TUCKER’S TOWN, Bermuda — The dynamic duo of Billy Walsh and Danny King opened a sizable gap Wednesday between themselves and the rest of the field at the Nike Golf PGA Team Championship of Canada.

Walsh and King, who are ranked No. 1 and No. 4 on the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC, sit at 12 under par thru two rounds at The Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda thanks to a second-round 2-under-par 69 in the foursomes format.

The team of Ed Maunder and Ian Doig matched the low round of the day and sit alone in second at 7 under for the championship. They’ll be paired with the lead team of Walsh and King in Thursday’s final group.

The inaugural Nike Golf PGA Team Championship of Canada features different team formats for each day—fourball, foursomes and scramble—with the eventual winners taking home $12,000 of the $90,000 total prize purse.

Players faced stiff ocean breezes of 55 km/h Wednesday, as well as periods of heavy rains. However, many players said they enjoyed playing championship golf in challenging conditions.

Thomas Keddy and Conrad Riley, who were tied for the lead after the first round on Tuesday, are third at 6 under, with Max Gilbert and Jean-Pierre Morin 5 under, in fourth place. The teams of Luc Boisvert and Louis-Pierre Godin and, Keir Smith and Gordon Burns round out the top 5.

Thursday’s final round features a scramble format, which is expected to produce plenty of movement on the leaderboard.

CALGARY – Thanks to a new charitable giving program, a stellar field, and overwhelming support from the Calgary community, the Shaw Charity Classic shattered its own fundraising record for a third straight year on the PGA TOUR’s Champions Tour with a $3,942,712 donation that will be shared amongst 99 youth-based charities in Alberta.

“It is an absolute thrill for me to look back on another record-setting year and realize this spectacular tournament continues to have a tremendous impact on our youth, which was the core goal in bringing the event to Calgary,” said Clay Riddell, Tournament Chairman, Shaw Charity Classic. “I firmly believe it takes an entire community to build a successful international event, so this accomplishment should be celebrated by everyone from the more than 1,200 volunteers, to our generous corporate community, friends in the media, and all of the great citizens of this amazing city that came down to Canyon Meadows this summer. Each of you has made Calgary the number-one tournament on the Champions Tour, and for that, I thank you.”

In June, Shaw Communications Inc. strengthened its focus on Canada’s lone Champions Tour stop in the Stampede City with a two-year extension as title sponsor through to 2017, and a commitment of raising big money for Alberta charities by announcing a total of $1 million of the total funds raised would go to supporting six of the tournament’s core youth-based charitable partners located across southern Alberta, including: the Children’s Wish Foundation – Alberta & NWT Chapter; Classroom Champions; Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta; KidSport Calgary; Ronald McDonald House Charities® Southern Alberta; and the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre.

“The Shaw Charity Classic was a spectacular success, and we are again honoured to work with so many charities committed to making our communities better for our kids and youth,” said Brad Shaw, CEO, Shaw Communications. “On behalf of my family and all our Shaw employees, we’d like to thank Clay Riddell, the Patrons Group, and the Champions Tour for their leadership and support, and we look forward to all that we can accomplish together in years to come.”

Building on Shaw Communications’ leadership, charitable contributions skyrocketed in 2015 with the addition of Birdies for Kids – a program backed by AltaLink that expanded the Shaw Charity Classic’s reach across the province.

Based on a program introduced on the PGA Tour in 1971, Birdies for Kids gives individuals and corporations the opportunity to make a one-time or per-birdie donation, directed to the children’s charity of their choice. Those donations were further leveraged through a tiered matching program that saw a percentage of the first $250,000 donated to each charity.

“The impact the Birdies for Kids program is having in our community has significantly surpassed our expectations,” said Scott Thon, President and Chief Executive Officer, AltaLink. “It is important in these economic times to support the non-profit sector that so many Albertans access across our province. Exceeding our goal for dollars raised this year speaks volumes about the spirit of Albertans to pull together and support those in need when times are tough.”

Champions Tour players, including Jeff Maggert who donned the traditional white Stetson that is presented annually to the winner of the Shaw Charity Classic, combined to fire a total of 858 birdies during the three rounds.

“I have lived in Texas for 40 years and I’ve seen a lot of cowboy hats, but I definitely cherish the one from Calgary,” said Maggert, who ran away with a four-shot victory. “This tournament is an A-plus all around. We all like the course, the crowds are among the best we see on Tour, and it is great to play a small role in helping raise some huge money for charities in the area. I know the top players like to come to Calgary and play. Hopefully Shaw will continue their good graces and stay with us for the long term, and we’ll keep coming back and helping to raise money for youth in Alberta.”

