After Almost A Century, Purcell Golf Getting A Makeover

By Gord Montgomery, Inside Golf

KIMBERLEY, British Columbia — After thousands of birdies and bogeys, and almost 100 years of good and bad swings, Purcell Golf, home of the Kimberley Golf Club, is undergoing a massive facelift. Actually, it’s more of a face mulligan in a manner of speaking.

You see, thanks to the magnificent Ponderosa pine that encompass the first nine holes and cast long shadows over this pristine Kootenay area track, the grass on the putting surfaces has met its maker. So, a new nine holes have been drawn up and they’ll move down toward the St. Mary’s River, adding more challenge, and sunlight, to those areas. And put a totally new face on an old facility’s opening stretch.

Maggie’s Tartan & Plaid A Match For Prostate Cancer Fundraiser

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

A small British Columbia company specializing in handcrafted tartan golf head covers and accessories is teaming with the Canadian Cancer Society’s Plaid for Dad campaign to help raise money for prostate cancer research.

Vernon residents Henry and Sandra Goy started Maggie’s Celtic Golf Collection. Recently retired and both avid golfers, the couple was looking for something to do during the off-season. “How it started is kind of an interesting story,” Henry says.

“My wife couldn’t find head covers she liked so we just said, ‘Okay, why don’t we see what we can do?’ We started dabbling with provincial tartans. We graduated from that to getting into clan tartans as well. We are retired and we love to play golf and this gave us something to do in the off-season.”

Maggie’s has recently partnered with the Canadian Cancer Society in support of its Plaid for Dad fundraising effort. “We have created an exclusive ‘Plaid for Dad’ tartan that is officially registered in The Scottish Register of Tartans and milled in Scotland in 100 percent wool for the sole use of the Canadian Cancer Society,” Henry says.

Plaid for Dad tartan items will include ties and scarves, essentials pouches, and driver and putter headcovers. Ten percent of all proceeds will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society and Maggie’s has pledged a minimum $5,000 donation. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Canadian men and that motivated the Goys to get involved in trying to raise money.

“I lost a friend to it when I lived in Winnipeg and when I lived in Calgary I had a friend who had surgery,” Henry says. “I have another friend here who I play golf with on a regular basis, who is battling it. From our perspective, it was a close connection.” Golf provides a tremendous opportunity to spread the message and express one’s ongoing support for prostate cancer awareness and research efforts.

“Golfers sporting the exclusive golf club headcover or putter cover or essentials pouch while out on the golf course would be [an] ongoing acknowledgement of support to prostate cancer awareness and helping to raise funds that will make a difference in the lives of men affected by prostate cancer.”

After knocking on many pro shop doors with limited success in the early days of their business, Maggie’s took its business online and that has boosted sales. “The online business generated some sales for us right across Canada so we can honestly say we have sold coast to coast,” Henry says.

Headcovers are the big seller and come in two styles — the more traditional keyhole style and the pipe style, which is more like a tube. The name Maggie’s is a testament to Sandra’s Scottish roots. Her middle name is Margaret and she had a couple of aunts named Maggie. “We talk about the tartans being a link to Scotland and Scotland being the home of golf, so there’s a connection there,” Sandra says.

All of Maggie’s products can be viewed on the company’s website, maggiescelticgolf.com. Information on the Canadian Cancer Society’s Plaid for Dad campaign can be found at plaidfordad.ca.

RBC PGA Scramble Announces 2022 Regional Final Host Locations Including Kelowna

The PGA of Canada is pleased to announce that some of Canada’s top courses have been secured as host sites for the 2022 RBC PGA Scramble Regional Finals.

Building on the return to Cabot Links for the National Final and the largest draw of players ever to participate in the program, the PGA of Canada is excited to announce that players who qualify from their local qualifier will head to one of the following Regional Final hosts:

August 11 – B.C. EAST – Black Mountain Golf Club – Kelowna, BC
August 13 – B.C. WEST – Morningstar Golf Club – Parksville, BC
August 15 – ONTARIO GTA – Maple Downs G&CC – Maple, ON
August 16 – ALBERTA NORTH – Wolf Creek Golf Resort – Ponoka, AB
August 16 – QUEBEC – Le Maitre De Mont Tremblant – Mont-Tremblant, QC
August 22 – SASKATCHEWAN – The Legends Golf Club – Warman, SK
August 22 – ONTARIO SW – FireRock Golf Club – Komoka, ON
August 29 – MANITOBA – Quarry Oaks Golf Course – Steinback, MB
September 1 – ALBERTA SOUTH – The Winston Golf Club – Calgary, AB
September 6 – ATLANTIC – Mill River Resort – Woodstock, PEI
September 6 – ONTARIO NE – Wildfire Golf Club – Douro-Dummer, ON

“We have some incredibly impressive venues that are set to play host to RBC PGA Scramble Regional Finals in 2022,” said PGA of Canada president Teejay Alderdice. “Players who make it through local qualifying are in for a very memorable day, especially with the improvements RBC and the PGA of Canada teams have worked to implement this year."

