Albin Choi, a veteran of the Team Canada Young Pro Squad, is T5 heading into the final round of the Web.com Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am Classic presented by Synnex Corporation.

After three rounds, the Toronto product is 15-under par, four shots back of the 54-hole leader—Germany’s Stephan Jaeger.

After 36 holes, Choi was in a tie for 14th, thanks to rounds of 66-67. On moving day at Furman University Golf Club in Greenville, S.C., Choi fired another 66 to climb nine spots up the leaderboard.

On Saturday, Choi birdied the first hole then gave it right back with a bogey on the second. After back-to-back birdies on three and four, Choi recorded four straight pars, before another birdie on nine, to make the turn at 3-under par.

On the back nine, Choi poured in three more birdies—without dropping any strokes—carding a 6-under par, 66 to put him in position to record his first top-10 of 2017.

In 2016, Choi had three top-10s on the Web.com Tour, including a T8 finish at this event. He is looking to improve on his 69th place finish on the Order of Merit last season.

A graduate of North Carolina State University, Choi has been on the Team Canada Young Pro Squad since 2014, and has spent a total of seven years on Team Canada.

Fellow Canadian Ben Silverman, is T17 at 11-under par after a third-round 70 (-1). Corey Conners, of Listowel, Ont., who is currently in the top-25 of the Web.com Tour’s Order of Merit and in position to obtain his PGA Tour card, is T57.

The full leaderboard can be seen here.

Fred Funk shot a 7-under 65 on Friday to take the second-round lead in the Regions Tradition.

The 60-year-old Funk, seeking his first PGA Tour Champions individual title since 2012, had a one-stroke lead over Scott Parel in the first of the 50-and-over circuit’s five majors.

Funk birdied three of the five par 3s at Greystone, the last on No. 17, and finished at 12-under 132. That followed a string of three birdies that ended at No. 14, and set up a third-round pairing for the two friends.

“The irony is Scott and I have become really good buddies and I’ve never played with him yet,” Funk said after his lowest round of the season. “I was just thinking, ‘Boy, it would be nice to play with him in the last round, last group.’ I’ve got him, so that works out really good.

“I think combined we’re not 6 foot, but that’s OK.”

The 5-foot-5 Parel, who turned pro at 31 and went through Q-school in 2016, shot a 66.

Parel gained entry after Fred Couples withdrew late last week. He made a long putt to save par on No. 18, extending his bogey-free streak to 32 holes.

Parel said his 7:30 a.m. start “was a perfect tee time.”

“I had a great pairing, twosomes, set your own pace,” he said. “Greens are fresh. That’s about right where you want to be.”

The third round Saturday will have a two-tee start because of expected bad weather.

Scott McCarron, part of a four-way tie for the first-round lead, was three shots back after a 70. He three-putted the final hole for par.

“I had 45 feet just coming down the hill and almost made it,” McCarron said. “I thought I made it, but the ball just rolled out about six feet past actually and then (I) missed the next come-backer. The breeze is coming back in your face so it’s a tough drive, and with that hole location being on the front of the green, it’s tough to get it close.”

He had his second eagle of the week on the par-5 13th.

Funk had an up-and-down week in preparation for the major. He said he had eight birdies and no bogeys Monday and two days later “played horrible” in a pro-am.

“I was really bad,” Funk said. “My whole body shut down. I couldn’t swing. No matter what I did, my body wouldn’t let me do what I wanted to do. And I got about 10 hours sleep that night and got worked on a little bit and I’ve been fighting. My back’s been getting really tight. I felt a lot better (Thursday) and I felt good today, so hopefully it will hold out.”

Kenny Perry (70), Jeff Sluman (71), Kevin Sutherland (68) and Miguel Angel Jimenez (71) were 8 under

Perry, the 2014 winner, had a bogey on the final hole that could have been worse. He had to take a drop after his second shot went into the hazard. Perry was grateful that he was warned against his initial spot “because somebody would have called in, ‘Hey, that guy just had an illegal drop.”’

Defending champion Bernhard Langer was five shots back after his second straight 69. Insperity Invitational winner John Daly was 2 under after a pair of 71s.

St. Catherine’s Ontario native, Rod Spittle, is T8 at 7-under par. The 61-year-old, former insurance salesman has two top-10s on the Champions Tour this season, and one career victory, at the 2010 AT&T

His best result this season was a T3 at the Chubb Classic in February at the TwinEagles Club, in Naples, FL.