The Shaw Charity Classic has generated over 8.5 million dollars in support of local charities across Alberta. Recognized by the PGA TOUR with an award for outstanding achievement for a first-year event, the Shaw Charity Classic was also the named 2014 recipient of the PGA TOUR’s prestigious President’s Award as the top stop on the Champions Tour.

Click below to listen to Scott Simmons on Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown.

ClubLink has informed Golf Canada of their intention to explore possible alternative uses of Glen Abbey Golf Club. They will be keeping us informed on their due diligence, however at this stage, there is no impact on Golf Canada’s operation including our corporate offices and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.

Speculating on Glen Abbey’s future would be premature at this time. Right now it is business as usual – Golf Canada is set to bring the RBC Canadian Open to Glen Abbey next July and the club will continue to be considered for hosting future Opens beyond 2016 as well.

Scott Simmons
CEO
Golf Canada

When his ball supposedly moved in the long grass aside the 11th green of Massachusetts’ Worcester Country Club at the 1925 U.S. Open, well beyond the vision of everyone but the man standing over it, Bobby Jones called a one-stroke penalty on himself. Commended for his honesty, he famously retorted, “You might as well praise me for not breaking into banks. There is only one way to play this game.”

You don’t hear a lot of that in, say, football, soccer or hockey, or a myriad of other sports rife with cheating, abuse of officials and the unobstructed pursuit of winning—where bending the rules is considered more of an art than a breach of etiquette.

Golf is different. Its core values of honesty and integrity are — to the vast majority of its competitors — as natural a law as gravity; that’s one of the things that makes Golf in Schools a unique learning tool. Beyond the athletic elements incorporated in the program, Golf Canada is about to ingrain the morality and virtues of the game into a curriculum that reaches an estimated 306,000 students at 2,700 elementary and secondary schools nationwide.

“We partnered with the University of Ottawa to develop a life-skills, core-values component that will be integrated into Golf in Schools program this coming fall,” explains Jeff Thompson, Chief Sport Officer with Golf Canada. “I think that addition to the program will be a game-changer for us—something that goes beyond learning the simple skills of the sport. One of the umbrella pieces is sportsmanship—the ideas of honesty, integrity and perseverance. The learning experts are saying, ‘It’s not a case of sitting the kids in a circle and talking about honesty; it’s how you build it into the activity.’ That’s how you get kids to actually learn about it.”

Dr. Tanya Forneris is an associate professor in the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa, and one of the architects of the Golf in Schools enhancement.

“We don’t really look at athlete performance, it’s more about how we can make sport a context that really facilitates or enhances the development of youth, as opposed to being a negative experience that leads to dropout and burnout,” she explains.

“The point was also how to best design the program to enable coaches to help their athletes strive,” adds Forneris, whose expertise is in positive youth development and community programming through sports. “By integrating the skills of focus and perseverance into the Golf in Schools program and by intentionally having certain activities to practice these attributes—having teachers talk about them and show how they can be transferred to school or home—the student can employ these life skills not only to improve their results on a school assignment or test, but in all areas of life. Students come away from the program not just having developed some good golf skills, but also having the life skills to succeed in other domains.”

Dallas Desjardins, Regional Director with the National Golf Course Owners Association, has always stressed golf’s virtuous side—both at the Golf in Schools and club levels.

“It’s a logical direction for Golf in Schools because it follows from their CN Future Links Learn to Play program, which we run at the golf club,” says Desjardins. “Parents are amazed at the results of that program. They really appreciate the fact that current golf programming through Golf Canada teaches so much more than just golf skill. Participants learn relaxation and visualization skills, goal setting and etiquette, which is really proper behaviour in groups, and, of course, honesty and integrity.

“I am finding that after people get an introduction to golf and the parents hear about the programming, they really enter their kids (into the Learn to Golf program) more for the social development aspect than the golf development,” he adds. “I also hear every year what a blessing it has been and how much their child has opened up since entering in the program.”

Desjardins says that a lot of their discussions and topics are about the values that golf instills, and that’s actually how he markets the junior program.

“I don’t market it as come play golf, I market it as get your kid involved in golf so that they’re building relationships and are exposed in a social network so that they’re not stuck at a computer,” he explains.