As the premier amateur team golf tournament in the country, the 2022 edition of the RBC PGA Scramble expects to once again see more than 10,000 golfers participate in over 150 local qualifiers throughout the country. With the increase in participation in 2021, many clubs benefited from additional revenue after hosting RBC PGA Scramble qualifiers. With continued efforts to make the RBC PGA Scramble inclusive for all players, there will again be a guaranteed spot for an all-female team at each Regional Final.

The PGA of Canada and RBC teams have been working on significant improvements to the program based on participant feedback. Specifically, a task force was organized to evaluate and identify potential improvements to the handicap stipulations. The Task Force took past participant feedback into account based on the program’s various player surveys. An announcement will be made with more information about the handicap amendments for 2022.

In addition, we will be announcing further RBC PGA Scramble partnerships that will greatly improve the value for participants and host facilities.

If you would like to register your facility to host a local qualifier, click here. The registration deadline for courses to register themselves as a local qualifying destination is April 16, 2022.

Player registration is set to open April 4th.

For more information about the RBC PGA Scramble, visit www.rbcpgascramble.com.

For more information, contact:

Brendan Stasiewich
Communications Manager
PGA of Canada
403-512-4625
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Ziemer’s B.C. Golf Notes: Rowe, Crisologo Earn PGA TOUR Canada Status; Bald Eagle Hopes To Reopen; Hadwin-Svensson Come Up A Shot Short In New Orleans; Lauren Kim Just Misses U.S. Women’s Open Berth; Stinson Tops Chilliwack Field

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Lawren Rowe and Chris Crisologo have punched their tickets to the PGA TOUR Canada circuit and several other British Columbians will be hoping to follow suit.

Rowe, a former University of Victoria standout, and Crisologo, who had a stellar collegiate career at Simon Fraser University, both earned a solid status for the upcoming season at a PGA TOUR Canada qualifying school at The Home Course in DuPont, Washington.

That was Q-school No. 6. The seventh and final Q-school goes at Crown Isle Golf Resort in Courtenay.

The long list of British Columbia participants at Crown Isle includes, among others, Jared du Toit of Kimberley, Zach Anderson of Nanaimo, Victoria teen Jeevan Sihota, Trevor Yu of Vancouver, Yi Cao of Delta, John Mlikotic of Kelowna, and Riley Wheeldon of Comox.

Rowe, who now plays out of Squamish Valley Golf Course, finished solo second at The Home Course, where he closed with a three-under 69 to finish at 11-under. “I birdied 10 and 11,” Rowe said. “I had a bogey on nine, and I was sour making the turn. It was nice to come out with birdies there.

“It will be nice to be in Canada. Last summer I was on the Forme Tour, so I was back and forth to the States a lot. It will be a little less stressful travelling throughout Canada. I’m looking forward to it.”

Crisologo started the final round outside the top nine, where he needed to finish to gain good status. He knew he had to make some birdies and did just that. The Marine Drive Club member closed with a 5-under 67 which was the low round of the day and finished in a two-way tie for seventh.

Crisologo rattled off four straight birdies starting on the third hole. “It was a good stretch of holes,” he said. “My ball-striking kept me afloat and I did make a long, opportunistic birdie putt on the par 3 fourth from the front edge of the green — probably a good 45 feet, I wasn’t expecting it to go in. I’m excited to be going back to Canada and getting a full season on PGA TOUR Canada.”

Rowe and Crisologo are exempt through the tour’s first reshuffle, which is likely to come after the first five or six events. If they play well early, they should be able to play a full schedule. The 11-event PGA TOUR Canada schedule begins with the Royal Beach Victoria Open, which goes June 2-5 at Uplands Golf Club in Victoria.

ON POINT: It has been a lonely couple of years for Rick Hoole, the course superintendent at Bald Eagle Golf Club in Point Roberts. Hoole has been Bald Eagle’s lone employee since the course closed in the early spring of 2020 due to COVID-19 and border restrictions. He finally got some good news recently as ownership informed him that it wants to reopen the course. Now all Hoole has to do is find a crew to help him do that. 

