CALGARY – LaunchPad Golf is set to significantly expand its footprint with the opening of six new locations across Canada.

The new venues will include North Calgary, South Edmonton, Richmond, Markham, Kitchener-Waterloo, and a flagship 60-suite facility at Durham Live in Pickering, Ont. The Pickering site will anchor the company’s expansion, featuring its largest facility yet as part of the Durham Live entertainment district.

“Our Canadian expansion demonstrates our dedication to redefining entertainment through continuously evolving technology and premium social environments,” said Barry Ehlert, CEO of LaunchPad Golf, in a news release.

“Each new location will deliver a world-class blend of interactive gaming, cutting-edge technology, delicious food, and a lively social atmosphere for people of all interests.”

Year-round entertainment

The venues include climate-controlled suites designed for year-round enjoyment. Each location will offer a menu of food and beverages tailored for everything from corporate events to casual outings.

“Our commitment is to provide unforgettable experiences through the seamless integration of technology, guest comfort, and social engagement,” added Ehlert.

Expanding presence across Canada

The six new locations reflect LaunchPad’s ambition to redefine entertainment by blending interactive gaming, advanced technology, and vibrant social atmospheres. The company aims to create spaces that bring people together for memorable experiences.

For more information, visit LaunchPad Golf.

Canadian golfers on tour have demonstrated exceptional skill and precision on the course this year. In this article, we’ll highlight the remarkable hole-in-ones scored by Canadian players during recent tournaments, celebrating their achievements.

The future of golf might be arriving as soon as 2025.

That’s when Tomorrow’s Golf League, an arena-based, team version of the 600-year old sport, will launch at the purpose-built SoFi Center in Palm Beach, Fla. TGL chief executive officer Mike McCarley, who founded the league with golf greats Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, said it’s all about modernizing the sport.

“If we’re creating a version of the game today, in 2024, what would that look like?” said McCarley on Wednesday. “Something that was really important to Tiger, Rory, and myself from the very early days, was we want to keep a foot firmly planted in the traditions of the game, which meant working with the PGA Tour, being in collaboration with the other governing bodies in the game.

“The other foot is planted in bringing that traditional game forward into a more modern approach.”

Although the goal remains the same — get the little white ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible — there are several changes that fans will immediately notice.

The “original six” teams of Atlanta Drive GC, Boston Common Golf, Jupiter Links Golf Club, Los Angeles Golf Club, New York Golf Club, and The Bay Golf Club will all play out of the SoFi Center on the campus of Palm Beach State College. 

All matches will be head-to-head and air live on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+, debuting on Jan. 7.

The 24 players that have committed to playing in the league are some of the biggest on the PGA Tour, including Woods, McIlroy, world No. 2 Xander Schauffele and world Nos. 4-7 Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Aberg, Wyndham Clark, and Hideki Matsuyama. The schedule will be set in collaboration with the PGA Tour, with TGL matches happening on Mondays and Tuesdays so the golfers can get to their in-person tournaments Wednesday through Sunday.

All drives and approach shots hit at SoFi Center will be hit into a giant Imax-sized simulator from 35 yards out. The short game — 50 yards and in — will be done on the so-called greenzone inside the arena, a changeable turf golf hole that can rotate 360 degrees.
Each match will be 15 holes, starting with nine holes of triples playing alternating shots. The second session will be singles matchups for the remaining six holes.

TGL will have a shot clock, the players will be mic’d up, there will be no caddies, and each team will have four timeouts to consult with each other.
“The idea of borrowing elements from other sports that are familiar to sports fans and bringing them into golf in a way that resonates with a sports fan and is not necessarily going to alienate the traditional golf fan, is a balance,” said McCarley. “We think all of those attributes, starting with two hours in prime time and coming all the way down to the competitive elements (..) keeps the fan front of mind as we continue to build, test and iterate.”

Although there are no Canadian players signed up for the league yet, there is hope that there will be an expansion team representing a Canadian market in the near future that would include “hometown” golfers.

