This week marks my first full year on the job since joining the PGA of Canada. I didn’t officially start until Nov. 1, but I did travel to Cabot Links/Cabot Cliffs last year for the national final of the RBC PGA Scramble, which gets underway Thursday in Inverness, N.S. If there’s one thing that stands […]
A Stretch Of Warm Weather Would Help Calgary At Least Get Their Courses Put To Bed
Watching what was happening in Calgary with all the snow that fell earlier this week reminded me of something that happened when I was working at Angus Glen in Markham, Ont., back in the late‘90s. The snow came early and it never left. Our superintendent, the late Ernie Amsler, did something that I had never […]
Better To Be Proactive Before Something Unforeseen Happens Than Reactive Once It Does
We’ve recently held some of our biggest tournaments, including the PGA Championship of Canada and the DCM PGA Women’s Championship of Canada and we want to make those events and the others on our schedule best in class. The same hold true for education and on January 1, we’ll see some new initiatives in education. […]
Let’s Ride This Positive Wave In Golf Into The Future
It’s a great time for golf in Canada. In the past few weeks, we’ve heard about the RBC Canadian Open going to Hamilton Golf and Country Club next year and moving to new dates on the PGA Tour schedule. Earlier this week, it was announced that CP had extended its sponsorship of the CP Women’s […]
From My Own Experience, Hosting The CP Women’s Open Is An Experience You Won’t Forget
With the CP Women’s Open scheduled to be played next year at Magna Golf Club in Aurora, Ont., it returns to the Toronto area for the first time since the LPGA Tour visited in 2001 at Angus Glen, when I was working there. Looking back, I was amazed by the organization. That was the first […]
PGA Of Canada Initiative At Next Month’s RBC Canadian Open Will Support Golf In Schools
As part of our partnership with Golf Canada, the PGA of Canada is taking part in an initiative at the RBC Canadian Open in which members and their friends and others can watch next month at Glen Abbey from a skybox. The reason that we’re doing it is that every dollar of profit will go […]
There Are New Initiatives Coming Soon And There Will Be No Such Thing As A Bad Idea
PGA of Canada president Mark Patterson is really excited and motivated in his new role and already in his first week, he was working on new initiatives. I think we have a great board and group of officers moving forward, as was the case last year, and I see the PGA of Canada becoming more […]
Individuals/Companies/Golf Courses Responded To National Golf Day On Their Own Initiative
The planning for next year’s National Golf Day actually began on the day before this year’s event took place. We’ll have a conference call and we’re looking to get together in September. We’ve all been tasked to come up with thoughts and ideas going forward and the September meeting will be a great time to […]
National Golf Day Was Created To Raise Awareness Of The Positive Aspects Of The Game
When I arrived on Parliament Hill in Ottawa for the recent National Golf Day, I didn’t know what to expect. We weren’t asking for anything specific, just to create awareness, not only with golfers, but with MPs and other government officials. We went with talking points from our economic study to highlight how much golf […]
Steve Wood Brought Continuity, Commitment And Made A Big Contribution To PGA Of Canada
With the PGA of Canada’s annual general meeting taking place Thursday at St. Boniface Golf and Country Club in Winnipeg, Mark Patterson of the Harbor Golf Club and Resort in Elbow, Sask., takes over as president, replacing Steve Wood. Steve was on the board when I became a national director for Ontario, so he’s been […]