“It’s been crazy,” Hoole said of the past two years. Hoole’s job has been to keep the course alive. “Basically, I’ve just tried to take care of the greens,” he said. “I had a small budget and I had some volunteers to help me with cutting the rough... I have got maybe six greens that are in tough condition, but with any luck, we can get them back in shape.” 

Finding staff is challenging. “In Point Roberts, it’s especially hard to find a crew,” he said. “I had a crew of eight guys. I’ll be lucky to get five right now. So it’s really hard to determine what date we are going to open. The good news is we are going to open. We are aiming for June 1.” Hoole acknowledges that ownership could decide to try and sell the course. “That is still a possibility,” he said. “They were [hemming] and hawing the whole time and I think they finally came down to their business sense that it’s better to have an open golf course than a closed one.”

ADAMS OUT: The two Adams missed the cut in The Big Easy. Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin and Adam Svensson of Surrey could only manage an even-par round of 72 in the alternate-shot format in the second round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and that left them at 7-under par and one shot shy of the cutline. Svensson will be joined by Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor and Roger Sloan of Merritt at the Mexican Open at Vidanta in Nuevo Vallarta. Hadwin is taking the week off.

’WACK WINNER: Kevin Stinson of Cheam Mountain held off a late charge by James Allenby of Langley Golf Centre to win the Vancouver Golf Tour’s Chilliwack Championship at Chilliwack Golf Club. Stinson opened the 36-hole event with a 10-under 62 and added a two-under 70 in the second round to finish at 12-under. Allenby made things interesting with an eight-under 64 on the final day to get to 11-under. Stinson earned $3,000 for the win, while Allenby took home $2,000. Royal Colwood’s Maxwell Sear finished third at 10-under and made $1,400.

SO CLOSE: Surrey’s Lauren Kim came close to earning a spot in the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open. The 16-year-old Kim, who is a member of Golf Canada’s national junior team, birdied three of her final five holes to complete a 36-hole qualifier at Meridian Valley Country Club in Kent, Washington, at 2-over par. That was just one shot behind medalist Kylee Choi of Murrieta, California. Only one spot was available at the Kent qualifier and Kim, who will begin her collegiate career at the University of Texas in the fall of 2023, did earn first alternate status. The U.S. Women’s Open is being played June 2-5 at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C.

JUST MISSED: Vancouver’s Michelle Liu and Angela Arora of Surrey competed at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship in Puerto Rico. Liu and Arora, both members of Golf Canada’s national junior squad, completed 36 holes in 1-under par, but missed the cut to advance to match play by two shots. Another Canadian team of Nicole Gal and Katie Cranston, both from Oakville, Ontario, were eliminated in the Round of 16.

NEW GM: Brad Pinnell is the new general manager at Vancouver Golf Club. Pinnell was general manager at Point Grey Golf & Country Club for several years before leaving to become GM at Osprey Valley Golf Club in Caledon, Ontario.

SFU SECOND: The Simon Fraser University men’s and women’s golf teams both posted second-place finishes at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The men finished 22 shots behind the winners from Western Washington University. Freshman Bailey Bjornson tied for second with a two-over total of 215. Western Washington also won the women’s title, beating SFU by 10 shots. Sophomore Natasha Kozlowski and junior Estee Leung tied for third to lead SFU players. The SFU men have qualified for the NCAA Regionals. They will play in the West/South Central Regional tourney, which goes May 5-7 in Pueblo, Colo.

PLAYOFF PAIN: Delta’s Dustin Franko and his University of Hawaii at Hilo teammates fell just short of winning the Pacific West Conference Championship in Litchfield Park, Arizona. Franko, who is completing his junior year, tied for third in the individual competition at 5-over par. His team lost the title in a playoff with Hawaii Pacific after both squads finished the event at 35-over par. The Hawaii-Hilo team also includes Richmond’s Keith Ng, who tied for ninth.

CHIP SHOTS: Big Sky in Pemberton opened its season on April 22. The three Whistler courses are still a couple of weeks away from opening. Whistler Golf Club is scheduled to open May 12 with Nicklaus North and Chateau Whistler opening the following day. Henry Lee of Coquitlam, Kaleb Gorbahn of Smithers, and Ziggy Nathu of Richmond all missed the cut at a PGA TOUR Latinoamérica event in Brazil.

