AJ Armstrong of St. Albert got off to a quick start on day one of the 2018 Sun Life Financial Alberta Mens Amateur Championship.

He opened his mens amateur campaign with an eight under par 64 that included 7 birdies, an eagle and a single bogey.

Armstrong, a senior at Washington State University, was the second group off of the 10th tee in the morning wave of the draw.

AJ Armstrong of St. Albert was on fire today at RedTail Landing opening with a sizzling eight under 6⃣4⃣ ? to lead by three currently at the #abmensam

Leaderboard: https://t.co/Jvs8RCtOgN pic.twitter.com/W1tDeX4QrV

— Alberta Golf (@Alberta_Golf) July 16, 2018

He took advantage of the morning conditions getting off to a hot start with an eagle three on the par 5 11th hole and backed that up with birdies on 12 and 13 to start his round four under par through four holes.

He cooled off mid-round while temperatures in Nisku, AB heated up to 29 degrees.

After a bogey on his eighth hole of the day he took advantage of his back nine shooting a bogey-free, five under par 31.

The WSU Cougar finished the day three shots clear of fellow competitors Justin Nagy of Henderson Lake Golf Club, Jacob Thomas of the Edmonton Country Club and Geoff McKay of Lewis Estates.

Thomas, who played in the afternoon wave in the heat of the day, was one of two players to go bogey-free in the first round of the championship.

Armstrong, now a member at Windermere G&CC, was the low amateur earlier this season at the 2018 SVR Alberta Open. As a result of that finish he earned one of three positions on Team Alberta for the Morse Cup competition at the 2019 Pacific Coast Amateur Championship.

Leaderboard

Round 2 Tee Times

Steven Lecuyer wins the 2010 Sun Life Financial Alberta Mens Amateur Championship at RedTail Landing GC

Alberta’s best golfers will converge at RedTail Landing to compete for Alberta’s top prize over 72 holes

Just under 250 players attempted to qualify for the 2018 edition of the Sun Life Financial Alberta Mens Amateur Championship. Of those aspirants, 120 of them comprise the final field that will compete next week in hopes of adding their name to the history books. Defending champion Brett Hogan has turned professional which leaves the door wide open for the crop of competitors.

“We are looking forward to getting back to RedTail for the 2018 championship,” said Brooke Kollesavich, Alberta Golf’s Competitions Assistant and this week’s Tournament Director. “They last hosted the Mens Am in 2010 and if we get anywhere close to the drama that ensued during that final round and playoff then we will be ecstatic.”

Kollesavich goes on to add that “the field at RedTail is extremely strong which will make for a great competition. Quota positions for the Canadian Am will be in high demand for the top contenders.”

KEY INFO

Dates: July 16-19

Course: RedTail Landing Golf Club

Yards/Par: 6,881 yards/72

Field: 120

2017 Champion: Brett Hogan (@bretthogan3)

Format: 72 holes of stroke play competition; cut to low 60 players and ties after 36 holes

Social: #abmensam

NOTABLES

• AJ Armstrong – 2018 SVR Alberta Open Low Amateur
• Jordan Irwin – 2016 Alberta Mid Amateur Champion
• Brian Laubman – 2004 Alberta Mens Amateur Champion
• Brandon Markiw – 2018 Alberta Mid Amateur Champion
• Patrick Murphy – 2015 Alberta Match Play Champion
• Tyler Saunders – 2014 Alberta Mens Amateur Champion
• Kevin Temple – Three time Alberta Mid Amateur Champion (2007, 2010, 2015)
• Max Sekulic – 2017 Alberta Junior Boys Champion and 2018 Mens Amateur Runner-Up

LOOKING BACK

RedTail Landing first hosted the Mens Amateur in 2010. The event was won by Steven Lecuyer who shot a final round 67 before eventually winning on the fourth playoff hole over Andrew Funk when he rolled home a 70-foot uphill birdie putt to put a giant exclamation mark on a comeback thriller.

Last year Brett Hogan defeated Max Sekulic in a thriller playoff finish for his second Men’s Amateur title:

Your 2017 @SunLifeCA #ABMensAm Champion ?? @bretthogan3 ?

Read the full story of the dramatic playoff finish?: https://t.co/JI9vZULgD0 pic.twitter.com/E2YJrHzJFu

— Alberta Golf (@Alberta_Golf) July 21, 2017

HISTORY

The Alberta Mens Amateur Championship was first contested in 1908. Sun Life Financial has been a proud sponsor of the event since 1991.

