VANCOUVER, B.C. – Dylan Kim shot a 5-under 66 at Marine Drive on Thursday to head into the final round of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship with a one-shot lead.

For the second time in three rounds, Kim carded a 66 to move her to 12-under par for the tournament. She had a bogey free round and made some great putts.

“I had a few good par saves, I made a 15-footer on 15 that was really big. I’m proud of the way I played today,” said the 21-year-old from Sachse, Tex. “I’ve putted really well, and I’ve been smart.”

Kim played a very smart round, regardless of missing the fairway on a few holes.

“There are some tricky holes out here and it is narrow, so I think it is smart to know which side you can recover from and which side you can’t, so I’ve done that well,” said Dylan Kim. “I actually didn’t make that many fairways today. I don’t really know how many I hit, but I didn’t drive it that well, so I’m going to go work on that now.”

Dylan Kim started the round in a tie for the lead with Gina Kim and Yealimi Noh. Noh tried hard to catch up to Kim after she bogeyed her first hole and watched carefully at the end of the round as Dylan Kim made her final putt on hole 18.

“My round started off a little rough on the front nine with one birdie and one bogey,” said Noh. “The back nine I started putting a little better.”

When Noh made the turn, she tried her best to catch up to Dylan Kim. The 16-year-old from Concord, Calif. birdied hole 10, just as Dylan Kim did. Dylan Kim then continued to birdie hole 11 while Noh pared it.

But that didn’t stop Noh. She continued to birdie hole 12 and 13 but couldn’t quite catch Dylan Kim and they both carded one more birdie each.

“This course is very challenging and narrow with all the trees. All the courses I’ve played in California aren’t really like this, it’s a little different,” said Noh, who has never played on a Canadian course.

Yealimi Noh ended the day 4-under-par 67, 11-under for the tournament, just one stroke behind Dylan Kim.

Gina Kim carded three birdies and three bogeys to finish even par, her first time in three rounds finishing with a score in the 70s. She remains at 7-under for the tournament in third.

Gina Kim, Dylan Kim and Yealimi will play together again tomorrow and make up the final grouping while Lilia Kha-Tu V (-6), Allisen Corpuz (-5) and Jennifer Chang (-5) will tee off in front of them.

The Vancouver B.C. native, Tiffany Kong, still remains the top Canadian on the leaderboard after the third round. She carded a 3-over 74 today to push her into a share of ninth with Kaitlyn Papp from Austin Tex at 2-under for the tournament.

The final round of competition will see the first groups tee off at 7:30 a.m. and 7:35 a.m. from holes 1 and 10, respectively.

The 2018 Canadian Women’s Amateur title, the individual champion will earn an exemption into the 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship and – along with the low Canadian – the CP Women’s Open at Wascana Country Club on August 20-26, 2018.

For full results click here.

British Columbia has a little streak going at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship; one its players hope to extend at Beach Grove Golf Club.

The last three Canadian Junior Girls Championships have been won by B.C. players. Susan Xiao of Surrey won it last year, Naomi Ko of Victoria was the 2016 champion and Michelle Kim of Surrey captured the title in 2015.

“This is home turf and the B.C. girls have to represent and do well and have some fun out here,” says Vancouver’s Tiffany Kong, one of a large number of strong B.C. players who will compete in this year’s championship, which goes July 31-Aug. 3 at Beach Grove.

Hannah Lee of Surrey is another one of those British Columbians especially motivated to play well at Beach Grove. This will be Lee’s final junior tournament and she has come close the last three years, finishing no worse than tied for 11th. She was runner-up in 2015.

“Considering this is my last one and it is at home, I obviously want to do well,” says Lee, who is heading into her sophomore year at the University of Oklahoma. “It would definitely mean a lot if I could do well.”

Doing well at Beach Grove starts with keeping the ball in play off the tee. The course is tight in spots and missing fairways makes it difficult to hit the course’s small greens in regulation.

“What the players will have to do especially well is position the ball off the tee,” says longtime Beach Grove head professional Brent Derrheim. “You can’t be overly aggressive, you need to be patient. And also putting. If you make the putts, you are going to score well.”

Beach Grove is a private club located in Tsawwassen, a suburban community located about a half-hour south of Vancouver. It opened as a nine-hole course in 1929 and a second nine was completed in 1965.