Spittle went out in a 1-under par 35, on the front nine, before recording an eagle, two birdies, and a bogey, to card a 4-under par, 68.

Fellow Canadian, Stephen Ames, is T32, after an even par, 72.

The full leaderboard can be seen here

Lexi Thompson shot her second straight 6-under 65 on Friday to take a three-stroke over playing partner Gerina Piller into the weekend at the Kingsmill Championship.

Thompson is playing her third tournament since losing the major ANA Inspiration in a playoff after being penalized four strokes for a rules violation that a TV viewer spotted.

“I feel great with where my game is at,” Thompson said. “I am just trying to keep my thoughts very simple, focus on doing my routine and picking small targets out and committing to my shots. If I do that, my game is in a good spot.”

The long-hitting Florida player had six birdies in a bogey-free round on Kingsmill’s River Course. She waited out a rain delay in the middle of the round.

“Always stalls you a bit,” Thompson said. “Wasn’t too loose on the first iron shot that I hit, but, it was a beautiful day out. Not much wind. Hopefully, we get some good weather this weekend.”

“I feel great with where my game is at.” @Lexi has a 3 shot lead heading into the weekend ? Watch her 2nd round interview @KingsmillLPGA: pic.twitter.com/aUyPv7F8OC

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 20, 2017

Piller shot a 67, closing birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey. Winless on the LPGA Tour, she chipped in for her birdie on 17.

“I feel like my putting is really great right now,” Piller said. “Just excited for tomorrow. … Hit the fairway, hit the green, make the putt. Keeping it as simple as possible.”

“I feel like I belong out there and I feel like my game is as good as anyones.” @Gerinapiller 3 shots off the lead @KingsmillLPGA pic.twitter.com/L4k62foCXe

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 19, 2017

Piller will play alongside U.S. Solheim Cup teammate Thompson again Saturday.

“She’s a great ball-striker and hits it far,” Piller said. “This course definitely suits the long-ball hitters, especially now. The greens are firming up and getting a little quicker. To have a shorter iron in is definitely an advantage.”

Top-ranked Lydia Ko was four strokes back at 8 under after a bogey-free 67. Trying to hold off So Yeon Ryu and Ariya Jutanugarn for the No. 1 spot, Ko is winless since July.

“There is a lot of golf to be played,” Ko said. “All I need to do is focus on my game and be excited for the weekend.”

Ryu, the ANA winner, was 5 under after a 67. Jutanugarn, defending the first of her five tour victories last year, was 3 under after a 67 playing in the group with Thompson and Piller.

Candie Kung joined Ko at 8 under. Kung eagled the par-4 sixth in a 66.

In Gee Chun (66) and Vicky Hurst (67) were 7 under, and Angela Stanford (66), Shanshan Feng (67) and Brittany Lincicome (70) were another stroke back. Chun rebounded after an opening bogey on the par-4 10th.

“Walking to the (next) tee I said, ‘Forget it, start again,” Chun said. “I tried to stay patient and made a lot of birdies.”

The South Korean player is one of five major champions in the top nine, joining Thompson, Ko, Feng and Lincicome.

The full leaderboard can be seen here.

While big-hitting Jason Kokrak has an AT&T Byron Nelson record five-stroke lead through 36 holes, he knows that is only halfway with plenty of other players who could make a weekend charge.

That includes top-ranked Dustin Johnson. But not local favourite Jordan Spieth after he missed the cut Friday for the first time at the tournament where he made his debut as a 16-year-old high school junior.

“Yeah, a bit shocking that’s how it happened,” said Spieth, who missed the cut by a stroke after a 5-under 75 that included a 9 at the par-5 16th hole after he hit two tee shots out of bounds.

Kokrak, ranked 128th in the world, shot a bogey-free 8-under 62 for his career-best scoring round and matched the Nelson’s 36-hole record at 12-under 128. No one has ever had a bigger lead there after two rounds than his five strokes over Billy Horschel (65), who finished with three consecutive birdies.

“It’s 36 holes. You’ve got the No. 1 player in the world chasing you, you’ve got x-number of other players that are outstanding players,” Kokrak said, when asked about having wiggle room. “Same game plan, just give myself birdie opportunities.”

.@jaykokrak playing nearly flawless golf today.

