TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley announced on Wednesday the return of The Road to TPC Toronto presented by COBRA PUMA GOLF, an event series for junior golfers taking place across Ontario this season.

After a successful launch in 2021, The Road will once again consist of a series of 36-hole regional qualifying tournaments, where competitors in girls and boys divisions will play to earn a spot in the season-ending finale at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in July along with prizes from COBRA PUMA GOLF.

“It was a thrill to meet and welcome so many outstanding young competitors to TPC Toronto last year, and we believe this year’s event series will be a great complement to the schedules of talented junior golfers across Ontario this season. We look forward to another season of strong competition, great prizes and fun on the course,” said TPC Toronto Tournament and Programming Director Brad Parkins.

Each regional qualifying tournament field will be open to girls and boys, aged 18 and under as of August 1, 2022 on a first come-first serve basis. The top six boys and three girls from each regional qualifier will advance to the finale at TPC Toronto at Osprey

Valley, in Caledon, Ontario, July 17-18. At The Finale, 60 of the province’s best junior golfers will compete in the 36-hole championship event, with prizing for top boys’ and girls’ finishers.

Beginning in May, The Road to TPC Toronto presented by COBRA PUMA GOLF will visit the following sites for qualifying events:

• Loyalist Country Club (Bath, Ont.) May 14-15
• Seaforth Golf & Country Club (Seaforth, Ont.) May 28-29
• Idylwylde Golf & Country Club and Timberwolf Golf Club (Sudbury, Ont.) June 4-5
• Bridgewater Golf & Country Club (Fort Erie, Ont.) July 4
• Deer Creek Golf & Banquet Facility (Ajax, Ont.) July 11

The Finale will once again be a part of the Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates, an official PGA TOUR Canada event. Competitors at the Finale will compete in the final round alongside a PGA TOUR Canada player in a unique Pro-Am format, providing players with a special inside-the-ropes experience.

COBRA PUMA GOLF will provide equipment and apparel prizes for outstanding junior golfers at each event, with the boys’ and girls’ champion following the finale at TPC Toronto earning a prize pack, including a custom fitting for a COBRA KING Putter.

“Last year we saw a promising start to the Road to TPC Toronto event series and are excited to see its growth and evolution in the summer of 2022,” said Dwayne Boecker,

Head of Golf for COBRA PUMA GOLF – Canada. “It offers a fantastic development opportunity for competitive juniors as well as engagement with our performance brands, both of which we passionately support.”

Competitions will be operated with detailed COVID-19 safety protocols in place in accordance with each host facility’s established practices.

Online registration for tournaments is now open at theroadtotpctoronto.com.

Golf Canada is pleased to announce that Ken Casey of St. John’s, N.L. and David Atkinson, formerly of Vancouver, B.C. and now Goderich, Ont. have been named the 2021 co-recipients of the Bruce Mitchell Volunteer of the Year Award. A presentation of the award will take place on Thursday, March 3^rd as part of Golf Canada’s Virtual Annual Meeting.

“Volunteers are integral to the success of golf in this country and on behalf of Golf Canada and all of the provincial golf associations, we are very proud to recognize Ken Casey and David Atkinson for their deep contributions to the advance the game,” said Golf Canada President Liz Hoffman. “They have supported golf in Newfoundland and British Columbia as well as at the national level and have had a major impact on the advancement of the sport in their communities.”

The Bruce Mitchell Volunteer of the Year Award is named in recognition of Toronto native Bruce Mitchell who in 2017-18 was the first Canadian to serve as captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A). Born in Victoria and raised in Edmonton, the former President of the Toronto Golf Club and R&A member since 1988 was just the ninth internationally appointed captain of the R&A, one of the most prestigious volunteer positions in the world of golf. Duties as captain included representing the R&A as a global ambassador and aiding in the R&A’s effort to develop golf around the world.

Now in its 16^th year, candidates for the Bruce Mitchell Volunteer of the Year Award are put forth to Golf Canada for consideration by the respective provincial golf associations in acknowledgment of significant contributions to the game of golf in their community.

Get to Know – Ken Casey (Golf Newfoundland & Labrador)

Golf Newfoundland & Labrador is extremely proud of their long-time friend, Ken Casey.

At 12 years old, he took up the game at Bally Haly Golf Club in St. John’s, N.L. and has enjoyed it for a lifetime. Ken began to volunteer at Bally Haly in the late 1980s where he was elected to serve on the golf committee and several years later was named Golf Captain. In 1990, Ken assembled a group of volunteers to organize the Bally Haly Men’s Invitational (one of the largest in the province) which 30 plus years later continues to draw golfers from all across the province.