South of the border, The First Tee, a youth development program founded and funded by multiple U.S. golf organizations, has been introducing golf and all its merits to elementary school phys-ed students through its National School Program since 2004. Its mission: “to impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through the game of golf.”

There are signs that the mission is working. According to The First Tee Impact Report, released in 2010, 73 per cent of participants reported high confidence in their ability to do well academically. Further, 82 per cent felt more confident in their social skills with peers, while 57 per cent credited The First Tee for their meeting and greeting skills.

There has also been an added administrative spinoff , with a full two-thirds of physical educators noting they have used the Nine Core Values (see sidebar) in other sports and activities they taught beyond the National School Program.

Alberta Golf Association Youth Development Manager Tyler McConachy is among those in the trenches looking forward to the added dimension of the curriculum.

“Golf is a unique game that allows you to put trust in other competitors and vice versa, and to create sportsmanship, honesty and integrity,” he says. “Growing up, you appreciate that the only person you’re cheating is yourself. This (addition to the curriculum) will give us a great opportunity to go back to the schools we’ve previously visited and go over things with them, including the rules of golf—what you should and shouldn’t do—similar to those elements already being employed in the CN Future Links Learn to Play program, where the pros spend time with each kid and show them the importance of keeping the correct score, being honest and helping fellow players if you see them struggling.

“These are the sorts of virtues that transcend all through life,” McConachy concludes. “It’s one of our objectives as instructors—not just to turn out good golfers, but good people.”

CARLSBAD, Calif. – PUMA Golf has introduced the new Ignite collection of golf footwear – the most comfortable collection from the brand to date – including TitanTour Ignite and TitanTour Ignite Premium. The footwear utilizes revolutionary Ignite foam – an innovative foam that maximizes energy return to give golfers power, comfort and performance.

Engineered with PUMA’s proprietary IGNITE foam, the TitanTour Ignite family is designed to deliver responsive cushioning, optimal rebound, and superior step-in comfort through every shot.

“The coolest shoe in golf is now the most comfortable shoe we’ve ever made. The addition of Ignite foam to the PWRCOOL Technology brings TitanTour footwear to a new level – enhancing its performance on the course and providing unparalleled support and cushioning,” said Grant Knudson, Head of Footwear, PUMA Golf. “At PUMA Golf we challenge ourselves to create footwear that helps golfers focus on their game instead of thinking about their feet. With the TitanTour Ignite collection, golfers can play from dawn ‘til dusk and their feet will be comfortable, protected and performance ready.”

In addition to the IGNITE foam, the shoes also features TitanTour’s signature technology, PWRCOOL powered by Outlast, which regulates foot temperature by utilizing phase change materials that absorb, store and release heat for optimal thermal comfort.

Rickie Fowler debuted the new TITANTOUR IGNITE footwear at this year’s Presidents Cup.

“My shoes play a big role in my performance,” said Fowler. “I definitely attribute some of my success on the golf course to my PUMA Golf gear. Wearing the new IGNITE footwear over the past few weeks makes me really excited to get out there and play as we move into the new season.”

Sporting a new, sleeker shape, and new performance last, the TitanTour Ignite is full-grain leather that provides excellent fit, unrivaled comfort and a stylish toe-down look. The TitanTour Ignite is also available in a Premium model, taking golf footwear to the next level with sophisticated, tonal colorways in full-grain leather and constructed with an ultra-soft pigskin lining. The IGNITE Premium shoe features aniline pull-up leathers in brown and grey.

TITANTOUR IGNITE

• COLORS: White/Surf The Web/Green Gecko; White/White/Black/; Black/Steel Gray. available February 1, 2016.
• MSRP PRICE: $199.99

TITANTOUR IGNITE Premium

• COLORS: Drizzle/Green Gecko; Monk’s Robe/Team Gold.
• RELEASE DATE: February 1, 2015
• MSRP PRICE: $239.99

For more information on these shoes, along with PUMA Golf’s entire product line, please visit www.cobragolf.com/pumagolf.

TUCKER’S TOWN, Bermuda —Players took advantage of prime scoring conditions Tuesday for the first round of the Nike Golf PGA Team Championship of Canada.

The highly touted duo of Billy Walsh and Danny King, and the surprising tandem of Conrad Riley and Thomas Keddy put together fourball rounds of 10-under-par 61 at Bermuda’s Mid Ocean Club. Both teams are tied for the lead and hold a three shot advantage over four other teams.

