OTTAWA — Today the National Allied Golf Associations (NAGA) brought golf industry representatives to Parliament in order to advocate for tax fairness for the game of golf, Canada’s most popular sport.

“Golf is one of Canada’s most beloved sports with more people playing the game than hockey,” said Jeff Calderwood, NAGA spokesman. “There are an estimated 5.7 million Canadian golfers and there are 2,300 golf courses and practice ranges in Canada and the industry is worth more than $14 billion per year to the Canadian economy.”

While golf continues to be a favourite pastime for Canadians, it’s important to note that the small businesses involved in the golf industry have felt the impact of the recession over the past several years. Both participation rates and employment have significantly decreased. To make matters worse, current federal tax legislation imposes a major competitive disadvantage on the golf industry.

“Unfortunately the golf industry in Canada suffers from an outdated 40-year-old tax policy that singles out golf businesses in an unfair manner,” continued Mr. Calderwood. “Over the past several years we have met with Parliamentarians from all parties to call on the federal government and Minister of Finance to correct this inequity and to restore tax fairness for Canada’s golf industry.”

Due to a 1971 tax reform, the Canada Revenue Agency does not allow deductions for expenses incurred by business people entertaining clients at golf courses. Canada’s 2,300 golf courses, most of whom are small business operators, feel that they cannot compete fairly with all the other industries where CRA does support entertaining clients. Over time, the unfairness of this discrimination against the golf industry has become more and more significant.

“Just a few weeks ago, Minister Oliver projected that 2015 will conclude with a surplus,” concluded Calderwood. “In the meetings we’ve had with MPs and Prime Minister Harper’s government over the past several years, we advised that we understood the government’s need to balance its books before amending the Income Tax Act, and that time is now upon us. We are a collection of small businesses who are simply asking to be treated fairly.”

Teeing it forward and creating combo tees (sometimes referred to as blended or hybrid tees – using a mix of two sets of tees) are great ways to add more fun to the game. But can these methods be used fairly in competition? Thanks to the Golf Canada Handicap System, a competition or friendly match can be equitable played when you have golfers playing against one another from two different sets of tees (with different course/slope ratings) or having a mixed competition where men compete against women.

Here’s how it works:

Section 3-5 of the Golf Canada Handicap Manual explains how to set up an event involving two different tees or course/slope ratings. Because a course rating reflects the probable score of a scratch golfer, the higher-rated course is more difficult, and the player playing from the set of tees with the higher course rating receives additional stroke(s) equal to the difference between each course rating, with .5 or greater rounded upward. The additional stroke(s) are added to the course handicap of the player playing from the higher-rated set of tees. For example, if men playing from the middle tees where the men’s course rating is 70.3 compete against men playing from the back tees where the men’s course rating is 72.6, the men playing from the back tees will add two strokes (72.6 -70.3 = 2.3 rounded to 2) to their course handicap.

For example, Gary and Bob have identical handicap factors (10.4) but wish to have a friendly match while competing from different tees. First we have to define what their target score is. Target score is what a golfer needs to shoot in order to play to his or her handicap; it is the result of taking the course handicap and adding it to the course rating of the tee to be played. Many golfers often use an informal and incorrect version of this by adding their course handicap to the par of the course/tee they play.

It’s all about fun

Some golfers may think they aren’t “good enough” to carry a handicap or play in competitive events, but look how fun the Handicap System makes playing the game! Whether it’s friendly play, partnered events from the same or different tees, the handicap system appropriately adjusts for these parameters, allowing every player to enjoy the game. Many clubs already incorporate competing from different tees into their events, a popular move with members who are not forced to play a tee they don’t necessarily feel comfortable with in order to participate. Participation in events increases and the experience is more enjoyable for all.

For more details on how to score at events where players use different tees, please reference the Golf Canada Handicap Manual at golfcanada.ca/handicapmanual or inquire with your golf club.

The LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament will get underway Wednesday at Daytona Beach, Fla. and 12 Canadians will tee-it-up with hopes of securing LPGA Tour status for 2015.

The final qualifier is a 90-hole, stroke-play format and will be played on the Jones and Hill courses at LPGA International.