He leads by 5. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/CVB81lTwS9

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 19, 2017

Maybe as surprising as Kokrak’s big lead halfway through the last Nelson to be played at TPC Four Seasons is the 23-year-old Spieth, the 2015 Masters and U.S. Open champion, done playing this week.

Spieth also missed the cut last week in The Players Championship. He last missed consecutive cuts in 2015.

With a 3-over total after the horrendous 16th hole, and needing at least one birdie, Spieth’s 17-foot birdie try at No. 17 curled by the cup, and he missed a 14-footer on 18.

“It didn’t need to happen. Just playing fine and I tried to just, you know, press it to try to reach the green in two, and then I tried to do it again,” Spieth said, referring to the par-5 16th.

Kokrak finished with a nice par save after driving way right at the 18th. The ball landed in the rough closer to the first fairway with a temporary concession stand between him and the hole. He didn’t take potential relief because that line would have put him directly behind a tree, but he hit the ball back in the fairway short of the green before chipping to 6 feet.

“I made a lot of birdies out there but it was nice,” Kokrak said. “Just keeping a clean card is always a goal. … It was nice to get it up and down.”

The only other time Kokrak had the 36-hole lead in 146 career PGA Tour starts was at the 2016 Northern Trust Open, where he ended up with a career-best tie for second.

Johnson had his second consecutive 67 and was tied for third with Byeong Hun An (bogey-free 66), Bud Cauley (67), Cameron Tringale (68), Jhonttan Vegas (68) and first-round co-leader James Hahn (70).

Sergio Garcia, the Masters champion who is defending his second Nelson title, birdied six of his last 15 holes for a 65 to get to 2 under. He opened with a 73, and was at 4 over for the tournament after his only bogey Friday on his third hole.

This is Johnson’s third PGA Tour event since a freak fall forced him to miss the Masters with a bruised back after winning three consecutive tournaments before that. He tied for second at the Wells Fargo Championship in his return to the tour two weeks ago, and then had a career-best 12th place finish at The Players Championship.

“The game is still not quite as sharp as it was leading into Augusta, but it’s getting there,” Johnson said. “It’s getting close.”

His only bogey was at his final hole, the 431-yard ninth hole, when his approach landed in rough between a bunker and the green after the wind shifted on him.

Spieth first played a PGA Tour event at age 16 on a sponsor’s exemption in the 2010 tournament, and tied for 16th _ still his best Nelson finish. He missed his high school graduation ceremony in 2011 to play after making the cut again.

After an opening birdie Friday, Spieth missed a 3 1/2-foot par putt at the par-3 second hole. He had five bogeys and four birdies, plus saved par from a drop at the edge of a curb after his tee shot at the 316-yard 11th hole rolled to a stop on a neighbourhood street, before the quadruple at No. 16.

The full leaderboard can be seen here.

Another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has been added to the RBC PGA Scramble presented by The Lincoln Motor Company’s already impressive list of experiences.

The winning team from this year’s national final at Cabot Links in Inverness, N.S., will receive an all-expenses-paid VIP trip to the 2018 RBC Canadian Open. The winners can expect all-out VIP perks, including:

– Return flights and car rental from hometown to host city.
– Accommodations at a partner hotel near golf course.
– Valet parking on the grounds of the RBC Canadian Open.
– RBC Clubhouse Suite passes.
– Access to player dining, practice area and media centre.

“Team experiences are some of the fondest of my career—whether it was in college or as a professional,” said Team RBC’s Adam Hadwin. “Building a team, travelling together, and competing for a championship are memories I cherish,” he said, adding, “the 2018 RBC Canadian Open VIP experience to relive the victory at Cabot Links will only make it that much sweeter.”

The RBC PGA Scramble of Canada is a national series of team events featuring amateur golfers and PGA of Canada professionals taking place at more than 100 golf facilities around the country.

“We’re thrilled to add this experience to the winners of the RBC PGA Scramble presented by The Lincoln Motor Company,” said Matt McGlynn, Vice President, Brand Marketing RBC. “The RBC Canadian Open is a celebration of golf in Canada and we are excited to give these champions a unique opportunity to attend the tournament with VIP access.”

All RBC PGA Scramble of Canada local qualifying events in 2017 will have guaranteed prize tables for the top three teams.

The series of events expects to draw thousands of amateur golfers—who will form their own team of four players— from across the country. Teams will look to make it through local and regional qualifying with the ultimate goal of playing in the national final later this year with a PGA of Canada professional playing on their team at one of Canada’s greatest golf courses.