Tsawwassen, home to the B.C. Ferries terminal that takes passengers to the Victoria port of Swartz Bay, is renowned as the sunniest spot in the Metro Vancouver area. Beach Grove certainly benefits from all that sunshine and this year is no different. The course is in immaculate shape and figures to play firm and fast for the junior girls.

“The course has been in fantastic shape all summer and our superintendent Ian Murray and his crew have been doing a great job,” Derrheim says. “The course will play firm and fast. I feel it is a great golf course for women and it will be a great test for the girls, too.”

The course figures to be set up at about 6,000 yards for the junior girls.

None of the competitors know the course better than Amanda Minni, who has been playing it regularly as a junior member for the last several years.

“Actually my first tournament ever was at my home course,” Minni says. “It was one of the club championships and I shot like 112 and 112 to win when I was nine years old. Playing another huge championship there is going to be different from a little club championship, but it’s going to have the same sort of feeling. Hopefully the members come out and watch. I think it is going to be a great event.”

Minni, who is heading into her sophomore year at Oregon State University, finished 10th at the 2016 Canadian Junior Girls Championship in Shubenacadie, N.S., and was third at the B.C. Junior Girls Championship earlier this month at Kimberley Golf Club. She will be joined on the B.C. team at Beach Grove by B.C. Junior Girls Champion Phoebe Yue of West Vancouver and Vancouver’s Leah John.

“The course is definitely going to play really tough over the week,” Minni says of Beach Grove. “The grounds crew has been out here every day making it look sharp so I am really excited about the conditions.

“Definitely hitting greens there is big because the greens are so tiny and they are so firm that chipping around them is tough. If you short-side yourself, you are in trouble.”

Of course, there a number of strong competitors from the rest of the country in what will be a very deep field at Beach Grove.

Ellie Szeryk of London, Ont., fresh off her win at the Ontario Women’s Amateur Championship, must be considered one of the favourites. Szeryk, a member of Golf Canada’s national developmental team now based at Bear Mountain in Victoria, tied for second at last year’s Canadian Junior Girls Championship.

Other national developmental team players in the Beach Grove field include Monet Chun of Richmond Hill, Ont., Celeste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-I’lle-Perrot, Que., and Alyssa DiMarcantonio of Maple, Ont. Chun and Szeryk finished 1-2 at the Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship at Bear Mountain this past May.

Three other Future Links champions from this year are in the field, including: Taylor Stone of Calgary (Western Championship), Emily Romanceow (Quebec Championship) and Sydney Scraba of Calgary (Prairie Championship).

A Canadian Juvenile Girls Champion will also be crowned at Beach Grove. That competition is open to players 16 and younger. An inter-provincial team competition will be held over the first 36 holes of the tournament. Ontario won that competition last year by three shots over British Columbia.

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Gina Kim, Yealimi Noh and Dylan Kim all sit 7-under after the second round of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Marine Drive on Wednesday.

Gina Kim started the day at 4-under then carded three birdies and a bogey on her front nine. She made the turn and fired three more birdies and a bogey to finish with a 3-under 68, one stroke lower than her score on Tuesday.

“I thought it was a fairly solid round. My shots were really consistent, and I managed to play all the smart shots today and the putts were dropping. I’d say overall I was pretty happy with what I came out with,” said the 18-year-old from Chapel Hill N.C.

“This course is narrow and tricky in its own way. Considering yesterday went pretty well I thought why not just continue to go with what I’ve been doing, and I think it worked out again today and I think I’m going to keep going with that for the rest of the week,” she said.

Dylan Kim came in at 2-under today after starting with two birdies and a bogey on her front nine. The 21-year-old from Sachse, Tex. ended strong with a beautiful birdie on hole 18.

“I got off to a good start and then I went a little rough in the middle there, but I’m proud of the way I finished. I finished with a birdie and that was really nice. I also had a nice par on hole 17, which is a hard hole, so I’m really glad I got through that one,” she said.

Dylan Kim recorded a 66 on Tuesday, to tie Yealimi No’s new course record before Jennifer Kupcho carded a 7-under 64.

“I thought the pins were tougher today, when I was looking at them before my round I was thinking ‘Ok today is going to be a little tougher, I need to be a little bit smarter today,’” said Dylan Kim.