The top 20 players from the 154-player field will earn Priority in Category 12 (full-time status for 2015), while players finishing 21^st -45^th will receive Priority in Category 17 (conditional-status for 2015).

There will be a 72-hole cut after play on Saturday. The top 70 plus ties will tee off in the fifth and final round on Sunday.

There is a $50,000 purse for the event with the medalist taking home $5,000.

The Canadian participants in this year’s final qualifying stage are:

• Brittany Henderson (Smiths Falls, Ont.)
• Augusta James (Kingston, Ont.)
• Sara-Maude Juneau (Fossambault-Sur-Le-Lac, Què.)
• Lorie Kane (Charlottetown, P.E.I.)
• Soo-Bin Kim (Coquitlam, B.C.) *
• Sue Kim (Langley, B.C.)
• Jennifer Kirby (Paris, Ont.)
• Maude-Aimee Leblanc (Sherbrooke, Què.)
• Rebecca Lee-Bentham (Toronto, Ont.)
• Brogan McKinnon (Misssissauga, Ont.)
• Samantha Richdale (Kelowna, B.C.)
• Nicole Vandermade (Brantford, Ont.)

* denotes Canadian resident

Global Golf Post has selected its second-annual All-Amateur team and Canada is well represented in this year’s picks.

The selections identify amateurs, from across the world, who have played exceptional golf over the last calendar year. In 2014, the selection committee chose 211 golfers from 23 different countries.

Corey Conners was selected to the Men’s Amateur 1^st Team after a season in which the Listowel, Ont. native finished as the runner-up in both the US and Canadian Amateurs. The 22-year-old also captured the Jones and Tailhade Cups.

Joining Conners with distinctions in the Men’s Amateur category was Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., who was selected to the 2^nd Team. The long-bomber also had a successful 2014, earning victories at the Monroe Invitational and the Porter Cup, in addition to turning heads with a fantastic opening round at the RBC Canadian Open.

In the Men’s Mid-Amateur category, Garrett Rank and Rob Couture were both honoured with All-Amateur selections.

Rank, who hails out of Elmira, Ont., was selected to the Men’s Mid-Amateur 1^st Team. He won the 2014 Canadian Mid-Amateur in a playoff over Couture at the Barrie Country Club. A member of the 2014 Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad, Rank also advanced to the to the Rd. of 32 at the US Amateur and Rd. of 16 at the US Amateur Public Links.

Couture, who finished as the runner-up in the 2014 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur, was selected to the Mid-Amateur 2^nd Team. A dual citizen of the US and Canada, Couture was a semi-finalist at this year’s Crump Cup and finished in the top 15 at the 2014 Lupton Invitational.

Rounding out this year’s male honourees was Vancouver’s Doug Roxburgh, who was named to the Men’s Senior Amateur 1^st Team.  The four-time Canadian Amateur Champion added to his already stellar career resume with a victory at the 2014 Canadian Senior Amateur just a month after clinching his second-straight and 13^th overall B.C. Senior Amateur title.

On the women’s side, it comes as no surprise that Brooke Henderson was selected to the Women’s Amateur 1^st Team. The Espirito Santo Trophy recipient was the runner-up at the US Women’s Amateur and had the low amateur score at this year’s US Women’s Open, where she tied for 10th. The 17-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont. is currently the No. 1 ranked female amateur golfer in the world.

Henderson’s Team Canada Women’s Amateur teammate Augusta James was selected to the Women’s Amateur 2^nd Team after a very strong summer. The Bath, Ont. native defeated Henderson to win the Canadian Women’s Amateur, in addition to finishing runner-up at the Ontario Amateur. James also advanced to the Rd. of 16 at the US Women’s Amateur.

Soon-Bin Kim of Coquitlam, B.C. was given an honourable mention for her excellent play in 2014. Kim was named Golfweek’s Women’s player of the fall after winning the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational and finishing as the runner-up at the Pac-12 Preview.

Christina Proteau of Port Alberni, B.C. was named to the 1^st Team in the Women’s Mid-Amateur category after a strong 2014 campaign that culminated in her receiving the PNGA Women’s Mid-Am Player of the Year award for the third consecutive year. Proteau collected her third straight Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur title, won the B.C. Women’s Mid-Amateur, and finished as a quarter-finalist at the US Women’s Mid-Amateur.