PGA TOUR — There are six Canadians in the field at this week’s Shriners Children’s Open, with four of them looking to move up in the PGA Tour’s rankings during its fall season. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., is 58th in the FedExCup Fall standings, Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., is 77th, Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., is 97th, and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., is 172nd. Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford both finished inside the top 50 of the regular season but will still play at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas.

CHAMPIONS TOUR — Calgary’s Stephen Ames and Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., will both be in the field at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic. Ames is third in the Schwab Cup standings and Weir is 25th heading into play on Friday at The Country Club of Virginia in Richmond, Va.

LPGA TOUR — Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., is the lone Canadian in the field at the BMW Ladies Championship at Seowon-gil, Gwangtan-meyo, in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. She’s 15th in the CME Race to the Globe standings.

St Andrews, Scotland: The R&A today launched One Club, an evolution of its direct-to-consumer membership initiative designed to transform how fans and golfers around the world experience the sport year-round. 

One Club is free to join and provides members with a comprehensive array of year-round benefits, rewards, exclusive content and unique access to The Open, AIG Women’s Open and other prestigious R&A Championships. This includes the launch of a new global streaming service, R&A TV, powered by Endeavor Streaming.

It will also offer fans money-can’t-buy experiences and access to premium coaching and playing opportunities, allowing avid golfers and fans to take their passion for the sport to the next level. Members can interact directly through the platform by providing user-generated content and sharing their own stories and experiences of golf.

“We want golf to be more accessible and appealing for people of all ages and backgrounds,” said Neil Armit, Chief Commercial Officer at The R&A. “One Club helps to achieve this by bringing fans and golfers closer to the sport they love, whether that is through the excitement and drama of our Major Championships or the enjoyment they derive from playing the sport year-round.”

Key membership features of One Club include:

• Exclusive live and non-live golf coverage on R&A TV – a new streaming service allows members to watch coverage of R&A Championships each year, including The Open and AIG Women’s Open, as well as original golf lifestyle content. Members will enjoy enhanced viewing features including multi-view and live event replays to experience more golf content than ever before.
   
• Original golf lifestyle content – popular YouTuber Rick Shiels and media personality Tisha Alyn will feature in exclusive new video content, inspiring and entertaining members through their own experiences of golf.   
   
• Golf coaching network – top coaches such as Phil Kenyon, Dr Bob Rotella, Alex Elliott and Hannah Davies will feature in video content offering members advice, tips and experience to benefit all aspects of their own game.
   
• Rewards & Experiences ­– from tee time giveaways to VIP hospitality packages and professional player meet-and-greets, members can enter for a chance to win money-can’t-buy prizes and unique golf experiences year-round. Discounts on travel, equipment, merchandise and more are also available.
   
• Competitive Events – using partner apps and connected devices, members can enter virtual global challenges, earn Golf It! tee times, receive pro lessons and even qualify for real-life playing opportunities at select R&A host venues. 
   
• Enhanced Ticketing Opportunities – members can enjoy exclusive early access to purchase tickets and premium experiences to The Open, AIG Women’s Open and other top R&A events

One Club is now available to sign up for free. For more information and a full listing of launch partners and benefits, visit OneClub.golf.

For Marlene Stewart Streit, golf, she says, is all about the friends you make along the way. 

Streit, Canada’s first lady of golf, turns 90 on March 9. Her list of golfing accomplishments is long and celebrated. But even as she reflects back on a career well played, she’s more excited about the life well lived. 

“Golf, to me, is the friends you make along the way and if you miss that you’ve really missed the boat. All the trophies are fine. But they just sit there and tarnish,” Streit says. “You talk about tournaments and it’s really the friends you make along the way.”

Streit began her golf career as a caddy when she was 12 at Lookout Point Golf Club in Fonthill, Ont. and played her first tournament when she was 15. It didn’t take her long to find plenty of success at the highest level in the amateur game. She won her first of 11 Canadian Women’s Amateur titles when she was just 17. 