2010 – Steven Lecuyer

2011 – Scott Stiles

2012 – Riley Fleming

2013 – Riley Fleming

2014 – Tyler Saunders

2015 – Brett Hogan

2016 – Evan Holmes

2017 – Brett Hogan

FAST FACTS

• The champion will earn the final position on the Team Alberta for the Morse Cup for the 2019 Pacific Coast Amateur Championship. They will join the previously qualified 2018 Alberta Match Play Champion (Brendan MacDougall) and the low amateur at the 2018 SVR Alberta Open (AJ Armstrong)
• The top three competitors at weeks end will make up Team Alberta for the Willingdon Cup competition at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship at Duncan Meadows GC & Pheasant Glen GR in Duncan & Qualicum Beach, British Columbia. There are a total of 24 quota positions available for the Canadian Amateur. There are also 5 quota positions available for players aged 25 and over for the Canadian Mid Amateur.

ABOUT THE COURSE

RedTail Landing is a must-play course whether you reside in Edmonton, or are just visiting Alberta. Located just moments from the south side of Edmonton, and minutes from Leduc at the Edmonton International Airport, the course has been masterfully crafted by the world renowned team of Puddicombe Golf with many links-style features. The Clubhouse overlooks our state-of-the-art 19 acre learning facility that features 65,000 sq. ft. grass teeing area, five practice bunkers, three putting and two chipping greens.

More information on the RedTail Landing Golf Club can be found here.

ABOUT THE SPONSOR

Sun Life Financial has served Canadians for 150 years. With an array of products and services, Sun Life is able to offer trusted solutions for customer’s needs. Beyond business, Sun Life is committed to operating in a socially responsible way and acting as a good corporate citizen. Sun Life Financial has been a dedicated sponsor of the Sun Life Financial Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship for 28 years.

MEDIA

• First Round Pairings

• Championship Information

• Flickr Albums

There is one official site for this summer’s Sun Life Financial Alberta Men’s Amateur: RedTail Landing. But when the players post their final scores they will probably feel like they have played four different courses.

“Every time you play it, even on back-to-back days, it can feel like a completely different course,” said RedTail Landing head professional Joshua Davison.

The big reason is simple: the wind.

“The prevailing wind is from the north-west. But if the wind switches, which it often does out here, and comes from the south-east it can be a two-to-three club difference.

“Nobody gets bored at RedTail.”

A $6-million links-style project designed by Puddicombe Golf which opened in 2003 – just in time to host that years’ Alberta Open – the course’s chameleon-like variety is also accentuated because of the five very distinct tee boxes which range from 5,500 yards all the way to a staggering 7,300.

Davison expects the course will play closer to 7,000 yards for the Amateur. “In all likelihood it will be a hybrid of our black and blue tees,” said Davison, who has been on board at RedTail from the beginning and has been the club’s head pro since 2009. “That will give the lads more than enough of a test.”

At its sternest, RedTail Landing can be a beast. But Davison doesn’t want to see that happen for the Amateur.

“Some courses toughen their layouts for tournaments – making the course as tough as possible. But I’m of the opposite frame of mind and Alberta Golf and I are on the same page regarding this approach to course set-up.”

“I’d like to see it set up so the guys can light it up. I’d love to see something like 15-to-20 under par win it. That would be awesome.”

“We’re not going to hide the pins or anything like that. But we’re not going to put every pin in the center of the greens either; they will all be accessible placements.”

“You don’t want the general public to see high scores; I don’t want anyone thinking that this course is impossible or get the idea that it’s so tough that only the best can play it.”

“There are different kinds of tough,” Stuart Hendley, a multiple international and Canadian Tour winner, prior to winning the 2003 Alberta Open. “There is gimmicky tough, unfair tough and then there is RedTail, which is just tough. It’s tough but it’s fair. There isn’t anything gimmicky about it. Not one weak hole.”

“It will be fair just as it is for our clientele on an everyday”, concurred Davison.

Going low at RedTail isn’t easy. Especially if the wind howls the way it can. But with its generously wide fairways and perfectly manicured greens – “if you hit your putt on line it’s going to go in,” said Davison – it is possible as James Love demonstrated when he shot a course-record 64 in the 2005 Alberta Open – a score which was equaled by Royal Mayfair assistant professional Mike Belbin in the 2015 Alberta Assistants Championship.