Stefi Markovich, a resident of Welland, Ont., was given an honourable mention in the Women’s Mid-Am category for a solid year in 2014.

In the Women’s Senior Amateur category, Judith Kyrinis and Helene Chartrand were named to the 1^st Team, while Mary Ann Hayward was selected to the 2^nd Team.

Kyrinis, a registered nurse who plays out of the Thornhill Golf Club in Ont., fell short in the finals of the US Senior Women’s Amateur to Joan Higgins of Glendora, Calif. Kyrinis also placed inside the top 5 at the Canadian Senior Women’s Amateur.

Chartrand of Pincourt, Qué. was victorious at the Canadian Senior Women’s Amateur just one month after capturing the Mid-Master title at the 2014 Canadian Women’s Amateur. Chartrand was also able to advance to the Rd. of 32 at the US Senior Women’s Amateur.

Hayward, who resides in Aurora, Ont., claimed the Ontario Senior Women’s Championship title and finished as the runner-up at the Canadian Women’s Senior Championship in August.

A recent poll of PGA Tour players asked what the difference is between the top players in the world and those who play on tour for a number of years without a win. There were answers about technique and length but the majority of players responded with a comment about the mental aspect of the game.

We all know how difficult it can be mentally to deal with a stretch of bad holes; but playing well and scoring low can have its own challenges too. Almost every golfer has gone through a run of great holes early in the round, yet at the end of 18 signed a very average scorecard.

To play golf well you need to know your- self. Pay attention to the details and listen to your body’s signals. If you are a calm, slow paced, chilled out kind of person does your tempo or mindset ever change while playing in competition? Do you know from which yardages you play your best golf?

Think of your intensity or alertness on
a scale of 1-10. Where are you on that scale when you play and enjoy golf the most? If you are normally a 6 and when bad things happen you get to an 8 by trying harder, your performance will usually be affected in a negative way. The same can be said when you get on a run of great holes, birdies or pars and you get really pumped up only
to find you run out of steam or start going backwards. Don’t get me wrong; there are times when a little extra intensity can work for you but you cannot live there full time. Identify where you play your best and remember that spending too long outside of this area will have a detrimental effect
on results.

No matter your skill level you can control your mental state before each shot. You may never play a round where you play completely in the right area – it is normal to bounce around and think about winning, your family or any other random thought. This happens to the best players too but they realize before they hit their important shots and come back to where they need to be to give themselves the best chance of success.

Thoughtful practice

On the range, think about what number on the intensity scale you play your best golf from. There may be some experimenting here if you are not sure but try to match a number to your personality
at first.

Hit balls registering what number you are and then try imagining different situations from your past. Take this number with you to the golf course and before each shot have a mental check in, are you at your normal number? Too high or too low? This should be an important step before you begin your pre-shot routine.

If you are too high you may want to focus on your breathing. Take deep belly breaths (six breaths a minute is optimum) and this will help bring you back down on your scale and centre your attention on yourself and not the task which lies ahead of you.

If you are too low relative to your ideal number you may want to think of previous good shots. Focus on the work you have put in to this point, past success – whatever you need to fire yourself back up to your optimum number.

It will take some time to get to the stage where this is a normal step within your pre-shot routine. Use a mental scorecard to monitor your progress on the course. After each hole give yourself
a tick on your normal scorecard if you have mentally checked in and played your shot from the correct number. You get an X if you forget to check in or hit the shot before getting yourself to where you want to be mentally.

Count up this scorecard at the end. At first, getting half of the holes with a tick would be a resounding success. Remember it’s a process; you will bounce around every single round but you now have an additional skill in your toolkit to improve the mental aspect of your game. If you play golf from your optimum number you will be calmer, a better playing partner and energized rather than tired at the end of your round. You may even need some extra space on your mantel!

SAO PAULO, Brazil – A Rio de Janeiro judge has denied a request from prosecutors to halt construction of the Olympic golf course because of environmental concerns, curtailing fears that the venue won’t be ready in time for test events.

Judge Eduardo Antonio Klausner said in his decision that there is “no new fact justifying … a halt in the implementation of the golf course for the Olympics.”