In 1994 Ken became President of what was then the Newfoundland Labrador Golf Association (NLGA) and had served the organization across a number of activities and committees over the years. A decade later, he was approached to serve on the Board of Directors of newly formed Golf Newfoundland Labrador ( Golf NL) as Treasurer and after a two-year term, accepted the nomination to serve as President where he spent four years helping to direct the growth and development of the organization.

Ken’s contributions have been felt across the entire organization including the development of a new membership model that provided financial stability. He has also been a champion for new policies to address safe sport, enhancements to the player development program and ensuring that funds were allocated to develop a three-year marketing plan for the organization.

Ken also guided the creation of the Go Golf Booklet initiative and has supported fundraising activities including the development of a junior golf scholarship program.   

Get to Know – David Atkinson (British Columbia Golf)

Although he now lives in Ontario, David Atkinson’s support for the game in British Columbia and nationally has been outstanding.

A constant presence at golf championships in British Columbia, David volunteered as a starter and scorer at a multitude of zone, provincial and national championships as well as the Vancouver Golf Tour. David also has the great honour of serving as the non-playing captain of three Lamley Cup teams.

Administratively, he served seven years on the Board of Directors with of BC Golf including three years as President and three more as Past President. His contributions to the organization were felt across a number of committees including Human Resources, Finance and Governance, and he played an important role helping BC Golf to diversify its Board.

David also plugged in to support the Pacific Coast Golf Association, serving eight years as a Trustee and two years as President in addition to his work at four of the association’s championships.

With Golf Canada, in addition to joining the duty roster at various championships, he served three  years on the Board of Directors and has been an active member of the Governors Council where he participated on and chaired several committees. David has also been active contributor with the Golf Canada Foundation as a member of the Grants and Scholarship Committee.

Golf Canada announced today that sports marketing executive Lisa Ferkul has joined the organization as its new Chief Marketing Officer, beginning March 21, 2022. 

Ferkul joins the Executive Team of the National Sport Federation after serving more than ten years with Scotiabank, most recently in the role of Director & Head, Canadian Sponsorship Marketing. Her portfolio of responsibilities included all brand, creative, strategic development, digital and social media as well as relationship management for the Bank’s sponsorship marketing portfolio in Canada inclusive of two verticals: Hockey and Arts & Culture.

“Lisa is a dynamic and accomplished sports executive who will take on an instrumental role in the advancement of Golf Canada’s sport programs and commercial properties as well as our signature golf championships,” said Golf Canada CEO, Laurence Applebaum. “Lisa brings exceptional energy and a depth of leadership that will play a critical role in the continued development and execution of Golf Canada’s integrated marketing, communications, digital strategy.”

“I am beyond excited to be joining the incredibly talented team at Golf Canada at a time when golf is thriving across the country,” said Ferkul. “As a passionate golfer and sports marketer, I look forward to contributing to the growth and development of the sport and will work tirelessly to continue driving that momentum.”

The Toronto resident was also a leader in the development of Scotiabank’s diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy in hockey (hockey for all), extensive growth of the bank’s community hockey programming, and was a key member of the deal team that negotiated the landmark $800MM MLSE partnership expansion including Scotiabank Arena naming rights as well as official bank status of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors.

In 2017, Ferkul was named among the 5 to Watch – Canada’s Sport Business Awards, an annual recognition of five of the most influential and accomplished Canadians under the age of 40 in the business of sport.

A depth of professional association and volunteer experience, Lisa has contributed to a number of organizations including the BlackNorth Initiative; the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada; and the Toronto chapter of Women in Sport & Events (WISE).

Ferkul is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario (Honours BA, Kinesiology) and earned a Public Relations Post-Graduate Certificate from the Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning.

Golf Canada will host its 2022 Annual Meeting this week (March 2-3) utilizing a virtual format as the National Sport Federation looks ahead to the 2022 season.

The Annual Meeting brings together Golf Canada’s Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers as well as representatives from Canada’s provincial golf associations and other industry stakeholders.