Yealimi Noh from Concord, Calif. also came in at 2-under and had a strong round. She recorded 5 pars in a row on her front nine before adding a birdie to her scorecard. Right before she made the turn she recorded another birdie on hole 9. She finished her back nine with a bogey and a third birdie.

Tiffany Kong, a former Team Canada Development Squad member, recorded a 3-under 68 to land herself in fourth and as the low Canadian. She sits 5-under par for the tournament, just two strokes behind the lead trio.

73 players have advanced to the final two rounds of the national championship. The first groups will tee off Thursday at 7:30 a.m. from holes 1 and 10.

Team British Columbia won the inter-provincial competition after the team consisting of Naomi Ko, Mary Parsons and Christina Proteau shot a combined 8 over par through the two-round event. Team Ontario came in second at 13 over par and Quebec finished 9 back in third.

The 2018 Canadian Women’s Amateur title, the individual champion will earn an exemption into the 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship and – along with the low Canadian – the CP Women’s Open at Wascana Country Club on August 20-26, 2018.

For full results click here.

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Jennifer Kupcho shot a 7-under-par 64 during the opening round of the 105th playing of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Marine Drive Golf Club on Tuesday.

Kupcho, from Westminster, Colo., carded seven birdies and an eagle on the par 5 13^thhole during her round. She was close to recording an eighth birdie on hole 9 but, unfortunately, the ball lipped out.

“I was hitting a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens, and just made a lot of putts. I was making putts from everywhere,” said Kupcho. “It’s a narrow course so I just tried to keep it straight.”

“The course was really scorable. I was surprised from the practice round yesterday, it seemed like it was going to be difficult, but today I came out and it was just a really scoreable course,” said the current No. 1 ranked amateur golfer.

The Women’s course record was beat earlier in the morning by Yealimi Noh from Concord, Calif.when she recorded a 5-under 66. Dylan Kim from Sachse, Tex. then tied Noh’s new record before Kupcho came in at 7-under to break the record for a second time.

The initial course record was a 4-under 68 set by Annika Sorenstam in 1992 when Marine Drive co-hosted the World Amateur Team Championships in Vancouver where Sorenstam won the individual title.

Yealimi Noh and Dylan Kim sit tied for second just two strokes behind Kupcho. Both players finished with 6 birdies and a bogey on their scorecards.

Two players sit tied in fourth place at 4-under: Alyaa Abdulghany from Newport Beach, Calif., and Gina Kim from Chapel Hill N.C.

Team British Columbia leads the inter-provincial competition after the team consisting of Naomi Ko, Mary Parsons and Christina Proteau shot a combined score of 2-over par. Team Ontario sits in second at 5-over par.

The 2018 Canadian Women’s Amateur title, the individual champion will earn an exemption into the 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship and – along with the low Canadian – the CP Women’s Open at Wascana Country Club on August 20-26, 2018.

For full results click here.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Golf Canada is pleased to announce the six champions of Saturday’s Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Skills Challenge National Event at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont.

The National Event, running for the 10th consecutive year, crowned female and male champions from three age groups (9-11, 12-14 and 15-18). Among the 24 participants from across the country, the following six individuals emerged as champions:

• Andre Zhu, (King City, Ont., King Valley Golf Club | Boys 9-11)
• Lindsay McGrath (Milton, Ont, Rattlesnake Point Golf Club | Girls 9-11)
• Matis Lessard (Québec, Que., Académie de Golf Fred Colgan | Boys 12-15)
• Alissa Xu (King City, Ont., Kings Riding Golf Club | Girls 12-15)
• Gregoire Vincent (Québec, Que., Académie de golf Fred Colgan | Boys 15-18)
• Taylor Cormier (Corner Brook, N.L., Blomidon Golf and Country Club | Girls 15-18)

The winners of each age group received a champion’s package from Titleist Footjoy. In addition, Gregoire Vincent and Taylor Cormier – winners of the 15-18 age groups – have earned exemptions into their local 2019 Future Links, driven by Acura Championship.

In Saturday’s National Event, juniors competed in a four-part skills challenge which tested putting, chipping, driving and iron play.