“I’ve always liked RedTail but then I’ve always liked Puddicombe designs,” said Belbin. “It gives you a bit of everything and it tests every part of your game. It doesn’t force you to lay up off the tee; you can hit driver on most of the holes.

“The Par 3s are probably the most difficult part of the course.”

A solid test of golf from start to finish with great variety and not a single cookie-cutter hole, RedTail Landing is also home to what was easily the favorite hole in an ‘Edmonton Journal’ survey of 40 Edmonton golf pros and managers: No. 11 which has been nicknamed Oceans 11 because you have to go over water twice – first off the tee box and then again on the approach to the green.

“No. 11 is a great Par 5,” Jagare Ridge head pro Tyler Rumpel said in that survey.

“It’s reachable in two for the long hitters. But you’ve got all the water to cross off the tee with fescue on the right and fescue on the left. Then there’s the approach to a well-bunkered green with more water in front of the green.”

“No. 11 is so memorable,” said Davison. “It’s the absolute definition of risk/reward and begins with the tee shot – how much of the water do you want to bite off? Then, if you hit a good drive do you dare go for it in two?”

Davison said No. 11 is the start of their course’s Amen Corner.

“No. 12 is a great Par 3 over water and over sand. The green is wide but shallow.

“Then you get to No. 13 which has a split fairway with a massive water hazard in the middle. Left is the easier tee shot but leaves a more challenging approach where you have to fly the bunkers and land it soft which is certainly possible because the greens hold nicely. Right is tougher but leaves a straight-in approach. Another risk/reward hole.”

“RedTail has always been one of our favourite designs,” said Grant Puddicombe, managing director of Puddicombe Golf which has been involved in close to 100 golf course projects in Canada, the U.S., New Zealand and Japan.

“What you see is what you get and golfers like that. It’s entire character is unique.”

Getting the July 16-19 Sun Life Financial Alberta Amateur is a “feather in the cap” for RedTail according to Davison.

“We’ve hosted the Alberta Open five times and held PGA of Alberta events like the Alberta Assistants.

“But the Alberta Amateur is Alberta Golf’s most prestigious event. It’s their baby; it’s their big event of the season. Only the best amateurs play in it.”

“I’m really excited to be able to hop on board. I know Alberta Golf is looking forward to playing RedTail and we’re very proud to be hosting this event. From the owners to the food and beverage staff we’re all very thrilled.”

RedTail hosts the Mens Amateur

This article was originally published in the 2018 edition of The Alberta Golfer Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.

Jaclyn Lee of Calgary is one of the top young female amateur golfers in the country.

Born and raised in Calgary the 20-year-old is a member of the Glencoe Golf and Country Club. She is a two-time Alberta Amateur champion and a member of the Canadian National Women’s Amateur team.

In 2013, she tied for fourth in the Canada Summer Games and tied for eighth at the Canadian Junior Championship. She won the 2014 and 2016 Alberta Amateur titles and tied for 15^th in the World Junior Girls. She’s competed in the last four Canadian Amateur championships, finishing 17^th last year and tied for 59th in the LPGA Canadian Open last year.

Question: How did you get into the game, and at what age?

Answer: I started playing golf in Kelowna when I was 10. We had a place there where we spent the summers and my parents (Stephan and Maria) wanted my sister (Carolyn, 22) and I to get into golf, which seemed like a natural family outing.

My parents didn’t really play, but they tried to get into it when we started. My dad did play a little before, but he wasn’t that good and when my sister and I got better they both stopped playing with us (laughs).

Q: Did you progress quickly? Were you a natural at the game?

A: To be honest I hated the game when I first started. I didn’t like it much as it was summer and I wanted to do things with my friends rather than golfing with the family. But there was a course marshal in Kelowna and he told Carolyn and I we should take it more seriously as we had a natural talent. He saw something special in us and said we should try to practice and take lessons and try to get better. I’m a hard worker no matter what I do and that transferred over to golf as well.

Q: So, when did you start to like the game?

A: I’d say around 12. I started playing tournaments when I was 11 and they scarred me. I didn’t like the thought of playing tournament golf. Playing in club championships was fine, but I felt a lot of pressure in tournaments, and that’s weird as I was 11 years old and what pressure do you have when you’re 11? But with the competition and everything I felt nervous, but I’ve grown to love the game and the challenges that it possesses. I’d say it’s a love-hate relationship but more love. There’s just something about it that makes you come back.

Q: Was there a time when you knew you were good at it?

