became “The Golf Club 2019 featuring PGA Tour.”

In 2020, the studio released “PGA Tour 2K21” for 2K Games. A year later, 2K Games bought HB Studios and signed a deal with Woods.

Today the PGA Tour 2K franchise is the studio’s main focus with 2K Games’ expertise from its NBA franchise helping the studio with the complexities of golf licensing and partners.

Woods and Canadian Brooke Henderson are among the 16 playable pros available at launch in “PGA Tour 2K23,” which was released Oct. 14 for PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One and PC via Steam. Basketball icons Michael Jordan and Steph Curry also appear in the game.

“Being a Canadian studio, it was important for us to try and bring in a great Canadian icon like Brooke,” said Muise.

“She’s a great ambassador for the sport. She’s an all time Canadian legend.” he added. “And (we’re) absolutely thrilled to have her as part of our roster.”

Gamers can also play St. George’s Golf and Country Club, set up in tournament condition as it was for the 2022 RBC Canadian Open in June.

The 2K franchise will have competition next spring, with Electronic Arts getting back into the game with “EA Sports PGA Tour,” boasting video game access to all four majors including the Masters.

“We know that there may be a new product coming into the space but ultimately we feel very confident and very comfortable that golf is where we want to be,” said Muise. “And golf is where we intend on staying. And we’re going to keep building on our current success and pushing it.”

With its long history and vast geography, Canada boasts many strange and spooky tales. There are haunted coal mines in Cape Breton, poltergeists in Calgary and even a pair of haunted boots in St. Vincent’s Newfoundland. It is no wonder, therefore, that golf courses across the country are rumoured to be home to some extraordinary spirits.