He said changes made by the city and the course developer partially attended to the prosecutors’ demands to protect the local environment.

Although the decision represented a loss for the prosecutors and environmentalists, it was only part of the ongoing legal battle. The judge can still reconsider his decision not to stop construction based on new evidence provided by the participants.

It wasn’t clear if state prosecutors would seek to appeal Wednesday’s ruling, but legal challenges were expected to continue.

In a 27-page legal brief made public last week, prosecutors had termed “laughable” proposals by the city and the course developer to modify the layout to reduce the environmental impact.

The judge ruled that by changing one of the holes of the golf course, the developers did enough to preserve the local vegetation. He said that the relocation of hole No. 12 made way for a 32-meter-long wildlife corridor that will keep the vegetation intact. He also said that the type of grass being used on the golf course does not endanger the vegetation already in place in the area.

Prosecutors initially said they wanted a wildlife corridor of about 400 metres long to make sure the local environment was properly preserved.

The course, estimated by local media to be about 70 per cent completed, is being cut out of a nature reserve in western Rio near the main cluster of Olympic venues and is part of a complex of luxury apartments selling for $3 million to $7 million.

Prosecutors have argued the environment must be the primary concern – not the Olympics or the real estate development.

In their brief filed last week, they alleged that the environmental licensing process for the course was riddled with errors and asked the judge to suspend the license.

The defendants in the case – the city of Rio and the golf course developer – have insisted any legal impediments to the course’s construction could harm the Olympics, Rio, and their international reputation.

Construction workers have been working on the course and putting down grass for months, hoping to have the work finished as the South American summer growing season begins. Officials said the course needs two full growing seasons to be playable at a top level.

Test events were initially scheduled for late 2015 and early 2016.

UXBRIDGE, Ont. —  The GAO (Golf Association of Ontario) has announced the rosters of the five regional teams that will comprise Ontario’s under-17 high performance program in 2014-15.

After a very successful regional team pilot program in 2013-14, the GAO is expanding the number of regional teams as well as adding more content to the training programs.  The team members were selected based on their 2014 tournament scores and testing results from Skills Combines held during the month of September.

“We were thrilled with the progress of the 36 athletes that were part of regional team pilot program last season,” says Mary Ann Hayward, GAO Manager of Sport Performance. “Six of those players have advanced to our Team Ontario program for the upcoming season. With the addition of Niagara and Windsor, we will have 60 promising young athletes in our under-17 training program for 2014-15. A new addition to the program this year is a 36-hole regional team competition to be held in the Niagara area in late April. With our skilled personal coaches, dedicated regional coaches and the support of TaylorMade-adidas Golf Canada as our new high performance sponsor, the future of golf in Ontario has never been brighter.”

Team Ottawa

Team Ottawa is made up of athletes from Ottawa and surrounding areas in Eastern Ontario. Adam Holden coaches the team and Allen Hicks is the team’s strength and conditioning coach. They will train out of the Kevin Haime Golf Centre in Kanata and the Ottawa Athletic Club.

Players

• Cameron Belanger (Stittsville, Ont.)
• Christopher Carwardine (Kanata. Ont.)
• Ty Celone (Long Sault, Ont.)
• Logan Henry (Kemptville, Ont.)
• Keenan McPhail (Ottawa, Ont.)
• James Parsons (Almonte, Ont.)
• Tyler Read (Brockville, Ont.)
• Nick Valiquette (Cornwall, Ont.)
• Dylann Armstrong (North Gower, Ont.)
• Sarah Cushing (Brockville, Ont.)
• Isabella Landry (Nepean, Ont.)
• Kiley Rodrigues (Kingston, Ont.)

For more information on the team and its players, visit the Team Ottawa page.

Team York

Team York covers Toronto and the GTA. Jeff Overholt coaches the team and the strength and conditioning coach is Katie Robinson. Team York will train out of The Golf Lab in Vaughan and Carrying Place G & CC in Kettleby.