Taking place Oct 12-14, Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs will see teams from across the country—comprised of four amateurs and a PGA of Canada professional—playing in the 54-hole national final.

Cabot Cliffs ranked No. 1, while Cabot Links ranked No. 4 on SCOREGolf’s 2016 Best Golf Courses in Canada list. Cabot Cliffs also debuted 19th on the World’s Top 100 Courses list by Golf Digest.

While the RBC Canadian Open experience wasn’t a carrot for last year’s RBC PGA Scramble presented by The Lincoln Motor Company winners, the Angus Glen Golf Club squad—PGA of Canada professional Terry Kim, Patrick O’Leary, Dan Mesley, Mike Asselin, David Fotheringham—have been awarded the opportunity to experience the VIP treatment at this year’s RBC Canadian Open in July.

Participants in The RBC PGA Scramble of Canada presented by The Lincoln Motor Company must have a registered handicap index with Golf Canada, with winning teams of four joined by a PGA professional in the regional and national finals. All rules and regulations can be found at rbcpgascramble.com.

Lexi Thompson had six birdies in a seven-hole stretch and finished with a 6-under 65 on Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Kingsmill Championship.

Playing her third tournament since losing the ANA Inspiration in a playoff after being penalized four strokes for a rules violation that a TV viewer spotted, Thompson had a one-stroke lead over U.S. Solheim Cup teammates Gerina Piller and Brittany Lincicome and young American Angel Yin.

Thompson played her opening nine in even par with a birdie on No. 11 and a bogey on No. 17, then birdied No. 1 and Nos. 3-7 on Kingsmill Resort’s River Course.

“The second nine was pretty crazy,” Thompson said. “I hit some great shots and rolled a few good putts, so definitely helps out my confidence.”

“Words can’t even describe the feeling. It was just like a feeling of freedom jumping out” @Lexi talks skydive & current lead @KingsmillLPGA pic.twitter.com/5FEzuur0JA

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 18, 2017

Thompson played alongside Piller and defending champion Ariya Jutanugarn.

“It always helps to see the other players in your group play well,” Thompson said about Piller. “She played great today, too. She struck it very well and rolled a lot of great putts. It’s something that we feed off each other with.”

Jutanugarn shot a 72.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., shot a 70 while Hamilton’s Alena Sharp shot 71.

On Wednesday, Thompson began a charitable partnership with the SEAL Legacy Foundation called the Lexi Legacy Challenge, completing her first parachute jump by landing on the first tee for her pro-am round. She made her sky diving debut in tandem with a Navy SEAL.

“It was an unbelievable experience,” Thompson said. “Supporting the SEAL Legacy Foundation is my No. 1, and just the military in general. But the only way I would jump out of a perfectly good plane is with a SEAL on my back. There was nothing like it. Words can’t describe the feeling. It was just like a feeling of freedom jumping out.”

Top-ranked Lydia Ko was two strokes back at 67 along with Sarah Jane Smith and Giulia Molinaro.

“I don’t think I was hitting the ball fantastic, so there is a little bit of improvement to do there,” Ko said. “The girls are playing great, so I know that I need to try and keep up, and to be in contention, I need to make a lot of birdies out there.”

Piller had six birdies and a bogey.

“It’s always good to get off to that kind of start and get comfortable,” Piller said. “The greens are rolling phenomenal. The course is in the best shape I’ve ever seen it. Just happy to be under par and looking forward to tomorrow.”

“I’d love to get my first win but golf is merely my job it’s not who I am.” Watch more from @Gerinapiller at @KingsmillLPGA: pic.twitter.com/km21oabrit

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 18, 2017

Lincicome had five birdies in a bogey-free round. She won the season-opening event in the Bahamas.

“I think it’s best I’ve ever seen it,” Lincicome said about the course. “The greens are so fast. If you get above the hole you got to be really careful.”

The full leaderboard can be seen here.

Brooks Koepka leaned in for a closer look at his ball buried in deep rough when a critter he couldn’t identify caused him to jump back with a bit of a startled look.

His best guesses were a frog or rat, though he was too disoriented to be sure. It definitely wasn’t a birdie, because Koepka was on his way to finishing with two straight bogeys after sharing the lead late in his opening round of the AT&T Byron Nelson on Thursday.

A year after losing to Sergio Garcia in a playoff at the TPC Four Seasons, Koepka settled for a 3-under 67 and trailed co-leaders James Hahn and Ricky Barnes by three shots.