The opening day session of the Annual Meeting on Wednesday, March 2^nd runs from 1-3 p.m. with feature presentations that include:

• Golf Canada’s 2022 Outlook & Operational Plan – presented by Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum

• Keynote Address: Fireside Chat with International Golf Federation President & World Golf Hall of Fame Member, Annika Sörenstam – hosted by Golf Canada President Liz Hoffman

• Canadian Golf High-Performance Strategy – presented by Golf Canada Chief Sport Officer Kevin Blue

• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Safe Sport – Introduced by Golf Canada Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Safe Sport, Laura Wilson

The event continues on Thursday, March 3^rd with the association’s virtual Annual General Meeting beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET which will include the release of the 2021 Annual Report & Financial Statements.

Golf Canada will also introduce its 2022 Board of Directors including the re-election of Liz Hoffman of Wasaga Beach, Ont., a member of both Mad River Golf Club and The Thornhill Club, to serve a second term as the association’s President.

In addition, Golf Canada will celebrate outstanding contributions to the game of golf including a presentation of the 2021 Bruce Mitchell Volunteer of the Year Award to co-recipients Ken Casey of St. John’s, N.L. and David Atkinson, formerly of Vancouver, B.C. and now Goderich, Ont.

Golf Canada will also announce the 2022 recipients of Golf Canada’s Distinguished Service Award. The honourees will be celebrated in person later this summer during the week of the 108^th playing of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, July 19-22 at Westmount Golf & Country Club in Kitchener, Ont. 

To watch a live stream of Golf Canada’s Annual Meeting, click the links below:

Day 1 – Annual Meeting Presentations on Wednesday, March 2 (1-3 p.m. ET)

Day 2 – Golf Canada Annual General Meeting on Thursday, March 3 (1:00 p.m. ET)

Palm Beach, Fla. – Beginning last Thursday, the Honda Classic marked the first stop of the four-week ‘Florida Swing’ for the PGA TOUR. It would also mark 28 year old Adam Svensson’s second top 10 finish of the 2022 season to date.

In January, Svensson finished T7 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. With the T9 finish in Palm Beach, Svensson moved up 13 spots in the World Golf Rankings from 181 to 168th.

“I’ve just been working really hard. In the two weeks off I practiced every single day,” said Svensson. “Eight to ten hours a day, and just found something and [am] sticking to it.”

Svensson was no stranger to the layout having previously posted a 7-shot victory at PGA Resort and Spa’s Championship Course in 2015 to win Q-School.

“I just feel like I play good in the wind for some reason,” said Svensson on his comfort with the difficult course. “I’m able to control the golf ball, I like to hit it against the wind, hit it low and kind of create shots where, if there’s no wind, it’s more of just hitting the shot. So, yeah, just love playing in the wind.”

Nick Taylor would also land inside the top 20 shooting 3-under 67 in the final round to finish T16. Taylor Pendrith would finish T25, with Mackenzie Hughes T48 and Roger Sloan T55.

Full leaderboard here.

Golf Canada is undertaking an integrated and multi-faceted enhancement of its high-performance program to accelerate Canada’s position in the global professional golf landscape. 

The National Sport Federation announced today a strategic framework for its player development program with a stated primary objective to increase the cumulative number of Canadian athletes on the LPGA and PGA TOUR to 30 by 2032. 

The enhancements to Golf Canada’s player-development program are outlined in a detailed update authored by Chief Sport Officer Kevin Blue and will be presented in full at Golf Canada Annual General Meeting on March 2. 

“Canada has made significant progress in the development of world-class golfers in the past decade and is poised to take another step forward,” said Blue. “Over the past year, we undertook an in-depth analysis of global golf, consulted with numerous stakeholders who are involved in Canadian high-performance golf, and created the framework for an updated strategic plan for Canada to develop more world-class golfers.” 

Golf Canada’s enhanced investments in player development are financially supported by a group of generous donors who have made initial major gifts totalling $13.5 million through the Golf Canada Foundation. Paul McLean, CEO of Turf Care and former president of Golf Canada and Golf Canada Foundation has made a lead gift of $5 million – the single largest gift ever directed towards Canadian high-performance golf. 

“The achievement of our players on tour is a source of pride for everyone involved in Canadian golf,” said McLean who served as president of Golf Canada in 2015.

Major gifts were also committed by The Kavelman Fonn Foundation, John Francis, Jean Monty, David Kaufman, Steve Lister and Dr. Molly Rundle, and a pair of donors who wished to remain anonymous. These generous donors are part of the Golf Canada Foundation Trustee program, which provides critical philanthropic support for important Canadian golf initiatives such as player development and First Tee. Golf Canada Foundation is continuing to identify Trustees who are interested in supporting the Team Canada player development program and expanding First Tee across Canada. 