Players

• Kevin Doran (Sharon, Ont.)
• Brendan Dunphy (Whitby, Ont.)
• Jeffery Fang (Richmond Hill, Ont.)
• Zachary Katzenstein (Thornhill, Ont.)
• Lachlan O’Hara (Mississauga, Ont.)
• Jacob Presutti (Brampton, Ont.)
• Luke Sear (Stouffville, Ont.)
• Dee Xie (Toronto, Ont.)
• Amanda Kerr (Brampton, Ont.)
• Hailey McLaughlin (Markham, Ont.)
• Cynthia Zhao (Toronto, Ont.)
• Emily Zhu (Richmond Hill, Ont.)

For more information on the team and it’s players, visit the Team York page.

Team Waterloo

Team Waterloo is made up of players from the Kitchener-Waterloo and surrounding area. Mike Martz coaches the team and their strength and conditioning coach is Angella Lee. They will train out of the Golf Performance Centre and Whistle Bear GC in Cambridge.

Players

• Peyton Callens (Langton, Ont.)
• Cougar Colling (Caledon, Ont.)
• Lucas DeCorso (Guelph, Ont.)
• Michael Dubois (Brantford, Ont.)
• Jarrett Fitzpatrick (Caledonia, Ont.)
• Dylan Henderson (Waterloo, Ont.)
• Michael Rizzo (Brantford, Ont.)
• Carter Snowden (Kitchener, Ont.)
• Haley Barclay (Strathroy, Ont.)
• Taylor Kehoe (Strathroy, Ont.)
• Kristen Giles (Georgetown, Ont.)
• Grace Mitchell (Kitchener, Ont.)

For more information on the team and it’s players, visit the Team Waterloo page.

Team Niagara

Team Niagara is comprised of golfers in the Niagara region, which includes Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and surrounding area. John White coaches the team and the strength and conditioning coach is Wayne Oliver. They will train out of the Legends on the Niagara, in Niagara Falls and winter training will be at TurfNet and Fourth Quarter Fitness in Welland.

Players

• Michael Athoe (Ridgeway, Ont.)
• Justin DiCienzo (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
• Vincent Dicosimo (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
• Vince Friyia (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
• Sparky MacLean (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
• Jason Maloney (St. Ann’s, Ont.
• Ethan Siebert (Beamsville, Ont.)
• Brett Warkentin (Ridgeway, Ont.)
• Sukriti Harjai (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
• Susan Leone (Niagara Falls, Ont.)
• Taylor Simoneau (St. Catharines, Ont.)
• Emily Ward (Niagara Falls, Ont.)

For more information on the team and it’s players, visit the Team Niagara page.

Team Essex-Kent

Team Essex-Kent is made up of golfers from the Windsor and South Western Ontario area. Randy McQueen coaches the team and the strength and conditioning coach is Ryan Carlone. They will train out of Roseland Golf Club and On The Green Indoor Golf in Tecumseh.

Players

• Spencer Ferguson (Windsor, Ont.)
• Brett Harrison (Essex, Ont.)
• Curtis Hughes (Tecumseh, Ont.)
• Adam Nunes (Tecumseh, Ont.)
• David Nunes (Tecumseh, Ont.)
• Shawn Sehra (Windsor, Ont.)
• Marcus Slipchuk (Amherstburg, Ont.)
• Ethan Stewart (Windsor, Ont.)
• Shannon Coffey (Windsor, Ont.)
• Rachel Cote (Windsor, Ont.)
• Jasmine Ly (Windsor, Ont.)
• Brooke MacKinnon (Chatham, Ont.)

For more information on the team and it’s players, visit the Team Essex-Kent page.

Buenos Aires, Argentina — Fabian Gomez has become the first ever multiple champion of the PGA Tour Latinoamérica Personal Classic, capturing the title for the second straight year by a total of seven strokes.

The Argentinian accomplished the feat with a staggering 10-under 62 in his final round, fueled by two eagles and seven birdies.

Originally scheduled as a four-day tournament, the event was postponed and ultimately shortened to 54-holes after a storm passed through the Lujan area Saturday, completely saturating the course.

Gomez’s compatriot Gustava Acosta, who began the 3rd round with a one-stroke lead after carding a second-round 62, could not keep pace with his countryman and finished as the runner-up at -17.

Derek Gillespie of Oshawa, Ont. had the best finish amongst Canadians in Argentina. The Big Break PEI winner finished in a tie for 34^th at -6 (210).