“It jumped out and I didn’t know what was going on, freaked me out,” said Koepka, who needed help from a bevy of tournament volunteers and fans to find his ball while hitting two shots out of the thick grass and just missing a chip that would have saved par on the ninth hole, his last.

“I was so in amazement of what just happened, whether it jumped out, scared me. I couldn’t see it because it ran underneath the grass again.”

Matt Kuchar, Jhonattan Vegas, Jason Kokrak and Cameron Tringale shot 66, and top-ranked Dustin Johnson topped the group at 67, a stroke ahead of fourth-ranked Jason Day and Jordan Spieth, the No. 6 player competing in his hometown event.

Masters and defending Nelson champion Garcia, ranked fifth, had three bogeys on the front nine and just one birdie in a 73 that left him tied for 93rd.

The event is the last at TPC Four Seasons, ending the tournament’s 35-year run in Irving. The tournament will move to the new links-style Trinity Forest Golf Club south of downtown Dallas next year.

Tringale was the only player with a lower score than Johnson in a blustery afternoon round, while Hahn and Barnes played in slightly calmer conditions in the morning.

“It was blowing hard and it was gusty,” said Johnson, who has four top-10 finishes in seven previous Nelsons. “I thought it was very difficult to judge the wind and control the ball. Felt like there were a lot of times I hit really good shots that didn’t end up in good spots.”

Using a mallet putter instead of his traditional blade, Spieth made a 10-footer for his second straight birdie on his 17th hole, the par-4 eighth. Normally one of the best putters on tour, the Dallas native was frustrated with that part of his game after missing the cut at the Players Championship last week.

“It’s nothing crazy new,” said Spieth, whose best Nelson finish remains his tie for 16th as a 16-year-old amateur in 2010. “It helps me line up a bit better and that’s kind of been my struggle is lining the putter up where I want to. I just haven’t quite dialed in the speed yet.”

.@JordanSpieth makes the turn at even par, thanks to the new flatstick.

He's in Featured Groups on PGA TOUR LIVE ? https://t.co/W7BrGNui1M pic.twitter.com/AK4J9HY72B

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 18, 2017

Day birdied the par-4 11th when he chipped to 12 feet off a cart path behind the green after a 326-yard drive on the 309-yard hole. On the next hole, he had to bend his second shot around tree from the rough and saved par. Day eagled the par-5 seventh and curled in a 28-footer for birdie on 18.

“In this wind, I think everyone’s kind of scrambling,” said Day, whose first PGA Tour win came at the 2010 Nelson. “I was not going to drop it all the way back onto the other side of the road. It was just in long grass and I wouldn’t be able to flop it over. It was quite a simple shot. You just had to contact it correctly.”

Cart path? No problem. ??@JDayGolf is inside the top 10.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/n6WtLS2gAa

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 18, 2017

Hahn finished a bogey-free round with a 22-foot birdie putt on 18 to match his lowest round of the season. The two-time tour winner saved par with a 24-footer on 14. Hahn’s first four birdies were inside 10 feet.

Barnes, who has made four straight cuts after missing 10 of his previous 13, started a run of three straight birdies with a chip-in on his 15th hole, the par-4 sixth. He had two bogeys.

“I’m having signs of brilliancy,” said Barnes, still looking for his first win in his 255th PGA Tour start. “I just need to put it all together.”

Koepka birdied his first two holes and was 5 under through 13 holes before stumbling late. On No. 8, his 17th hole, Koepka had to lift a folder lawn chair to uncover his ball behind the green. He missed the par putt.

Brooks Koepka with a hot shot early ? pic.twitter.com/wbpZf77lx2

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 18, 2017

After missing on a birdie chance for the win in 2016, Koepka went in the water on 18, the first playoff hole, to open the door for Garcia to become the only two-time winner since Lord Byron’s event moved to the Four Seasons.

“I didn’t play very good today,” Koepka said. “Even last year, I didn’t play very good around this place and just managed to get a decent score. Three under isn’t very good around here. I’ll take it for how I played.”

After a 1-over par 69, Winnipeg’s Nick Taylor, is the top Canadian in a tie for 26th.

The full leaderboard can be seen here

Team Canada Amateur Squad member Grace St-Germain, finished T3 at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Championship at Chateau Elan Resort, in Braselton, GA. St-Germain finished at 11-over par, two strokes back of medallist Sena Ersoy, of Iowa Western Community College, who came in at 9-over par.