Saturday’s participants had the highest scores on the National Leaderboard after participating in a Skills Challenge qualifying event at their local club. Throughout the year, over 180 clubs hosted a Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Skills Challenge with over 3000 junior golfers participating.

“This was our strongest year yet for the Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Skills Challenge,” said Adam Hunter, Manager of Junior Programs at Golf Canada. “We are extremely happy with another excellent National Event and want to thank our sponsors Acura Canada, Cobra Golf and Golf Town for their support of the program.”

On Friday, the National Event participants received an apparel prize pack from Cobra Golf handed out in the Glen Abbey locker room and they will play the back nine of Glen Abbey on Sunday in the Golf Canada Junior Open.

Following that, participants will be provided weekly grounds passes and have an opportunity to be involved in Monday’s Golf Canada Foundation Pro-Am and secure a spot in Wednesday’s Walk with a Pro event.

For more information on the Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Skills National Event click here.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Augusta James fires a bogey free round on Friday at the fourth annual Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic at Brook-Lea Country Club. The Team Canada Young Pro Squad member sits T5 after recording 69 in back to back rounds with three birdies today.

Four players head into the weekend tied for the lead at 7-under par overall.

Symetra Tour rookie Eun Jeong Seong (Yongin, Republic of Korea), 18-hole leader Csicsi Rozsa(Budapest, Hungary), Stephanie Meadow (Jordanstown, Northern Ireland) and Natalie Sheary (New Britain, Connecticut) each sit atop the leaderboard after two rounds.

“Yesterday I was making a lot of putts and today I was making a lot of good rolls, but they were not falling as much,” said Rozsa, who went even par today with three birdies and three bogeys. “To be honest, my hands were shaking a little bit this morning when I went out. It was my first time on top of the leaderboard, but I think I handled it pretty well.”

Meanwhile, Meadow entered the day only one shot off the lead. She made that up with a 1-under par second round. Every time the former four-time First Team All-American seemed to get in trouble, she immediately bounced back.

Already a winner on the Symetra Tour this season at the IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, Meadow finished the day with three birdies, four bogeys and an eagle.

“It was a little more windy and honestly, my ball striking just wasn’t quite as good,” Meadow said. “I missed some fairways and hitting it out of the rough, combined with the wind, is a little tricky. I had similar rounds like this recently and then ended up two- or three-over. To keep it under par today was great and hopefully I can have another round like I did yesterday at some point during the weekend.”

Furthermore, it is only the seventh career Symetra Tour start for Seong. She has made the cut in all but one event, with a season-best tied for second finish coming in June at the Four Winds Invitational.

Today, Seong found her way to five birdies, surrendering only one bogey to turn in a 4-under par 68. She entered round two tied for eighth.

“This is a good chance for me, but we still have two more days,” said Seong. “I don’t think about being the leader, just focus on my game. If I think about the scores, that puts a lot of pressure on me.”

Rounding out the foursome the field will be chasing is Sheary. The Wake Forest University alumna fired a 3-under par this afternoon to join the mix at 7-under overall.

Playing in the first group off No. 10 tee today, Sheary signed a scorecard that featured six birdies and three bogeys. It is the third time this season that she has put together back-to-back rounds under par.

“You have to start off relatively strong and I think I have done a pretty good with that this week,” Sheary said. “I have missed a few fairways, but given myself the chance to get up and down. I’ve done the best I could and moved onto the next, which I think has really helped.”

A total of 70 players made the cut of 1-over par and third round action is set to start at 7:30 a.m. ET tomorrow. All pairings will begin on No. 1 tee.

VANCOUVER — The women’s course record at Marine Drive Golf Club is 68 and chances are you may be familiar with the player who set that mark. Here’s a hint: she’s Swedish and has 72 LPGA Tour wins.

That’s right, Annika Sorenstam holds that record at Marine Drive, which way back in 1992 co-hosted the World Amateur Team Championships in Vancouver where Sorenstam won the individual title.

Sorenstam’s record has stood for the last 26 years, but some think it could finally fall when an exceptionally strong field gathers for the 105th playing of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, which goes July 24-27 at Marine Drive.

“It’s a fantastic field,” says Doug Roxburgh, the legendary Marine Drive member who played in that World Amateur tourney in 1992. “The No. 1, 2 and 6 ranked women in the world will be there and a whole bunch more in the top 50 and top 100.”

Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster, Colo., and Lilia Kha-Tu Vu of Fountain Valley, Calif., are ranked 1 and 2 in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings and that is exactly how they finished at last summer’s Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Cutten Fields in Guelph, Ont.

Kupcho returns as defending champion and the 21-year-old has enjoyed a terrific 2018 season that includes winning the individual title at the NCAA Women’s Golf Championships this spring playing for Wake Forest University. Earlier this month, Kupcho finished tied for 16th at the LPGA Tour’s Marathon Classic in Ohio. She went wire to wire at last year’s Canadian Women’s Amateur and beat Vu by five shots.

Vu, a 20-year-old who plays for the UCLA Bruins, has already won four times this year, including the Pac-12 Championship. Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand, currently ranked sixth in the world, is the other top-10 player in the field at Marine Drive.

A spot in the 156-player field was a hot ticket as Golf Canada received 241 applications. The fact Marine Drive is playing host to the event likely played a part in that demand. The venerable private club, which is located on Southwest Marine Drive in south Vancouver, is a classic design of prolific architect A.V. Macan. It opened for play in 1922 and is renowned for producing a number of great players, including Roxburgh, Stan Leonard, Richard Zokol and Marilyn Palmer O’Connor.

At 6,361 yards from the tips, Marine Drive is not a long course by today’s standards, but it is tight and demands precision shot-making.

“They are playing the golf course basically kind of between the white and blue tees,” said Tim Tait, the longtime director of golf at Marine Drive. “It is going to be about 6,200 yards.

“The ladies par is generally 73, but it is going to play as 71 for the tournament. The par 4s are challenging here at Marine and most of our par 3s are also challenging. I think you are going to see the final four holes determine who wins the championship. They are very tough. Three long par 4s and a tough par 3.”

A strong Canadian contingent will be on hand to try and keep the Duchess of Connaught Gold Cup — awarded to the winner — on home soil. Augusta James, back in 2014, was the last Canadian to win the event. Canadian LPGA star Brooke Henderson won it in 2013.

All four members of Canada’s national amateur team — World No. 16 Maddie Szeryk (London, Ont.), No.  26 Jaclyn Lee (Calgary), No. 177 Naomi Ko (Victoria, B.C.) and No. 249 Grace Ste. Germain (Ottawa) — are in the field. They will be joined by development squad members  Celeste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-I’lle-Perrot, Que, Monet Chun (Richmond Hill, Ont.), Ellie Szeryk (London, Ont.) and Alyssa DiMarcantonio (Maple Ont).

Ko had the top Canadian finish at last year’s Canadian Women’s Amateur, where she tied for third spot. She recently got her first look at Marine Drive.

“It’s pretty exciting to be here and getting to see the course before the rest of the field,” said Ko, a former Canadian Junior Girls champion who is heading into her senior year at North Carolina State University. “It is an advantage for sure.”

Ko knows a couple of Marine Drive members well in national men’s team member Chris Crisologo and Roxburgh, who recently retired as Golf Canada’s director of player development.

“It is comforting to know people here, so I will probably kind of try to get the little secrets, the inside info from them,” Ko said.

Ko will be joined by B.C. Women’s Amateur champion Mary Parsons of Delta and B.C. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Christina Proteau of Port Alberni as British Columbia tries to defend its inter-provincial team title won last year at Cutten Fields. That competition takes place during the first two rounds of the tournament.

Avril Li, the Canadian University-College champion from Port Moody, B.C., has a spot in the field and has been doing some extra practising to prepare for the event.

“It is definitely motivating when you see such a strong field,” said Li, who is heading into her senior year at the University of British Columbia. “I have been practising as much as I can these days.”

“This is a tournament where if you come and play well it is a confidence-booster and you can kind from learn from these great players as well. It is a privilege to play in the same event as people ranked that high in the world.”

Roxburgh, the 13-time B.C. Amateur and four-time Canadian Amateur champion, is serving as co-chair of the tournament and is delighted with the way the club’s members are supporting the event.

“It’s been great,” Roxburgh said. “We have 125 volunteers, maybe 110 from the club and 15 from other clubs. We have been busy and the members have come through.  We are hoping to put on a really good tournament.”