“In those days we had a great field. That was a pretty big deal at 17. I didn’t even know what I was doing but I could chip and putt,” she says with a laugh. 

A few years later Streit would head across the pond to compete in the British Ladies Amateur. She was part of a Canadian squad that boarded a Douglas DC-3 airplane (“Heck, she says, “I’d never been further than Winnipeg!”) and flew to Newfoundland, Iceland, Ireland, and then onwards to London. 

Streit would win the British Ladies that year, in 1953. Ten years later she traveled to Australia and won the Australian Women’s Amateur. In 1956, she won the U.S. Women’s Amateur. To this day she is the only golfer in history to have won the Canadian, Australian, British, and U.S. Women’s Amateurs. 

In both 1951 and 1956 she won the Northern Star Award as Canada’s athlete of the year – to date the only golfer to win the award more than once. 

That was a “great honour,” she says, given that the race for Canada’s athlete of the year is between both men and women. But when she’d come home from tournaments – often victorious – her long-time coach Gordon McInnis would often say that, yes, she did great. But it was time to grab a shag bag and get ready for the next one. 

With a laugh, she remembers playing in the British Ladies in 1954 trying to defend her title. She thought at first 1953 would be her only opportunity to get there so she figured she better go out and “just win this tournament.” She did and returned the following year. Streit remembers getting to the semi-finals but (yes, 70 years later) recalls missing a short putt and missing out on the finals. That is “just about the only thing” she thinks about still from her tournament days, she says with a laugh.  

These days, Streit still plays often. She and JoAnne Carner (aka, “Big Momma”) are long-time pals and will tee it up in Florida together. Streit topped Carner at the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1956 and still doesn’t let her live it down, although Carner says it was “just a warm-up” as she would go on to win five U.S. Women’s Amateurs herself. Streit loves watching the Canadians on the PGA Tour and Nick Taylor winning the RBC Canadian Open last summer “was amazing.” She loves Brooke Henderson too, of course. 

She has no regrets, either. 

Plenty of folks would wonder why she never turned professional and the simple answer, she says, is because she didn’t want to. Streit attended Rollins College, got married, and had two daughters – Darlene and Lynn. Her remarkable life included surviving a plane crash while at university. In an interview with the USGA in 2011, Streit recalled being thrown from an aisle seat to a window and spying a hole in the fuselage to scramble for a makeshift exit before she walked, shoeless and through snow, to a nearby farmhouse where the passengers received help. 

Streit ended up winning national titles for more than 50 years from the 1951 Canadian Women’s Amateur to the 2003 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur. It was a special run that cumulated in her being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004 – the only Canadian player to receive such an honor. It means a lot to her, she says, when you look at who else has been inducted. 

“I’ve had a great life. And I don’t have any regrets,” Streit says. “I did all the fun things you do in life. I had a great husband, I had a wonderful family, two beautiful daughters […] I don’t have any regrets. Why would I want to turn pro?

“My greatest joy as an amateur has been representing Canada.”

And it’s been special for Canada to have such a great representative like Marlene Stewart Streit.  

Happy 90th Birthday!

Get ready to tee off in style as PUMA Golf unveils the latest PUMA Golf x Arnold Palmer Collection.

Known for his unparalleled charisma and impeccable fashion sense, The King himself continues to inspire generations of golfers and style mavens alike.

In a celebration of Arnie’s enduring legacy, this collaboration pays homage to The King’s iconic influence on the game and its fashion evolution, blending timeless charm with a dash of contemporary flair.

Designed to turn heads on and off the course, the PUMA Golf x Arnold Palmer Collection features sleek and sophisticated looks that redefine golf fashion. From classic polos to stylish caps and limited-edition footwear, each piece exudes the essence of Arnie’s signature style.

PUMA athlete Rickie Fowler, who shared a special bond with the late Mr. Palmer, will proudly sport the collection at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, honoring The King’s unparalleled legacy with every swing.