A: I don’t think there was any specific time. I just kept working and practicing and doing my thing. Golf is something unknown and I don’t think you can feel comfortable and feel you’re really good. I think with golf you can always get better. I believe in myself but I never tell myself I’m really good and I should turn pro. I’ll keep working and see how far it will take me.

Q: You progressed quickly on the national scene and played in the LPGA Canadian Open last year. Was that possibly your career highlight so far?

A: It was one of my proudest achievements so far in making the cut and winning the Marlene Streit Award as low amateur. That award meant a lot as I know Marlene personally and she’s a great women and is always out supporting us. To get a medal in her name was really special.

Q: Did you have a home course advantage with the Open at Priddis Greens in Calgary?

A: No, I had never played Priddis before. But it was great playing in my home town and having everyone out supporting me.

Q: You’ve done well at the provincial level in both junior and amateur, is that something you can take pride in as well?

A: I was 17 when I first won the Alberta Amateur and I really went in with no expectations. I knew Jennifer Ha and she was always strong. She was dominating when I was just starting up and I looked up to her. But I managed to put together a couple good rounds and came through. That was another of my favorite memories.

Q: You’ve been competitive at the national level in the junior and ladies amateur, but never won. Is that a disappointment?

A: At the junior level I had to pull out my final year (two years ago) because of a wrist injury, which didn’t allow me to be at my best. Plus there’s a lot of good competition.

Q: You attend Ohio State University. Did you always want to get a scholarship south of the border?

A: I didn’t get into golf to get a scholarship, it just kind of happened that I progressed in the game and wanted to take it to the next level.

I chose Ohio State because of the coaching and practice facility. I know it’s a Northern school and snows there, but I’m used to having a bit of an off season. They also have a $6.5 million practice facility, possibly the best in the nation, so that made up for it being a bit chilly. Plus I wanted a school, not only for golf, but good academically.

Q: Academically you’ve done well being a two-time All-American scholar and OSU Scholar-Athlete and last year an Academic All-Big 10. As for golf, last year you were on the All-Big Ten second team and finished ranked in the top-100 nationally. You had three top-five finishes, five top-10s and eight top-25s. This season you won your first NCAA tournament. Are you pleased with your game there?

A: I didn’t start off well as a freshman, but I kept plugging along and finally received a NCAA medal this year. That’s a nice accomplishment and I still have a year-and-a-half remaining.

As for my statistics, I really don’t pay much attention. Not sure who keeps them.

Q: The last five years you’ve been with the Canadian Amateur Team, the first two on the Development Team. How important has that been for you?

A: It’s been an immense help in helping me grow as a person and my golf game. The Development Team helped prepare me for college in that you’re gone three or four days at a time and missing a lot of high school. You learn how to travel and take care of yourself and be responsible.

There was one time two of us had a flight cancelled in Chicago and that gave you a feel what life is like and you learn new skills.

Plus the support staff is amazing. I don’t have enough good things to say about (assistant coach) Ann Carroll and (head coach) Tristan Mullally. Both of them have impacted my game positively. There is so much I can learn from Tristan … so much knowledge. I trust him completely and we’re working on things with an end goal as to what I want to achieve. I believe my game has changed completely for the better.

Q: What would say are your strengths and weaknesses?

A: Ball striking is a strength. Always has been. I need to continue to work on my short game, but then also work on the long game as well. But yes, driving the ball is a strength.

Q: What about putting?

A: It’s OK and I’ve seen an improvement in putting this last fall, but you can never improve enough.

Q: Did you learn as much about the mental side of the game as the physical side with the National Team.

A: I’ve learned so much mentally and on the golf side. It’s great to have that support… you get a glimpse into what professional life is like.

Q: As a member of Team Canada you will have a busy summer, but what are your plans?

A: I haven’t really looked at my schedule yet, but I hope to compete in the World Championships in Ireland. The top three from our (four-person) team go and I’m gearing up for that.

I’m not sure if I will play in the Alberta Amateur or not, depending on what else is going on. But as member of Team Canada I will be in the Canadian Amateur.

Q: I understand you have a slight wrist injury, which you had a couple of years ago. How is that coming along?

A: I’ve been healthy the last couple of years, but I re-injured it in October in our third (NCAA) tournament of the season. Right now, I’m just nursing it back so I am healthy, but right now it’s wait and see.

Q: I’m sure you hope to be completely healthy by the busy summer. And will another berth in the LPGA open up?