The winner and top Canadian at Marine Drive will earn exemptions into the CP Women’s Open, which goes Aug. 23-26 at Wascana Country Club in Regina. Admission to the Canadian Women’s Amateur at Marine Drive is free.

After incorporating feedback from the global golf community as part of the Rules Modernization Initiative, the finalized Rules of Golf were officially released this past Spring by Golf’s governing bodies. The new Rules will take effect January 1, 2019.

We gathered the responses of everyone – from golf writers to industry professionals, PGA Tour players to recreational golfers, as well as Directors from golf’s governing bodies – to help gauge how the golf world is feeling about the finalized Rules.

“I really like them. The finished rules, I think, have done a nice job of first and foremost in modernizing the game. I really applaud them for going as far as they did and really looking at everything.”  – Doug Hoffmann, Minnesota Golf Association Rules & Competition Director

The one common denominator that everyone seems to agree on is that the new Rules are easier to read and understand, resulting in a reorganization of the Rules leading to a net reduction from 34 to 24 in the total number of Rules.

Modernizing the Rules

As alluded to in the project’s title, the other critical theme was modernization. Many believe that Golf was due for a modification of its Rules (considering the last fundamental revision came in 1984) with the and the recent amendments will help propel the game into its next era.

Huge news in the GOLF WORLD!
AND, much needed. ???

— ?️‍♂️Posting & Toasting ⛳(@netteKnows) March 13, 2018

Pace of Play Stewardship

One prominent theme that the new Rules were designed to help remedy is pace of play.

“(Slow Play) is tedious on TV and brutal for fans on-site at tournaments, and a major issue for recreational players – how much more would you play if 18 holes took three hours instead of five?” – Alan Shipnuck – Senior Writer, Golf Magazine

Pat anticipates the revisions helping to make meaningful strides in reducing the amount of time to play a round:

Woo hoo! Pace of play should improve dramatically with these changes!

— Pat MacKichan (@PGMacKich) March 14, 2018

Moreover, when a sport becomes easier to understand and quicker to play, it should aid in enticing new players to participate, ultimately contributing to the ultimate goal of growing the game.

“Perception is very important. Everywhere you looked you had tour players, even guys like Jack Nicklaus, talking about how difficult the rules are. If those people are talking about how difficult the rules are, the perception is the game is difficult and it’s going to deter players from getting involved in the game.” – Doug Hoffmann, Minnesota Golf Association Rules & Competition Director

Stroke and Distance: New Local Rule

One of the most widely discussed revisions that should have profound impact on pace of play is a new Local Rules available to Committees to implement an additional option for Stroke and Distance. It allows players who have hit OB or lost their ball to – instead of retreating back to the tee – move their ball to the nearest edge of the fairway (no closer to the hole) while incurring a two-stroke penalty.

“This addresses the issue you hear at the club level about the practical nature of going back (to the tee) and playing under stroke and distance. It has a negative impact on pace of play – that’s what this local rule is about.” said Thomas Pagel, USGA senior director of Rules & Amateur Status.

How do the end users feel about this new rule? Well, many golfers admit that this is how they play anyway, so it’s about time that we made one of Golf’s un-written recreational Rules, written.

Love all the changes, especially the OB rule which most of us weekend golfers do anyway.

— Eric ⛳️?????? (@realMacNeil) March 12, 2018

Me and my mates already play 2 stroke penalty for Lost Ball or Out of Bounds. Makes the game so much quicker and easier…

— Benjamin Williams (@BenjitoWilliams) March 12, 2018

Dropping a Ball

A rule that was proposed – and ended up being revised during the feedback period – is the height of the drop. The initial Rules from March 2017 proposed that the ball be placed on the ground at the drop site. After review, the final decision was that all drops will be taken from knee-height.

“We feel that going to knee height strikes that right balance. It is going to be quicker and going to be accurate in terms of dropping in the relief area. But, equally so, it preserves that element of chance. There’s not that guarantee of getting the best possible lie in and, on reflection, we felt that was an appropriate outcome.” – David Rickman, Executive Director, Governance at R&A

Jason seems to think that the new drop will be an absolute game-changer and seems abnormally excited to officially try it in 2019:

The drop from “knee height” will be epic.