“We’re thrilled to collaborate with the Arnold Palmer team to bring the AP Collection to life,” said Chris MacNeill, Team Head of PLM – Golf Apparel & Accessories at PUMA Golf. “Our aim is to capture the essence of Mr. Palmer’s timeless style, blending classic colors and premium materials to create pieces he’d be proud to wear himself.”

The 2024 Spring/Summer PUMA Golf x Arnold Palmer collection features a stunning lineup of six polos, a sleek full-zip jacket, pleated shorts, stylish caps, a chic golf visor, and four limited-edition footwear styles. Each piece bears the iconic umbrella logo, celebrating The King’s lasting legacy and setting the LE shoes apart with their unique flair.

Among the highlights are the PHANTOMCAT NITRO™ version, boasting cutting-edge technology, and the Avant version, crafted from premium waterproof leather and sporting a sophisticated color palette.

Get ready to elevate your golf game and channel your inner Arnie because the Arnold Palmer Collection hits online and retail stores on March 4, 2024. Don’t miss your chance to score these stylish pieces and make a statement on the green!

For more information on the 2024 PUMA GOLF x Arnold Palmer Collection, visit ca.pumagolf.com.

The buzz of the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla. returned January 23-26, 2024 to a level not seen in a half-decade with plenty of Canadian connections at the annual kick-off to the golfing year.  

There were a few questions about the longevity of the show, especially in the years following the emergence of COVID-19. But with golf booming like never before, this year featured more than 1,000 exhibitors and attendees from more than 80 countries – the “miles and miles of aisles” returned.  

Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum was thrilled to see such excitement around the game as Canadians emerge from what the organization has called a “Momentous Year” for the sport.  

At the top level, there was the where-were-you-when moment of Nick Taylor’s RBC Canadian Open triumph, but also four wins from Stephen Ames on PGA Tour Champions, and multiple winners across the PGA TOUR, LPGA Tour, Epson Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, and more – including Alena Sharp winning a bronze medal at the Pan Am Games and the Canadian squad winning the World Junior Girls Championship for the first time.  

“These were the real successes on the golf course,” Applebaum says. “But off the golf course I would say seeing the strength of our clubs, seeing the strength of our membership, and bringing so many partners to the table was incredible.  

“We’re just so happy to be supporting Canadian golf and leveraging off this amazing success into 2024.”  

With more than 10-million scores inputted into the Golf Canada app last year and with the trend of incredible participation numbers in new entrants into the game – including more women, more young people, and more diversity – Applebaum says there is so much to look forward to as we inch closer to spring.  

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With the new year underway there is also lots of new gear available.  

Here’s everything you need to know from some of our partners to make sure you look and play your best in 2024!  

TITLEIST 

The big story for Titleist this year is wrapped in the AVX golf ball, a new roster of Scotty Cameron putters, and an extra-special wedge drop from Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Bob Vokey – the SM10 Vokey wedges.  

The new AVX delivers new technology in the core, the casing layer, the cover, and the dimple pattern to deliver better spin and control for golfers but keep all the distance you love with irons and the driver.  

“We really operate with the spirit of continual improvement,” says Frederick Waddell, the senior manager of golf ball product management at Titleist. “When we think about Pro V1 or Pro V1x – the best players in the world trust those products, you trust your game to those products, so we have to be striving for better materials, better manufacturing processes, fine tuning flight, spin, feel, so then you can play your best.  

“We don’t just offer one golfer we have fitting options and by constantly tinkering with those and looking to improve those, we’re serving players that want to play their best with the best products in the world to shoot lower scores.” 

There are 10 new models of the Scotty Cameron Phantom mallet putters that were completely redesigned with improved feel and sound, plus alignment-infused head shapes.  

“The theme (for 2024) is alignment by design,” says Austie Rollinson, the senior director of putter research and development at Scotty Cameron. “We’ve really worked hard to infuse alignment through the whole shape of these putters to help the golfer align better to the target […] and alignment is key to making more putts.” 