A: It depends on who they take as well as on exemptions. I hope so but it’s up in the air.

Q: Is pro golf your ultimate goal?

A: For sure. I have another one and a half years before I graduate and there’s been some sort of a change in the process for Q-school, so not sure yet about that, but I’ll sort that out. I’d love to turn pro after college and see where it takes me.

Catching Up with Jaclyn Lee

This article was originally published in the 2018 edition of The Alberta Golfer Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.

The odds are staggeringly enormous, but John McCutcheon defied them in late June at the Derrick

“I tried to buy a lottery ticket on my way home from the course, but the machine was down,” said McCutcheon.

The odds against winning the Lotto 6/49 are 1 in 13,983,816.

The odds against hitting two holes-in-one round are 10 times that — about 1 in 144 million, according to Jim Murphy ofVegasInsder.com.

“It was kind of surreal — you don’t got looking for that situation — so there wasn’t pandemonium or anything like that,” said McCutcheon, 65, a 10-handicap golfer, who had one previous ace, at Wolf Creek in 2002.

“One member of our group ‘Captain’ James Busby emailed my wife, Bernadine, after the second ace and she came out to the course with five of our friends to watch me play the 18th hole.

“That’s when I just about it lost it. That’s when it was special.”

Starting on the back nine, McCutcheon’s first ace of the day came on No. 16 from 109 yards with a 52-degree wedge.

“The ball hit in front of the hole and then seemed to have stopped on the edge,” he said. “I bent down to pick up my tee, and when I looked up, it had fallen into the hole.”

The second hole-in-one — on No. 2 from 145 yards with an 8-iron — hit the green about three-and-a-half feet in front of the hole and rolled in.

For the record, McCutcheon shot a tidy 73.

SCENE

Two weeks ago, I wrote a two-part series on how to hit the ball farther and immediately received an email from Fort Saskatchewan’s Kevin Blenkhorn, who recently won the World Long Drive Masters division (45 and up) at Mesquite, Nev., with a 419-yard poke.

Blenkhorn, 47, offered his own take.

“There is way more to it than just swinging harder,” said Blenkhorn, 47, who was also runner-up in last year’s Volvick Open division, also at Mesquite.

“Club and ball speed are all important to hitting it long, but backspin is by far the most important factor. You can swing 150 miles an hour, but if your spin rate is 4,500 revolutions per minute, you won’t get the distance you would if your club head speed was lower and your spin rate was around 2,000.

“If you have too much backspin, the ball just rises and you won’t get very much roll. And hitting into the wind just kills it,” said the six-foot-five, 235-pounder they call the “Ice Man.’

Quite simply, Blenkhorn says if your impact at the ball is on the downswing instead of the upswing you are putting too much spin on the ball.

“I try to hit the ball just above the centre line, which is the best spot to control spin — 1,800 r.p.m. of backspin is about perfect for maximum carry and roll out. The best way to control spin is an inside-out swing and hitting the ball on the upswing. As we say in the Long Drive world, speed comes from the inside and up.

“And to reiterate one of the other pros you talked to getting fit for the right shaft is also key.”

• Two McLennan Ross Junior Golf Tour events to report on: At Innisfail Chase Bodoano, 18, birdied the first playoff hole to edge Broadmoor clubmate Mitch Desjarlais after both tied with 78s in the wind and the rain. And Forestburg’s Jace Shannon, only 14, won at Barrhead with a 78 — one better than Desjarlais, 17, who again had to settle for second.
• The Quarry’s Keith Whitecotton came from behind to take the PGA of Alberta’s Golf Supply House two-day event at Wolf Creek with rounds of 65-68 to nip Medicine Hat’s Dillon Batsel by one shot after Batsel had opened with a 62, one shot off the course record.
• Calgary’s Annabelle Ackroyd won the Alberta Junior at Sundre’s Coyote Creek, shooting 3-under for the three days. The Derrick’s Kaitlyn Wingnean finished third — qualifying for Canadian Junior — while another Derrick player, Jenna Bruggeman, tied for fifth.