“This was just perfect weather for scoring today—no wind to speak of really and lots of sun is a solid recipe for going low,” King said after the round

The first round of the PGA Team Championship of Canada featured a two-person fourball format. Walsh, the PGA of Canada’s No. 1-ranked player, admitted it’s a nice feeling having a partner this week.

“This is actually the first time Danny and I have been partners,” he said. “And it’s an awesome feeling being able to count and root for him all day long.”

The inaugural Nike Golf PGA Team Championship of Canada features different team formats for each day—fourball, foursomes and scramble—with the eventual winners taking home $12,000 of the $90,000 total prize purse.

The teams of Adam Blair and Mark Kohlen; Dave Levesque and Marc-Etienne Bussieres; Billy Houle and Francis Tanguay; and Max Gilbert and Jean-Pierre Morin are T3, three shots back after opening rounds of 7-under 64.

Ranked the 47th best golf course outside of the United States by Golf Digest, The Mid Ocean Club was designed by world-renowned architect Charles Blair Macdonald and first opened for play in 1921. The club has played host to the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in 2007 and 2008, and has hosted such heads of state as Presidents George H.W. Bush and Dwight Eisenhower; Winston Churchill, The Duke of Windsor; former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney; as well as baseball icon Babe Ruth.

“This golf course is just so much fun to play,” King, who won this year’s PGA Championship of Canada, said. “With the team formats we’re playing this week, Mid Ocean is really the perfect venue for this national championship because there’s so many holes where you’re presented with varying options to make birdie.”

As the seasons rotate from summer to fall, it’s a good time to focus on your physical rotation. Trunk rotation is essential to the golf swing; it enables you to separate your shoulders from your pelvis. Some literature will refer to this separation as the “X factor.” A greater degree of separation between your shoulder blades and your pelvis/ hips allows players to apply force over a greater distance. When executed with speed this creates power.

Maximizing the player’s trunk rotation while maintaining the alignment of the shoulder blades parallel to the pelvis is crucial to maintaining a consistent golf swing.

Here are three exercises to improve your swing by increasing your thoracic spine’s ability to rotate.

MOBILITY

Lay on a foam roller with the roller perpendicular to your spine. Spend two minutes rolling up and down your spine to loosen any tight muscles. Keeping the roller still, with your hands supporting your neck, arch over the roller. Extend 3-5 times, move the roller two inches up or down your spine; repeat. Finally, lay on the roller with it running parallel to your spine, from your head to your tailbone. Keep as much of your spine on the roller, then slowly extend your arms above your head. Repeat six times.

FLEXIBILITY

Restricted latissimus dorsi muscles limit the trunk from rotating freely. Here is a stretch to help improve the flexibility of these large trunk muscles, getting as much range as physically possible. Hold each stretch for 30 seconds and repeat 2-3 times.

Stand tall with an elastic band looped around your wrists and your arms straight overhead and pulled slightly apart to create tension in the band. While keeping your trunk extended, maintain the tension in the band as you exhale and side bend at the pelvis. Hold this side bent position for three deep breaths before you return to the starting position. Repeat on both sides 2-3 times.

ON COURSE EXERCISE

Maintaining the mobility and flexibility you achieve at home prior to heading to the course is important since we all tend to tighten up after striking so many balls. Here is a practical exercise to use on the range, and at the sixth and the 12th holes.

Use a longer iron and slowly search the muscle tissue along the sides and back of your trunk, looking for tight knots or bands. Once you find one, gradually use the longer iron to massage out the knot. This could take 2-3 minutes before the muscle releases. Complete five passes up and down your back looking for these tighter bands or knots.

Oakville, Ont. – As golf’s governing body in Canada, Golf Canada, in conjunction with the R&A and the United States Golf Association (USGA), announce the new revisions to the Rules of Golf for 2016.

In accordance with the Joint Rules Committee’s four-year review cycle of the Rules of Golf, the new changes came into effect January 1, 2016.

Along with the R&A and USGA, Golf Canada holds a unique position as the only other governing body that sits on the Joint Rules Committee which carries out the quadrennial review of the Rules of Golf. Golf’s governing bodies are committed to ensure the rules are constantly evolving and relevant to today’s game.

Among the most significant of the changes in the 2016 edition of the Rules are the following:

• Withdrawal of Rule on Ball Moving After Address – Rule 18-2b (Ball at Rest Moved by Player, Partner, Caddie or Equipment) has been withdrawn. This means that if a ball at rest moves after the player addresses it, the player is no longer automatically deemed to have caused the ball to move. A one-stroke penalty under Rule 18-2 will be applied only when the facts show that the player has caused the ball to move.