Finally, the new SM10 wedges are all about getting a lower ball flight, a much-improved feel, and giving golfers maximum spin.  

“With SM10 it’s all about ball flight,” says Corey Gerrard, the director of marketing for Vokey Wedges. “You’re going to see a higher (centre of gravity) that’s moved forward in the face that gives you that lower ball flight and plenty of control and maximum spin to stop the ball closer to the hole more often.”  

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FOOTJOY 

FootJoy has once again given Canadian golfers all kinds of reasons to continue to play – no matter what the weather.  

From an outerwear perspective, FootJoy’s new line is all about dialling in a ‘modern classic’ aesthetic while also providing top-level performance in all weather conditions.  

“We do ‘modern classic’ really well and we’re looking to push and innovate on that,” says John Toracinta, the senior marketing specialist at FootJoy. “When you talk about modern classic, everything is getting a little tighter from stripes to prints to patterns and not only on shirts and essentials but also on outerwear and the small details that differentiate it.” 

On the footwear side, the big story for 2024 is the update to the FootJoy ProSL. Available in two models, the ProSL has been a great franchise for FootJoy for a number of years and it’s changed the way spikeless traction works for golfers.  

“In prior years we’ve been doing evolutions – like updating materials – but this year for ProSL we went full revolution,” says Dan Buonomo, product manager at FootJoy. “It’s completely redesigned not only from a look and feel perspective but also the traction story that’s going on underneath.”  

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LEVELWEAR 

Canadians will not only see Levelwear on our top Tour talent once again this year – like Corey Conners, Adam Hadwin, Taylor Pendrith, and Maddie Szeryk – but it will also be available at both the RBC Canadian Open and CPKC Women’s Open merch tents through 2024.  

The great story for this year’s drops from Levelwear is all about colour and fabric across its lines of polo shirts, layering pieces, and more.  

“We’ve got more colour stories than we ever have had before and new technologies in some of our fabrics as well – and lots of new prints,” says Gareth Knocker, the director of apparel at Levelwear. “Prints are definitely still trending, so we have a lot of new, fun prints for Canadian golfers this year too.”  

PUMA 

Puma will be launching its 2024 Maple Leaf Collection in May while the brand, which celebrated its 75th anniversary last year, will be the official outfitter of Team Canada’s golf squad at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.  

“We’re really excited. This is a first for us. We’ve been making a collection for Canada for a little while now, but this is the first time there’s a lot more at stake,” says Chris MacNeill, the senior manager of golf apparel at Puma. “We custom made some products for them – from Canadian-themed graphics to colours and all-new performance fabric [and] we’re excited to bring the performance side plus the fashion side together and outfit Team Canada this year.”   

FORESIGHT 

The new Falcon system from Foresight is a  shrunken version of the incredibly popular GC Hawk, while also new for 2024 is the Quad Max – the PGA TOUR favourite has received a few new tweaks for this year.  

The best is just getting better!  

And in case you were wondering about getting a Foresight machine in your home – you’re not alone. Mitch Grassing, a Canadian launch-monitor expert at Foresight based out of Kitchener-Waterloo, says, in Canada, the in-home units make up about three quarters of their business and is the most popular set up.  

“If you’ve got a space to swing a golf club,” Grassing says, “we can make something happen.”  

Proud partner @ForesightCanada has exciting new developments ahead for 2024. pic.twitter.com/2CuLzdi77E

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 25, 2024

10 January 2024, St Andrews, Scotland – Martin Slumbers, CEO of The R&A and Secretary of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, is to step down by the end of 2024 after what will be nine years in the role.
 
Mr. Slumbers, 63, brought his extensive global business experience and a passion for golf to the organisation. He has led The R&A as the global governing body of golf around the world (outside the US and Mexico) and as Secretary of the iconic golf club, which dates from 1754, he has supported its committees in serving its international membership. 
 
He will oversee The 152^nd Open at Royal Troon, the return of the AIG Women’s Open to St Andrews and the 43^rd Curtis Cup match at Sunningdale before relinquishing his role by the end of the year.  
 