The strategic enhancements for the Team Canada player development program were shaped by in-depth feedback from numerous stakeholders in Canadian high-performance golf and a global comparative analysis of other countries’ efficiency success in producing world top-200 players. The analysis considered factors such as participation base, culture, and financial investment into high-performance golf, with particular focus on countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Australia, and England that that are geopolitically and culturally similar to Canada. 

“Canadian performance on the world golf stage continues to advance significantly since the original implementation of the player-development program and this is a transformational moment for Canada to take the next step forward towards the top-levels of global golf,” said Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum.

One of the first enhancements to occur in 2022 will be the creation of a national infrastructure for identifying and developing the most promising early-stage juniors in Canada (i.e., ages 10-14), with Team Canada Women’s Head Coach Tristan Mullally transitioning to the newly created position of National Talent Identification Director. In this new capacity, Mullally will provide additional resources to the parents and coaches who work with the most promising young juniors in Canada. He will also facilitate the development and implementation of local talent identification camps in every province. 

Mullally will transition into the new role over the coming months and a search will begin immediately for a head coach to oversee the women’s program as well as an additional assistant coach to complete the women’s coaching staff. 

The enhancements to Golf Canada’s High-Performance program build on the support that Canadian athletes have received in their development years from their family, member clubs, personal coaches, university programs and provincial golf associations. In addition to Golf Canada Foundation and the generosity from the major donor Trustee program, Golf Canada’s High-Performance Program and Team Canada are proudly supported by RBC, Canadian Pacific, Audi, Titleist, FootJoy, COBRA PUMA GOLF, Foresight Sports, Heritage Canada, Bear Mountain Resort, Citi Canada (Young Pro) and the Canadian Olympic Committee. 

Golf Canada will continue to seek stakeholder feedback on the systemic enhancements to the player development system over the coming weeks. A formal presentation will be made on March 2 as part of Golf Canada’s Annual Meeting. 

The performance of Canadian golfers on the world stage has improved significantly since the implementation of the Team Canada player development program in 2005. Canada is currently represented by 13 players with status on the LPGA or PGA TOUR, a substantial increase from the eight players with major tour status when the national team program was launched. Since 2014, members or graduates of the Team Canada Young Pro Squad have produced 50 professional tournament wins worldwide. 

Canada is positioned to take another leap forward in global golf achievement. Today, Golf Canada is announcing an enhanced commitment to the Team Canada player development program. Our goal is for Canada to reach 30 players with status on the LPGA and PGA TOUR by 2032, completing our transformation into a truly world-class golfing country where Canadians are regularly in contention on both tours. 

The pursuit of this ambitious goal is made possible by significant new philanthropic support from a group of generous donors who are making major gifts to fund enhancements in the Team Canada player development program—beginning with an investment of $13.5 million through Golf Canada Foundation to support the strategic goals of the program. 

Paul McLean, CEO of Turf Care and former president of Golf Canada and Golf Canada Foundation has made a lead gift of $5 million to increase the breadth and depth of financial support for Canadian players across the stages of development for the next ten years. Paul has been a pillar of the Canadian golf community with close relationships to many Canadian touring professionals. We are grateful for Paul’s leadership and support. 

Major gifts have also been committed by The Kavelman Fonn Foundation, John Francis, Jean Monty, David Kaufman, Steve Lister and Dr. Molly Rundle, and a pair of donors who wished to remain anonymous creating an initial pool of $13.5M in incremental funding to support new player development investments over the next decade. These generous donors are part of the Golf Canada Foundation Trustee program, which provides critical philanthropic support for important Canadian golf initiatives such as player development and First Tee. Golf Canada Foundation is continuing to identify Trustees who are interested in supporting the Team Canada player development program and expanding First Tee across Canada. 

Our ambitious strategy for player development is based on extensive research over the past year along with input from stakeholders in Canadian high-performance golf – including those involved at the very highest levels of the professional game. The full analysis and strategic plan can be read in draft form here. In addition, we invite you to attend Golf Canada’s virtual annual general meeting on March 2 for an in-depth presentation about the future of the player development system in Canada. 