• Limited Exception to Disqualification Penalty for Submission of Incorrect Score Card – A new exception has been introduced to Rule 6-6d (Wrong Score for Hole) to provide that a player is not disqualified for returning a lower score for a hole than actually taken as a result of failing to include penalty strokes that the player did not know were incurred before returning the score card. Instead, the player incurs the penalty under the Rule that was breached and must add an additional penalty of two strokes for the score card error. In all other cases in which a player returns a score for any hole lower than actually taken, the penalty will continue to be disqualification.

• Modification of Penalty for a Single Impermissible Use of Artificial Devices or Equipment – The penalty for a player’s first breach of Rule 14-3 (Artificial Devices, Unusual Equipment and Abnormal Use of Equipment) during the round has been reduced from disqualification to loss of hole in match play or two strokes in stroke play. The penalty for any subsequent breach of Rule 14-3 will continue to be disqualification.

• Prohibition on Anchoring the Club While Making a Stroke – As announced in May 2013, the new Rule 14-1b (Anchoring the Club) prohibits anchoring the club either “directly” or by use of an “anchor point” in making a stroke. The penalty is loss of hole in match play or two strokes in stroke play.

“As the game evolves, the rules need to stay current and every aspect of the game was reviewed during this exhaustive four-year review cycle by the Joint Rules Committee,” said Adam Helmer, Golf Canada’s Director of Rules, Competitions, and Amateur Status. “The ultimate goal when developing a single set of rules for all golfers around the world is to make the game more equitable under all playing conditions, and the feeling is that the 2016 Rules of Golf accomplished that goal.”

The 2016 publication has been designed, published and presented jointly by golf’s governing bodies. The book is reproduced in 36 official languages and distributed to millions of golfers around the world.

Golf Canada has the exclusive right to govern, publish and distribute the Rules of Golf throughout Canada. As the National Sport Federation, Golf Canada will also produce a French edition of the Rules of Golf.

The Rules of Amateur Status also underwent revisions in conjunction with the changes to the Rules of Golf.

Notable changes to the 2016 Rules of Amateur Status include:

• Prize Money to Charity – New Rule 3-1b enables an amateur golfer to participate in an event where prize money or its equivalent is donated to a recognized charity, provided the approval of the governing body is first obtained in advance by the organizer.
• Golf-Related Expenses – New Rule 4-3 clarifies that an amateur golfer may receive reasonable expenses, not exceeding actual expenses incurred, for non-competition golf-related activities.  Former Rule 4-3 becomes Rule 4-4.
• Reinstatement to Amateur Status – The recommended guidelines on periods awaiting reinstatement are amended to provide that a period in breach of the Rules of up to six years (previously up to five years) should result in a period awaiting reinstatement of one year.

For the full text of the 2016 Rules of Amateur Status, please click here.

Golf Canada will publish English and French copies of the 2016 Rules of Golf, available January 1, 2016. The companion publication to the Rules of Golf, Decisions on the Rules of Golf will also be available January 1, 2016.

You can order a printed copy of the 2016 version of the Rules of Golf on Golf Canada’s e-store.

More information about the Rules of Golf and Golf Canada’s Rules Education Program, please click here.

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – Team Canada’s Young Pro Squad members Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith teamed up this past weekend to finish in a tie for third at the second edition of the Bridgestone America’s Golf Cup presented by Value, a PGA TOUR Latinoamérica event.

Conners, a Listowel, Ont., product and Pendrith, a native of Richmond Hill, Ont., carded a 255 (65-65-62-63) to finish at 29-under in the four-ball event hosted at the Club Campestre. In addition to being teammates with Team Canada, Conners and Pendrith have the experience of playing collegiate golf together for the Kent State Golden Flashes—further adding to the duo’s chemistry.

Out of 30 total teams representing 19 countries, Conners and Pendrith emerged as one of the top-three teams, tied with the Colombian pair of Rozo and Merizalde. Puerto Rico’s Fields and Figueroa placed second at 30-under, while the American duo of Kuchar and Hueber (replacement for injured Tiger Woods) finished first by a four-stroke margin.

The event is among the most prestigious tournaments in Latin America and boasts one of the highest purses in the region at $300,000 (USD).

Click here for full scoring.