Niall Farquharson, Chairman of The R&A said, “In Martin, we have been fortunate to have a CEO who has steered the organisation through a period of growth and enhanced the profile and reputation of our sport to make it more accessible, appealing and inclusive.  Through his stature and influence in the world of golf and sport more widely and in growing the proceeds of The Open to invest back into the game, he has been true to The R&A’s purpose of golf thriving 50 years from now and has shown transformational leadership.  He speaks often of reflecting history in a modern way and that will be his legacy to The R&A and to the Club.”
 
Martin Slumbers said, “It has been a privilege to serve golf at the highest level. It is a role that I have been proud to carry out on behalf of The R&A’s employees, the members of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club and all our global partners. In any career, there is a time to allow the next generation to have its turn. I am grateful to have had the honour, for nearly a decade, to have been the custodian of all that The R&A and the game of golf more broadly represents.“
 
During his tenure, Mr. Slumbers has led a modernisation of The R&A’s activities, which included the merger with the Ladies’ Golf Union and its subsequent integration to enable The R&A to represent golf for men, women, boys and girls at the elite level.   
 
In 2018, as part of his strategic approach to The R&A’s activities, its first Playbook was developed, explaining the purpose of the modern R&A: ‘To make golf open, accessible and inclusive and ensure it is thriving 50 years from now’. This level of clarity has led The R&A to double its financial commitment to golf, with greater emphasis on women and girls; establish a strategic business-driven approach to golf development; and proactively seek to improve the perception of golf as good for you, good for society and good for the environment.
 
He had oversight of the 2019 modernisation of the Rules of Golf, the roll-out of the World Handicap System in 2020 and the Distance Insights process, the outcome of which was announced in December 2023. He has served on the boards of the Official World Golf Ranking, the International Golf Federation and the LET.
 
A paradigm shift in the approach to the commercial affairs of The R&A, primarily at The Open, and the level of expertise in the executive team has enabled The R&A to substantially increase its investment into amateur golf around the world and, with partners, has enabled the AIG Women’s Open to grow into a world class championship.
 
In 2023, Mr. Slumbers delivered a four-year project to create the ground-breaking new golf facility, Golf It!, in Glasgow. This family-centred facility based in the community creates an opportunity for more people to enjoy the unbound joy of golf and for members of the local community to gain work, volunteering and training opportunities. 2023 also saw the launch of the G4D Open for the world’s most talented golfers with disabilities and in 2024 a new Africa Amateur Championship will join elite amateur events in Asia-Pacific and Latin America. These include the Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific championship and the Women’s Amateur Latin America championship, both introduced by Mr. Slumbers.
 
An executive search firm has been appointed to assist in the search for his successor.

TORONTO – The Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) has announced their golf story of the year, as well as various Player of the Year awards for the 2023 season.

“GJAC is pleased to recognize Canadian professional and amateur golfers again this year with our year end player and Canadian golf story of the year awards,” said Mike Johnny, President of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada. “Golf continues to thrive across Canada.  Participation remains high and consistent with its success at the grassroots, the professional and amateur play of Canadians is also at an all-time high.  Nick Taylor’s iconic victory at the RBC Canadian Open is symbolic of the successes enjoyed in the game of golf by Canadians across professional and amateur competition.”

Without further ado; here is the story of the year and Players of the Year for the 2023 season

Nick Taylor’s Historic Win Named GJAC Story of the Year

Nick Taylor’s victory at Oakdale Golf and Country Club in dramatic fashion in a playoff over Tommy Fleetwood was voted as the golf story of the year.  Having a Canadian win our national open championship is special, but the matter in which it was achieved; sinking a 72-foot putt in a sudden-death playoff, capped a moment Canadian golf fans will never forget.

Nick Taylor Named Male Professional of the Year

A career-defining moment gave Canadian golf fans a feeling they have been waiting for since Mike Weir’s win at the 2003 Masters.