In summary, Golf Canada’s updated player development strategy includes the following priorities: 

• Sharpen the specific focus of the player development system on the objective of increasing the number of Canadian players on the LPGA and PGA TOUR, with the goal of 30 players on these tours by 2032. 
• Foster an open and inclusive culture of collaboration among all stakeholders in Canadian high-performance golf – including players, coaches, facilities, professional tours, and provincial associations. 
• Invest in Canada’s player development system at a level that matches and competes with aspirational peers like Australia and England. 
• In partnership with PGA of Canada, increase the depth and diversity of Canadian coaching talent. 
• Broaden the player development system at the junior level by including more players in the national program and creating a national talent identification system for the most promising early-stage juniors. 
• Combine late-stage amateurs and young pro players into an expanded Team Canada cohort that is singularly focused on helping players to launch and sustain successful professional golf careers. Team Canada – NextGen, currently called the National Junior Squad, will include both juniors and developing amateurs. These changes will occur in 2023. 
• Provide housing and training facility access in the US for transitioning professional players. 
• Increase the breadth and depth of support for young professional players. Assign funding based on an individualized analysis of specific player needs. 
• Pay particular attention to off course support in areas such as mental health. Ensure a supportive environment that is in full compliance with Safe Sport policies. 
• Create a need-based system of financial aid for junior and amateur players in the player development program to ensure that financial assistance is provided to families with the most significant financial needs. 
• Build a digital library of educational resources featuring Canadian tour player role models that is available to aspiring Canadian players and their families. 
• Refine the analytics used to evaluate player development progress. Emphasize a data-driven and methodical approach. 
• Re-evaluate the infrastructure and pathway for Canadian professional women’s golf. Develop alternatives to the four-year NCAA pathway while maintaining educational opportunities for the most advanced women. Increase the number of domestic professional playing opportunities for women. 
• Especially emphasize how we can support the development of Canadian golf champions from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, building on the more diverse participation base that will be created by First Tee – Canada. 

These items will be implemented over the course of 2022 and 2023. One of the first enhancements to occur will be the creation of a national infrastructure for identifying and developing the most promising early-stage juniors in Canada (i.e., ages 10-14). Over time, this infrastructure will increase the volume of high-performing juniors in Canada who have the potential to develop into LPGA and PGA TOUR players. 

To move forward with this system enhancement, Team Canada Women’s Head Coach Tristan Mullally will transition to the newly created position of National Talent Identification Director. In this new capacity, Tristan will provide additional resources to parents and coaches who work with the most promising young juniors in Canada and provide direct coaching to identified early-stage juniors who don’t otherwise have local coaching support. He will also facilitate the development and implementation of local talent identification camps in every province. Tristan’s globally recognized technical skills and extensive experience with elite players will be a significant asset for helping to accelerate the development of Canada’s most promising young juniors. 

Tristan’s transition into this new role will occur gradually over the next several months. A search will begin immediately for a head coach to oversee the women’s program and for an additional assistant coach to complete the remainder of the women’s coaching staff. 

Many people across our country are deeply passionate about Canadian golf and excited for Canada to continue its emergence as a world-class golfing country. Every stakeholder in the Canadian golf industry is involved in developing Canada’s top players in one way or another. Golf facility operators create affordable opportunities for competitive juniors to access courses, PGA of Canada professionals provide important mentorship and coaching to young players, and partners and philanthropists provide critical support so the Team Canada player development program can be resourced for global success. Our goal is to unify the entire Canadian golf community behind this player development effort, as our Canadian players have the best chance to emerge on the world stage when everyone is part of the journey with them. 

If you’d like to ask questions, provide feedback about our plan, or find out more about becoming a donor to the program, please send us an email using this link. 

Go Canada Go!

Kevin Blue, Ph. D. Chief Sport Officer

Since starting out in golf, Maddie Szeryk has dreamt of playing the sport at the highest level. After securing LPGA Tour status for 2022 last December in Alabama, the 25-year-old has realized her childhood dream and is ready to take on the world’s best this season.

The long time member of Golf Canada’s National Team Program recalls her humble beginnings when she got started at the age of seven thanks to the encouragement of her dad, Neil Szeryk.

“I remember my dad initially signed me up for lessons at a summer camp and I went out with everyone; and then after I got an individual coach. I really liked the sport and I’ve been doing it ever since,” she reminisced.

Szeryk, whose parents Neil and Karen relocated from London, Ont., shortly after being married – found her passion and a lot of success on the golf course.

“I remember really enjoying being out on the golf course and I also remember winning a lot of local tournaments growing up and so I wanted to work hard as I could to continue getting better,” she recalled.

With the top 45 plus ties earning LPGA Tour membership and playing status for 2022, Szeryk shot a 68 in the eighth and final round of the LPGA Q-Series to finish in a tie for 35th spot.