Greg Moody Becomes New President Of British Columbia Golf

By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Greg Moody has a rather simple explanation for why he spends considerable time giving back to the game of golf. “I just enjoy volunteering,” Moody says. “I think you’re either born with a volunteer gene or you’re not.”

Moody clearly has his. A highly respected rules official and a longtime champion of junior golf, Moody is the new president of British Columbia Golf. Moody was officially elected by the BC Golf Board of Directors on April 3, 2022. He jokes that it is not a position he expected or coveted.

“I never aspired to this position,” says Moody, a North Vancouver resident who has been a member of Seymour Golf & Country Club since the mid-1980s. “I just like volunteering. This is something I started to do when I retired and I have especially enjoyed working with the kids.”

Moody has supported the game at the club, zone, and provincial levels. Just a year or so after becoming a Seymour member, Moody was persuaded to join the club’s board. He then became club captain and decided to try and do something about slow play at the course. 

“When you played at Seymour in the mid- to late-80s, if you teed it up after 10, it was five-and-a-half hours,” he says. “And I said, ‘That’s crazy.’”

Moody had read an article in a golf magazine about speed rating your golf course and with the help of a friend, who was a surveyor, he did just that. “My buddy brought his [surveying] wheel and we did a whole bunch of measurements from green to tee and things like that and we speed-rated at 3:47.

“I went to my committee and said, ‘We’re putting in a time clock and you’re getting 4:15 to play it.’ They said it won’t work, and I said, ‘It had better work because we’re doing it.’ So we put it in and it did work. I was one of the first guys to use a time clock.”

Moody has spent countless hours supporting the Zone 4 Junior Tour, which he now runs. Watching and helping kids develop their games has given him great satisfaction. “I enjoy seeing the Adam Svenssons of the world go to the PGA TOUR,” he says. “That is really neat.”

About 20 years ago, Moody was persuaded to get involved at the provincial level as a rules official. In recent years, he has been a fixture at many of British Columbia Golf’s championship events, serving as tournament and rules chair.

He has gained the respect of players as a straight-shooter who can calmly and clearly make rulings during tournament play. “The best part of the rules side is the people I have got to meet and work with,” Moody says. “It is a pretty neat fraternity.”

As Greg Moody Will Openly Admit, He Is First And Foremost A ‘Rules Official.’ (Image Credit Jurgen Kaminski/BC Golf)

Through his work in Zone 4 and on the Zone Council, Moody earned a spot on British Columbia Golf’s Board of Directors about four years ago. Kris Jonasson, the chief executive officer of B.C. Golf, says Moody is eminently qualified for his new position.

“He has served on the Zone Council, he has served on the Championship Committee, he has been the finance chair for the last two years, so he has a really solid understanding of everything the association does,” Jonasson says.

“And Greg has done course set-up and rules for a number of years at several of our events, including the B.C. Amateur, and he is extremely well regarded for the quality of the way he sets up championship golf courses. He is well known to the players.” 

Moody succeeds Michelle Collens, who will remain on the board as past president. Collens is the new chair of what is known as the Provincial Council, which serves as a liaison between the provincial associations and Golf Canada. As chair of the Provincial Council, Collens will also sit on Golf Canada’s Board of Directors. 

“It’s a tough act to follow because Michelle is brilliant,” Moody says. “She is a very smart lady and Golf Canada is going to love having her. She is going to be very good for that board.”

Moody also knows he has a strong board to work with at British Columbia Golf. At the March 30th AGM, Hugh Wong of Kelowna, Samuel Oliphant of Vancouver, and Christina Proteau of Port Alberni were new additions to the board. “I give Kris credit for going out in the community and finding people with specific skill sets and diversifying the board,” Moody says. “It’s no longer just a bunch of golfers.”

As president, Moody will represent British Columbia Golf at various events. He’ll serve as non-playing captain of the B.C. team at the PNGA Lamey Cup in early May at Bellingham Golf & Country Club and work as a rules official at the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship at the Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland.

Moody will also continue to work some events in British Columbia. He will serve as the rules chair for this summer’s B.C. Amateur Championship at Christina Lake Golf Club and will also work the Canadian Amateur Championship which is being held at Point Grey Golf & Country Club in Vancouver and co-hosted by his home club of Seymour in North Vancouver.

And Moody, of course, will continue to run the Zone 4 Junior Tour. “I really enjoy that aspect of it,” he says. “I like watching the kids progress. I have got my four-year-old grandson out to the course. He doesn’t have a clue, but he asks me can we go hit golf balls. And I always say, absolutely. It’s awesome.”