St-Germain’s school, the Daytona State Falcons won the overall team title for a second consecutive year. This is the ninth National Championship in the program’s history and the Falcons fourth in the the last five years.

@DSCFalconSports Women's Golf has gone back-to-back!!!!! Congratulations!!! 2017 NJCAA Women's Golf National Champions!!!

— NJCAA Women's Golf (@NJCAAWGolfChamp) May 19, 2017

After a 2-over par opening round (73), St-Germain, a freshman at Daytona State, struggled in the second round, carding a 7-over par 78, to sit T9, after 36 holes. She battled back in the third round, posting a 3-under par 68, the lowest score of the day and was T2 after three rounds.

In the final round Thursday, St-Germain parred her first four holes, then double bogeyed the par-4 fifth. She gained one stroke back the following hole with a birdie on the sixth. After another bogey on the eight, St-Germain posted a 2-over par 38, on her outward nine.

On the back nine St-Germain made two more bogeys, a double bogey, and just one birdie, coming home in a 3-over par 38, to post a score of 5-over par (76) for the day.

In her inaugural junior college season St-Germain had three top-5s, and four top-10s, including two second-place finishes.

The Falcons finished at 55-over par, 14 shots clear of the second place Seminole State College of Florida Raiders, who posted a team score of 69-over par.

The full leaderboard can be seen here.

The founding and development of sport clubs has helped shape communities nationwide.

One hundred and fifty years ago, Canada transformed from a collection of provinces and territories into one unified nation. Confederation connected hundreds of communities, big and small, into a vast and diverse collective. But the thousands of municipalities that make up that mosaic each possess a unique social tie that binds us. A significant number of these social ties come with the founding and development of sport clubs.

Looking at all of the clubs established across this country is staggering. Some are even older than Canada.

It speaks to the rich tradition of sport in this country, with the longevity of the following clubs being particularly impressive:

The Montreal Men’s Curling Club founded in 1807

The Toronto Cricket Club founded in 1827

The Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron founded in 1837

It is no surprise that Montreal, Toronto and Nova Scotia are home to some of the oldest sporting clubs in Canada, as they were inhabited for the longest period of time before migration moved westward.  What is surprising is the growth and formation of golf clubs in very sparse locations across the country.

The first written reference of golf in North America can be found in an 1826 edition of the Montreal Herald inviting golfers to play on the Plains of Abraham. There are two important things to note when examining this reference. Firstly, that golf was being played in this country well before any clubs had been organized and, secondly, that golf was gaining popularity in Canada prior to it appearing in the United States.

Research indicates that towns were not considered civilized in a sense until an established club was founded. The purpose of the club was to play organized golf and be social venues, often with its members being leaders of their communities. Due to population sizes, most small towns could only sustain one or two types of sporting clubs, in contrast to its metropolitan counterparts such as Toronto and Montreal. Many of the golf clubs that were established at the turn of the century were rudimentary courses, yet the people used these clubs as an opportunity to develop their community.

When we think about community in the prairie provinces, we often imagine men and women with young families building a homestead. But the community of Stony Mountain, Man., was a prison town — and yes, they built a golf course in 1890. In fact, the prisoners did. The penitentiary warden, Lt.-Col. Samuel Bedson, thought it beneficial to the prisoners (in order to keep them out of trouble) for them to physically construct the nine-hole layout. The village of roughly 200 people enjoyed the course, as did other communities from far away.

Two years later the course of Virden Wellview was built, arguably because of its citizens traveling east to play golf at Stony Mountain. How important is the club to the 3,000 residents of Virden, Man.? Well, when oil was discovered on the property, the golfers simply put fences around the oil wells so that they could continue golfing.

The Stony Mountain course no longer exists but it created an important building block for golf in Manitoba, in which Virden Wellview remains the oldest active golf club.

“Many of the great clubs in our province — such as St. Charles CC or Pine Ridge — are the product of Virden Wellview growing the game from 1892,” explains Dave Comaskey, executive director of Golf Manitoba.

Nothing epitomizes the definition of community more than when its citizens come together in desperate times of need. During both world wars, many Canadian communities were decimated through lack of income or the sheer number of citizens that had enrolled to aid the war effort. From Calgary alone, over 200 golfers enlisted in 1917 leaving their families behind.