It should give Szeryk and her supporters a lot of confidence in knowing that when it mattered most she was calm and cool as a cucumber. The talented young Canadian birdied her last two holes to finish inside the top 45 by one stroke – finishing five under for the eight day qualifying tournament which was held in Alabama.

Szeryk says the achievement last December was a very meaningful one – not only for herself but those that have been in her corner through the ups and downs.

“Everyone was so happy and excited. My parents both cried because we all put in so many sacrifices for this dream. To finally have it come true is amazing; and knowing all that hard work paid off,” she said.  “We went out for dinner when I got back home and I got to celebrate with friends – so it was really special.”

The long time National Team member also received a heartfelt message from her Golf Canada head coach Tristan Mullally after the thrilling finish at the LPGA Q-Series.

“Gutsy Performance from @mszeryk who barely missed a couple of years ago through @roadtolpga top 10 and has patiently been working away. Class on and off the course and couldn’t be happier for her. #faith #dragonheart,” he Tweeted.

The former University of Texas A&M All-American is quick to credit the support from Golf Canada for playing a key important role in her success.

“They have been a huge part in terms of getting me to this point.  I was on the amateur team all through college and had a lot of great experiences. During my time with the National Team Program, I got to play in high level events and had a chance to test my game against the best amateurs in the world. I also got to play in a number of LPGA events, including the CP Women’s Open,” said Szeryk.

“The coaching and support has played a big role in getting me to where I am. Golf Canada has been awesome in support of my journey.”

The 25-year-old will be joining Canadians Maude-Aimée Leblanc and Brooke Henderson this season on the LPGA Tour.  She is also excited to be entering her rookie season with a few of her good friends.

“Dewi Weber, Sophia Schubert, and Haylee Harford are close friends that I played with on the Symetra Tour – now the Epson Tour – and it’s great that we will all be rookies on the LPGA Tour this year,” she said.

Szeryk plans to start her season at the beginning of March on the Epson Tour and play her first LPGA Tour event in late March or early April. And she’s been working hard in preparation for the season ahead.

“On average I’ve been putting in about five or six hours of practise on the golf course each day. But it’s really about quality over quantity in terms of the work. I’ve been doing my best to be prepared physically and mentally.”

Having realized her childhood dream through the LPGA Q-Series in December, Szeryk was asked about her thoughts and goals heading into her first season playing against the best of the best.

“I’m really excited. I got to play a few LPGA events before so I kind of know the atmosphere. It’s really cool to be playing as an LPGA member this season and luckily I have a few friends that will be rookies also to share the experience,” she replied.

“I’m going to try to have good finishes and have good results; but also just try to stay in the present and enjoy every week and have fun out there.”

For the most part, I enjoyed and appreciated Richard Moss’s 2013 book The Kingdom of Golf in America.

Until the very last paragraph.

After 355 pages, Moss took a double bogey on the (figurative) 18^th hole.

“Golf’s problems are rooted in the seismic changes in the economy and the culture of the past 40 years. If the golf community responds to these changes by dramatically changing the game, by making it shorter, easier or by changing the rules, it will be a profound mistake. Golf is not best seen as a consumer product …”

Not? 

In my opinion, that’s the literary version of a golf swing’s double-cross.

This does not mean the game needs to be reinvented. How about re-engineered? In business terms, that means rethinking your processes to improve your overall product.

Personally, I prefer “reimagine,” a word that noted golf writer Lorne Rubenstein used when we spoke about the challenges facing not only municipal golf courses but many public-access courses as well. Rubenstein, who is a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame among many other honours, said golf needs to spread the word that its image as an activity largely reserved for white wealthy males is a fallacy.

“The vast majority of courses are open to the public but the perception is that it’s elitist,” he said. “That’s just not true.” (About 90 per cent of Canada’s 2,400 courses are open for public play.)

He added that, in order to appeal to a wider audience, the traditional 18-hole configuration must be reimagined to include shorter courses, putting courses and other activities, golf and non-golf.

Municipal courses in particular have a bull’s eye on their back, perhaps because of “budget deficits and cheap populism,” says Brad Klein, a respected author and course architecture consultant based in Connecticut. Politicians try to hit a hot button by advocating the closure of these green spaces and replacing them with housing or other alternative uses.

“Golf benefits many more people than those who play it,” Klein said, citing the enormous environmental benefits of golf courses. “Green space versus hardscape. A thermal sink with grass and trees. Carbon sequestration [capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere]. Habitat for all sorts of creatures and pollinators. Flood and storm water control. 