— Jason P. (@JasonP_YYC) March 12, 2018

Reduction of Ball Moved Penalties

The removal of several other accidental “ball-moved” penalties (accidently moving your ball on the green, or while searching for your ball) were made with common sense in mind. However, they were also intended to help eliminate awkward situations like at the 2016 US Open with Dustin Johnson – a situation that brought heavy criticism from Golf Fans, and players alike (including Tiger Woods).

“We have had situations in recent years with retrospective penalties where players haven’t realized there is a penalty but perhaps there is. So, by removing a number of these at source, you remove the possibility of there being an issue that develops later on.”- David Rickman

DJ himself says that he is a fan of the new rule heavy criticism changes, specifically the rule in question.

“Some of the rule changes I think are really good, especially the ball on the putting green when you don’t feel like you caused it to move and you’re still getting a penalty, that to me makes no sense. I know now that I wouldn’t get a penalty if my ball rolls, so that’s nice.” – Dustin Johnson

Repairing Damage on the Putting Green

Another revision that seems to be met with approval is the new ability to repair spike marks on a putting green.

Overall Findings

As you can see, the revision and modernization of the Rules of Golf was truly a global team effort. The golfing public certainly appreciates their opportunity to engage and contribute in the process.

Nice to see the changes ratified AND that the feedback was listened too and, perhaps more importantly, acted on (eg using longest club to measure).

— Ian Atherton (@IAtherton) March 12, 2018

It appears that the overwhelming reaction to the new Rules of Golf has been positive. It seems virtually everyone can agree that they will help accomplish the overarching objectives of the project – to simplify and speed up the game while simultaneously growing it’s popularity as it enters the modern era.

Winnipeg, MB – The Board of Directors of Golf Manitoba is please to announce Jared Ladobruk as the new Executive Director for Golf Manitoba.

Jared is a B.Comm from the University of Manitoba and a Class A Professional, PGA of Canada.  Jared brings with him a wealth of business and marketing knowledge and experience from his eight years working for the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management at the University of Manitoba.  Earlier in his career, Jared was an Associate Pro at St. Charles CC.

Jared is in his 3^rd decade of involvement with the Manitoba golfing community.  He was a member of both the University of British Columbia golf team (98-99) and the University of Manitoba golf team (00-02) – where he was co-captain.    He was even a Summer Student at Golf Manitoba!

Jared is very excited to become part of the Golf Manitoba team, and will begin his new position on July 26, 2018.

With the Rules Modernization Initiative set to take effect in January 2019, Golf Canada is in the midst of preparing resources and educational material for all golfers, member clubs and referees. Our Rules Education will begin in the fall of 2018 to prepare everyone for the changes for next year.

New for 2019, Golf Canada will be adopting the R&A’s Rules Education system. One of the main objectives of the Rules Modernization Initiative was to create consistency around the world in many facets of the Rules of Golf, including educating and training referees. The exams that Golf Canada will use and the designation by marks achieved will be consistent throughout the countries allied to the R&A, such as Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

While Golf Canada traditionally has employed a four-level system, the R&A’s Rules Education program consists of a three-tiered approach. In order to align the programs, Golf Canada’s current Levels 1 and 2 will be consolidated into just one level (the new Level 1). We will maintain separate programs for individuals to continue through our Rules Education Pathway at the provincial and national level, which will be the new Level 2 and Level 3.

The chart below compares the Levels from 2018 to what will be in place for 2019:

Level 1 provides an interesting and easy way to learn the basics of the Rules of Golf. This level will focus on Etiquette, the principle definitions and commonly encountered situations on the course. As part of the Level 1 program, students will be able to test their knowledge by taking the review questions at the end of each section before attempting the online Level 1 Exam.

Level 2 (Provincial) seminars will be conducted by provincial golf associations, and the curriculum will begin to look at the more important playing Rules in detail. Some of the complexities that are found in the Decisions book are introduced along while also implementing on-course demonstrations. Level 2 (Provincial) will be designed for individuals with an involvement in tournament administration, or a desire to have such an involvement.

Level 3 (National) will consist of a three-day seminar run by Golf Canada, also called Tournament Administrators and Referees School (TARS). It serves to give guidance and advice on running tournaments and refereeing by including sessions on course set-up, course marking, pace of play, suspension of play, and starting and recording.