However, many golf clubs held fundraisers to support the war effort. The Canadian Ladies Golf Association, a close-knit community of female golfers from across Canada, provides the most significant example of community when the CLGA (then known as the Canadian Ladies Golf Union) established their War Service Fund from 1940-45. Every provincial branch, club and individual member raised and collected more than $82,000 from field days, club competitions, dances and raffles. That great achievement funded a Spitfire war plane.

It would be difficult to call the 1909 city of Prince Albert, Sask., the golfing epicenter of Canada yet in that same year a golf club was established so members of the community — which two years later was just over 35,000 people — could have a place to play golf and socialize. Ironically enough, this is roughly the same number of people who reside in Prince Albert today. A golf course has remained a fixture in their community for more than a century.

Prince Albert’s Ward 4 councillor Don Cody knows first-hand the importance of the Cooke Municipal Golf Club (formerly named Prince Albert GC) to the city and its citizens.

“Cooke Municipal continues to give back to its community, partly by trying to keep rates affordable for families and golfers of various skill levels,” notes Coun. Cody, who is a member of the club along with his wife.

That said, the course has still turned a profit every year and in 2017 will receive a substantial $2 million in funding for needed upgrades, namely to the irrigation system. The town’s investment not only helps secure the facility’s future but ensures various organizations can continue to use the club for fundraising efforts.

“It is that kind of thing, that community spirit, that allows the club to give back and we make it work,” he adds.

Cooke Municipal Golf Course is one of many sports clubs around the country that continuously contributes back to its community, all the while promoting the sport and ensuring its survival in Canada. History shows the great bond that clubs and members have with each other in shaping their local neighbourhoods and, in doing so, shaping the cultural and social landscape of our diverse country.

This article was originally published in the April 2017 edition of Golf Canada Magazine. Click here to view the full magazine.

If you’re looking to be more grounded in life, golf is the answer.

Literally and figuratively.

Just ask Dr. Joe Parent, founder of Zen Golf (www.zengolf.com).

“You should use golf as a form of meditation. When you stand on the tee, breath down through your body, through your feet and into the ground. Feel connected through the earth, through space and then to your target.”

If you’re a cynical old so-and-so like me, that Zen stuff doesn’t adhere all that much. But when Parent starts talking about slot machines, well, here we go.

He talks about “random intermittent reinforcement” where every so often, after you’ve poured a bunch of quarters into the one-armed bandit, the light goes off and “ding, ding, ding,” you’re a winner. And, like that one great shot during your otherwise unremarkable round of golf, that keeps you coming back.

Parent says that golf is “90 per cent mental and 10 per cent mental because your mind runs every swing you take.” (It must be a Zen thing.)

And while the physical benefits of the game are well documented, golf can clear your mind, give you increased self-awareness and improve your mental and psychological well-being.

“If you’re mindful, simply being outside, participating in an activity that you enjoy, you breathe more deeply and your thoughts slow down, all of which has a calming effect. It’s not dissimilar to the benefits of mindfulness meditation where practitioners focus on their breath,” says Tim O’Connor, mental performance coach at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont. (www.oconnorgolf.ca)

Dr. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood (www.drtoogood.com) is Team Canada’s sports psychologist. While her focus in that role is on elite athletes, she recognizes the mental health benefits of golf for everyone. But the onus is on the golfer to do the same.

“You have to accept what you can control and what you can’t. You’re striving to get better, but you must accept the present reality. Once you do that, there’s a great opportunity for growth and you can then translate that realization into other areas of your life, whether it’s family, business or something else. It’s self-realization.”

And rather than castigate yourself for a bad shot, Leslie-Toogood says take the opportunity during every round to implement the “self-compassion theory.” It’s kind of the converse of the Golden Rule in that you should treat yourself the way you would ideally treat others.

“If you make a mistake, forgive yourself. Have realistic expectations. Take the opportunity to learn something about yourself and to grow. That takes courage.”

Too much has been made of the frustrations associated with golf. The frustrations are on you.

And so are the gratifications.

The choice is yours.

As the late great golfer Walter Hagen said: “You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry. Don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”

Editor’s note: If you’re looking for a fun golf experience that is forgiving of the occasional bad shot, create your “Ultimate Scorecard” – one of the many features available to Golf Canada members. Allowing you to track your play at a course over a season, or even a lifetime, your Ultimate Scorecard only gets better – guaranteed! 

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