“It’s an asset to the whole community, especially in an urban setting. A municipal golf course is essentially a park with the added benefit of a game anyone can play and with the opportunity to at least break even or maybe show a profit.”

That message may be being heard, if not across the country, then in some progressive municipalities.

The City of Toronto voted this month to implement an improved operating model for its five courses, combining re-engineering and reimagining, to “provide improvements in customer experience, environmental stewardship, financial performance and recreational opportunities,” according to a press release. (More than 195,000 rounds were played on the city’s munis last year.)

“Maintaining City golf facilities in a prudent way that delivers a better experience for golfers, supports affordable access to the game for Torontonians and expands opportunities for how we use these spaces year-round is the right thing to do,” Mayor John Tory said in the release. “Providing public access to these areas, primarily in the off-season, creates more opportunities to be outside and active, including hiking, running, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing.”

Expanded accessibility, especially to young people, low-income families and other groups, was key to the decision. Notably, Golf Canada conducted the inaugural Canadian All Abilities Championship at Humber Valley, one of Toronto’s munis, last September.

Another win was scored for publicly accessible golf courses when Winnipeg’s city councilors voted 13-3 in January not to sell one of its municipal facilities, the John Blumberg Golf Course. Cindy Gilroy spoke for her colleagues after the vote.

After serving in senior positions in the parks and recreation departments in Toronto and Vancouver, Malcolm Bromley is well aware of the negative and inaccurate view many—not just politicians—have of golf courses, municipal or otherwise, and the people who play there.

“A municipal course is an integral part of the community and a vital part of the parks and recreation inventory,” said Bromley, who retired a couple of years ago after working in municipal government since 1979. His last post was general manager of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation for a decade.

In his experience, he can’t recall a single parks and recreation department staff member recommending the closure or sale of a golf course. A controversial motion to sell the municipally owned Stone Ridge, the only course in the small Northern Ontario city of Elliot Lake, to a developer was defeated on Feb. 14 after a public and social media outcry, an online petition and representations from Golf Canada and the Northern Golf Association.

It must be noted that the motion was proposed by the city’s economic development manager, not the parks and recreation staff. The staff proposal was introduced in a closed council session a month earlier and recommended the sale proceed without even an appraisal of the value of the facility.

Bromley acknowledged that a golf course is low-hanging fruit for a politician seeking notoriety but suggested these people haven’t hung out in the parking lot or on the first tee of a municipal course to see who shows up. (It’s unlikely the almost 200,000 golfers who played Toronto’s municipal courses in 2021 were all wealthy white men.)

“Then they should ask themselves, ‘If this [course] wasn’t here, where would all these people go?’ They sure wouldn’t head out of the city to play, so what happens to them?”

Like Rubenstein, Klein and most others who care deeply about the game, Bromley understands shifting cultural, economic and demographic realities are impacting everything in our world, including golf. 

“That’s why we have to ask ourselves, ‘How can we maximize and optimize this valuable public asset? How can we have golf—and more—on this green space?’”

Reimagining …

Perhaps the most important “more”, according not only to Bromley but many others, is creating what he calls an “on ramp” to golf like baseball, soccer, hockey, basketball and others. To get more creative, to evolve the classic experience into putting courses, welcome programs, driving ranges, short courses, courses of fewer than 18 or even nine holes, and junior programs. “Golf-related fun,” in his words.

To that final point, Golf Canada has proposed a partnership with the City of Toronto to become the home of program locations for the First Tee – Canada and the RBC Community Junior Golf Program.

Most of the people quoted in this article made individual representations to the City of Toronto during its review of the future of its courses. Craig Loughry was one of them and his tie was as strong as or stronger than anyone’s.

Loughry, Golf Ontario’s Director of Golf Services, grew up on those layouts. As a younger man, he won the club championship at Tam O’Shanter Golf Course in Scarborough. In those days, the club champion moved on to the City of Toronto championship, a title he won twice.

“Listen. These courses, most courses for that matter, are the farthest thing from elitism. People who think that is the case are just wrong. Have they ever been to one to see for themselves? I highly doubt it.”

It should be noted that, like Rubenstein, Logan and Loughry, many other prominent people in Canadian golf learned to love the game on municipal or public courses. Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum, PGA of Canada CEO Kevin Thistle and Earl Fritz, founder of the Canadian Junior Golf Association, are among them.