Calgary’s Chris Baryla who got off to a tremendous start this week by carding an opening round 65, failed to build momentum and finished T46th at 3-under 213.

Robbie Greenwell of Georgetown, Ont. finished 57^th at 5-over 221.

For complete leaderboard results, click here.

SYDNEY — Jordan Spieth played the best round of an already impressive career with an 8-under 63 on Sunday to win the Australian Open by six strokes, making his first trip Down Under a successful one.

Spieth’s 72-hole total of 13-under 271 on the tough, windy Australian Golf Club made him the first American to win the Australian Open since Brad Faxon in 1993, when the 21-year-old Spieth was four months old.

“It’s the best round I have ever played, especially considering the conditions,” Spieth said. “It was just kind of one of those rounds when you’re in the zone and you’re not sure what you’re at. It’s nice that it came on a Sunday.”

Spieth birdied four holes on the front nine – three of them in a row – to lead by three strokes after nine holes, then made light of the challenging, windy conditions by adding four more on the back nine, never threatening to lose his lead.

“You don’t want any kind of crack in the door to be open and I felt like we kept it shut from the front nine on,” Spieth said.

Spieth’s score was a record for the revamped Jack Nicklaus-designed layout which was being played as a par 71 for the first time. On Friday, Jamie Lovemark of the United States shot 65.

Adam Scott shot 71 and finished fifth, nine strokes behind. Defending champion Rory McIlroy, who shot 76 on Saturday, finished with a 72 and was 2-over, 15 strokes behind Spieth.

Three Australians who finished closest to Spieth earned trips to next July’s British Open. The Australian Open is the first qualifying tournament for the 2015 Open Championship and offers three spots to the top finishers not already exempt.

Rod Pampling shot 68 to finish second, while former two-time Australian Open champion Greg Chalmers (71) and Brett Rumford (70) were third and fourth, respectively. All three will play at St. Andrews next year.

Gusty northeasterly breezes played havoc all week with scores, and only eight players finished under par.

Chalmers and Spieth were tied for the lead at 6-under after four holes, but Spieth birdied the par-5 fifth where Chalmers made bogey for a two-shot swing. The American also birdied the sixth and seventh holes, made a fine par save on the ninth, then did the same on the 10th from about five feet, pumping his fist as he edged closer to the title and the Stonehaven Cup trophy.

It was Spieth’s first win of 2014, and second of his pro career – he won on the John Deere Classic in a playoff on the PGA Tour in 2013. Although he hadn’t won this year, he was runner-up in the Masters and had eight top-10 finishes in 24 PGA tournaments.

He was reminded that last year’s Australian Open win by McIlroy was his only victory that year, and the Northern Irishman went on to win two majors and have an outstanding 2014.

“If I had the follow-up year that Rory had this year, I’d be pleased this time next year,” Spieth said.

McIlroy’s 76 all but ended the defense of the title he memorably won in 2014 with a birdie on the last hole to deny Scott the Australian Triple Crown.

“It’s been tough all weekend,” McIlroy said. “I was trying to get something going but with the pin positions and the wind, it was just very hard to get the ball close to the hole. It just wasn’t meant to be this year.”

There were tributes around the golf course Saturday and Sunday for Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes, who died Thursday after being hit by a ball during a match at the nearby Sydney Cricket Ground.

The number 63 was used in many of them, as that was the number of runs Hughes had scored before he was fatally injured. Spieth provided the final reminder – and an unintentional tribute – by finishing with a round of 63.

Buenos Aires, Argentina — Chris Baryla couldn’t regain the momentum he had in Rd. 1 at the Personal Classic, carding a 1-over 73 on Friday and falling eighteen spots into a tie for 18^th.

Baryla front-nine score of 39, which was due largely to triple bogey on 4, was seven shots more than his 32 on Thursday.  However, the Calgary native settled down and shot a 2-under 34 coming in, including an eagle on 10, to get back into contention.

Oshawa’s Derek Gillespie, who began the day in a tie for 90^th, redeemed his opening round by making seven birdies on Friday. He finished the round with a 5-under 67 and heads into Moving Day in a four-way tie for 28^th.

Robbie Greenwell of Georgetown, Ont. shot an even par 72 and currently sits tied for 48^th.

For full tournament results, click here.