While the twenty-years in-between saw quite a few notable Canadian performances – no year had been more prominent than 2023.

Along with Taylor’s win at Oakdale Golf and Country Club, Mackenzie Hughes captured the Sanderson Farms Championship, Adam Svensson broke through for his first PGA TOUR title at The RSM Classic, and Corey Conners won the Valero Texas Open for the second time. Adam Hadwin also added three runner-up finishes this past season.

Of course, it was Taylor’s win that stood out and makes him our Player of the Year, as voted by GJAC members. 

Brooke Henderson named Female Professional Player of the Year

Once again, the most decorated Canadian professional player collected more than enough votes among GJAC members to be named the Female Professional of the Year.

Brooke made Canadians proud (which she has done perennially in her career) with an early-season win and 10 top-20 finishes on the LPGA Tour, including a runner-up at the Evian Championship.

Ashton McCulloch named Male Amateur of the Year

With a win at the Canadian Amateur Championship and a runner-up finish at the Ontario Amateur Championship, McCulloch had a standout 2023 summer in Canada following a notable spring season south of the border at Michigan State University.

The five-stroke win at the Canadian Amateur Championship was the biggest victory of the Kingston, Ontario product’s career to date as he is now mid-way through his Junior season with the Spartans.

Savannah Grewal named Female Amateur of the Year

Savannah Grewal capped off a historic collegiate career at Clemson University with a victory at the Cougar Classic in Charleston – finishing her final season as a first-team All-ACC team member with a 71.77 stroke average, best in school history.

Following a tremendous 2023 amateur season, Grewal recently turned professional and is one of the newest members of the LPGA Tour, finishing T10 at the final stage of Q-School.

The National Golf Course Owners Association Canada (NGCOA Canada) and the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association (CGSA) have announced an important new program which will extend further support and recognition to facilities for sustainability and climate action.

This long-term project is being delivered by the two Canadian associations in collaboration with the GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation, which is the international not-for-profit entirely dedicated to establishing golf as a leader in this field.

Core components of the initiative include:

• Free provision of GEO’s OnCourse Program for sustainable golf facilities and course management
• Access to annual Sustainable Golf Scorecards and Carbon Footprints
• Communications strategies that spotlight golf’s positive environmental stewardship
• Creation of a valuable industry data bank to support golf’s positive story
• Annual awards and internationally accredited certification
• Aligned strategies, goals and member support from both NGCOA Canada and CGSA 

“The rapid movement in sustainability is fundamentally critical to the future of golf, and in particular the ability to successfully operate golf courses”, stated Jeff Calderwood, CEO of the NGCOA Canada. “This initiative delivers new solutions supporting management efficiency, the popularity of our game throughout Canada, golf’s positive brand, and the long-term profitability of our golf businesses.”

“Climate change and loss of biodiversity are concerns across society and, as land managers, we have an important role to play,” added Dustin Zdan, President of the CGSA. “This program provides recognition for the stewardship work that our superintendents deliver, while our industry demonstrates to society and governments that golf is an effective environmental leader.” 

The GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation has been supporting golf in more and more countries around the world each year. Jonathan Smith, executive director of GEO, was very supportive of expanding their support in Canada. 

“Congratulations to the NGCOA Canada and CGSA for stepping forward and demonstrating this sustainability commitment,” said Smith. “The programs, tools and recognition are purely designed to help facility and association leaders to better review and quantify what they are already doing; to identify areas for further focus; to build more effective communication plans; and to accelerate their profile as a climate conscious community of golf businesses.”

In parallel to this golf course operations initiative, it should be noted that Golf Canada is also demonstrating leadership by working with partners such as GEO for sustainability programs at the RBC Canadian Open and the CPKC Women’s Open, as well as their own Amateur events. Collectively, the Canadian golf industry is positioning the sport and industry very effectively for the future of sustainability.

Golf course operators and superintendents are advised to watch for further details and participation opportunities being released by both the NGCOA Canada and CGSA.