Few, if any, in Canada have been more vocal in support of municipal golf than golf writer Rick Young. Young, president of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada, has been relentless and vociferous about the challenge to these recreational oases not just in Canada but in other countries like the U.S. and Australia.

“I understand it’s an easy target but I really wish the critics would do some research, do their homework, before taking the path of least resistance. What I see in most cases are hidden agendas from politicians or developers. We’ve got to rewrite golf’s playbook. We’ve got to go on the offence and get everyone’s voice heard. Now.”

Young echoed the common theme that, as Klein said, “municipal golf is doomed if it stays on the defensive.”

“Golf lacks a cohesive voice on the local level,” Bromley said. “If you tried to close an arena or a ball field, the parents, minor sports and other leagues and other user groups would rise up. They’d sign petitions, hold meetings and take to social media.

“We’ve got to stop looking at every instance as a goal-line stand, a face-off between opposing forces. A golf course shouldn’t be like a light switch where it’s either on or off.”

The message should be, as Young poetically puts it: “From green space to dream space.”

Reimagining … 

At first Étienne Papineau didn’t know if he should go up to Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas to ask for a photograph. Hopefully it wasn’t going to be his only time sharing a locker room with some of golf’s superstars, he thought, but he worked up the courage, picked their brains a bit, and got the selfies. 

Add it to the list of pinch-me moments for the Golf Canada National Team member who made his PGA Tour debut last week at the WM Phoenix Open. 

“At first I didn’t know if I should,” said Papineau with a laugh, “but they were actually super nice.”

Both Thomas and Spieth congratulated Papineau on making his Tour debut and asked how things had gone so far. 

It had been a nice stretch of golf for Papineau to that point, so he had much to celebrate. He shot 59 at another course in Arizona just two weeks prior and earned his way into the WM Phoenix Open field through the Monday Qualifier – his first-ever Monday effort for a tournament that wasn’t the RBC Canadian Open.  

Papineau would go on to shoot 73-73 and miss the cut at 4-over. But he said he’ll take a ton of great learnings away from the week as he starts to put together a 2022 campaign. 

“I was a little disappointed with missing the cut and overall not playing better around the green. But from tee to green, it was a really good week,” he said. “I gave myself a lot of great opportunities on the greens but unfortunately I wasn’t able to capitalize on them. 

That particular PGA Tour event happens to be the rowdiest of any on the schedule, with upwards of a quarter-million fans on site through the week. Spectators on TPC Scottsdale’s par-3 16th (some 17,000 on Friday and Saturday) bared witness to two holes-in-one on the weekend and showered the green with beer. 

Papineau nearly made a birdie on 16 in the first round – once he hit the green with his tee shot the crowd went nuts and he lifted his arms in the air to get them hyped up even more – but he three-putted No.16 in his second round. 

“I got booed a lot, but I just laughed,” he said. “It was still awesome. It was not the right place to make a three putt, but even though I got booed, it was fun.”

The native of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que. admitted he was trying to navigate some serious nerves prior to teeing off Thursday. He was warming up on the driving range prior to his opening round and he said he had his caddie – fellow Golf Canada team member Chris Crisologo – try to calm him down.

“But once I stepped on the tee and they announced my name it was time to play. I was a little nervous then, but a great feeling,” said Papineau.

Papineau played the first two rounds with Sahith Theegala, who was in the field on a Sponsor Exemption. Theegala would end up playing in the penultimate group on Sunday and finished just one shot out of a playoff (the tournament was eventually won by Scottie Scheffler). Papineau said the second round, with Theegala leading, lots of people were out following them. The crowd was “going nuts” as Theegala climbed the leaderboard. 

Despite the missed cut, Papineau stuck around TPC Scottsdale for the weekend and actually cheered for Theegala on Sunday in person. Papineau walked around the course and popped his head back into the locker room on Saturday before spending all of Sunday with his dad and three friends in a hospitality area near the 17th green – with tickets courtesy the PGA Tour. 

As far as what’s next for Papineau, he said he’d be returning to Montreal for two weeks to see his family and girlfriend. Papineau’s sister just gave birth to a daughter, he said, so he’s especially excited to see his new niece. Afterwards he plans to return to the U.S. to prepare for PGA Tour Canada Q-School in March and is keen to parlay his WM Phoenix Open appearance into a few Sponsor Exemptions on PGA Tour Latinoamerica, where he has conditional status. “It’s kind of back to normal,” said Papineau, “but hopefully I’ll keep playing some good golf like the last month and keep things rolling.”