• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Golf News Now

Canada's trusted source for immediate golf trade news

  • NEWS
  • INDUSTRY
  • HARD GOODS
    • CLUBS
    • BALLS
  • SOFT GOODS
    • APPAREL
    • FOOTWEAR
    • ACCESSORIES
  • BLOGS
    • HUTCH
    • Michael Schurman
    • Tiffany Gordon
    • Kevin Thistle
    • Guests
    • Kyle German (ARCHIVES)
  • VOICES
  • TRAVEL
  • DIRECTORY
  • January 26, 2021
You are here: Home / BLOGS / Guests

John Gordon: Pete Chapman Didn’t Want Attention, But His Contributions Shouldn’t Be Forgotten

February 2, 2016 By GNN

Pete Chapman deserves to be remembered.

In the 1990s, Pete did too much to help develop the game of golf in the Georgian Bay area of Ontario that his recent passing should go all but unnoticed.

Pete died Jan. 20 in Toronto from advanced Parkinson’s Disease complicated by dementia. He was 76.

You can read the details of his adventurous and entertaining life in this obituary written by his wife and business partner Cyndy Winkler.

I didn’t know all the impressive details about Pete’s resume when I met him in the early 1990s. He didn’t tell me. He was a humble man. All I knew was that he loved golf.

He and Cyndy had just launched the Bay Area Golf Series tournament circuit. A couple of years later, they founded a regional monthly golf newspaper, Bay Area Golfing. I was very pleased when he asked me to write a regular column.

If his resume was impressive, he was more so as a person and supporter of the game.

Cyndy recalls visiting Pete’s brother in Boston around 1990 when Pete took notice of something called the “Boston Area Golfing Society.” “He was intrigued,” Cyndy says. “He said, ‘That’s a super idea! I think something like that would work for us.”

And it did. Unabashedly borrowing the acronym, BAGS, the Bay Area Golfing Series (soon to become the BAGS Tour) took off, eventually boasting about 600 adult competitors and 400 juniors.

It took a near-superhuman effort to keep both the tour and the newspaper afloat. I recall seeing Pete and Cyndy at every BAGS event, and frequently bumping into Pete as he dropped off bales of the latest issue of Bay Area Golfing at every golf course in the area. He never saw it as a job, even when there were barely enough hours in the day. “He loved going to the courses, visiting, selling ads, picking up tidbits,” says Cyndy.

When he got back home, he would write (with talent and flair) his feature and his “tidbits”, edit the contributors’ pieces, chase advertisers for their material (and payment), lay out the newspaper with Cyndy’s help, take it to the printers…and then get back on the road to drop off yet another issue.

As if that wasn’t enough of a workload, he came up with the idea of putting on regional golf workshops with top-notch presenters, which were held for several years at Brooklea Golf and Country Club in Midland, Ont.

As time passes, the memories of Pete and Cyndy’s contributions to golf in the Georgian Bay area have faded.

And that is too bad.

They deserve better.

FILED: Guests

Related Posts

No related posts.

Primary Sidebar

Poll

Do you plan to check out this week's virtual PGA Merchandise Show?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Recent Comments

  • Michael Schurman on Industry Notes: A Call From Down Under To Eliminate Golf Entirely, Golf Canada Begins 2021 On A Blue Note And More
  • Brad Adams on NGCOA Reports Major Increases In Revenue And Rounds, Year To Date And In October
  • Jeremy Hall on Video Chat: Kevin Thistle, PGA of Canada, On Making Golf Courses Accessible In Winter

GNN INSIDER

All of the up to date news and information effecting the Canadian golf industry delivered right to your inbox ...

TRAVEL

Link: Snowbirds Waiting Before Making Final Call On Trips To The U.S.

Insurance, closed borders, quarantines and methods of transportation are just some of the concerns for snowbirds who usually travel to the

  • Link: Pandemic Has “Significant Impact” On Royal Portrush Overseas Bookings
  • Video: What To Expect From Travel When Restrictions Are Eased

RECENT POSTS

Industry Notes: Awards Night Approaching, Henderson’s Top 10s And More

Arnold Mclean Jr., Lorraine Golf Club, 1947-2021

Mizuno Introduces Its Next Generation ST Series Of Metal Woods

Mizuno Adds Three More Models To M.CRAFT Putter Line

Cobra Teams With Fowler On RF Proto Irons

Footer

GNN

  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

BLOGS

  • Hutch
  • Guests
  • Kyle German
  • Tiffany Gordon
  • Michael Schurman
  • Kevin Thistle

INDUSTRY

  • Industry
  • News Now
  • People

EQUIPMENT

  • Accessories
  • Apparel
  • Balls
  • Clubs
  • Footwear

On the Tweet

  • Industry Notes: Awards Night Approaching, Henderson’s Top 10s And More https://t.co/ljrpxyJl8Y Yesterday at 8:27 pm

Golf News Now | All Rights Reserved | 2020