NOTED

While they naturally pale next to McCutcheon’s theatrics, here are some more holes-in-one:

• Darren Syvenky aced No. 5 at Tofield with a great 3-wood from 199 yards.
• Joe Mayowski at Drayton Valley on Hole 13 — a 7-iron from 170 yards.
• At the Edmonton Country Club, guest Chris Buffi aced the downhill 11th hole from 175 yards with an 8-iron.
• Country Club member Cynthia MacDonald went to Victoria’s Cordova Bay for her hole-in-one: 113 yards with a 6-hybrid.
• At Highlands, Mike Bell aced No. 16 from 135 yards with a 9-iron.
• Two aces at the Edmonton Petroleum Club: Stephen Lines on No. 8 from 176 yards with a 7-iron and Connor Grimes on No. 13 with a PW from 124 yards.

Read the article from the Edmonton Sun here.

It was a final round shootout at Willow Park G&CC on a hot afternoon in Calgary.

Kat Kennedy of Okotoks outlasted Sydney Colwill of Arizona as both players went low on Wednesday shooting rounds of 66 and 67 respectively.

Kat Kennedy is your 2018 @SunLife Alberta Ladies Amateur Champion! Kat shot 6⃣6⃣ today @WillowParkGolf winning by 1⃣ shot over Sydney Colwill.

Check out the leaderboard for the final results ?https://t.co/WjDLz3XW3G pic.twitter.com/Iv1e5m47e3

— Alberta Golf (@Alberta_Golf) July 11, 2018

It’s Kennedy’s first provincial title after being on a number of interprovincial teams and claiming a win at the 2017 Canadian University/College Championship.

Kennedy also took home the Feef MacDonald trophy for the low gross round of the championship. Her final round 66 included 7 birdies and a single bogey. It is the new competitive course record at Willow Park.

Skyesong Alexis of Wetaskiwin won the Mid Amateur Championship by twelve strokes over Kali Gordon of Turner Valley G&CC. The Mid Amateur contest is for ladies over the age of 25.

Barbara Flaman of Windermere G&CC claimed the Mid Master Championship by three strokes over two veteran competitors, Andrea Kosa and Kim Carrington. The Mid Master contest is for ladies over the age of 40.

Jayla Kucy of Camrose won the award for overall low net. At age 12, Kucy was the youngest competitor in the field.

Leaderboard

Kat Kennedy, Kenna Hughes and Skyesong Alexis are Team Alberta for the 2018 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship, July 24-27th at Marine Drive GC in Vancouver, BC.

Extreme weather conditions proved challenging today at the Sun Life Financial Alberta Ladies Amateur Championship. The ladies had a three hour and fifteen-minute weather delay, resuming play shortly after their fifteen-minute warm up.

Skyesong Alexis shot 1 under par today for a score of 71 gaining on Scraba who shot a 73 in today’s round, tying up their scores. Both Alexis and Scraba will move to tomorrow’s final round leading the pack with Sydney Colwill and Kat Kennedy following closely. Both vying for the championship Colwill and Kennedy are sitting at an even par after the past two rounds only one stroke behind the leaders.

After extreme weather conditions delayed the round on day 2⃣ of the @SunLife Alberta Ladies Amateur Skyesong Alexis and Sydney Scraba are tied for the lead going into the final round! ?

Leaderboard?️: https://t.co/WjDLz3GkF6 pic.twitter.com/4OiT8wDsg8

— Alberta Golf (@Alberta_Golf) July 11, 2018

Tomorrow’s lead group will consist of Skyesong Alexis, Sydney Scraba and Sydney Colwill. With Kat Kennedy, Kenna Hughes, and Annabelle Ackroyd following right behind them trying to close the gap.

Leaderboard:

Golf is hard. Everyone that has played the game knows that. But now a program offered by Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada is making learning the game for newbies much easier thanks to an expanded coaching program.

Participants in the Community Golf Coach program can lend knowledgeable assistance by becoming competent in the skills required to give kids a great start in the game of a lifetime.

While there are many goals within the program, the main ones focus on growing the game by teaching youngsters the right way to step into the sport. They include topics such as safety and risk management, rules and etiquette, equipment, life skills, and ethical coaching.

Bill Murchison, the Director of Instruction at the Golf Canada Calgary Centre, who is an instructor with the Community Coaching program, said it’s a key part to ensuring young players get the proper start in the sport.

“The thing is with the golf professionals is as many as there are, this just gives us that many more people that are able to help at an entry level situation,” he noted, adding kids that reach high levels in hockey or other sports have generally started out with this same sort of community coach volunteers at the younger levels. “If we can expand the number of (trained) coaches we have, we’re obviously going to get to help more kids earlier.”

Alberta Golf, the provincial governing body of the sport, buys into the Community Coaching program in a big way, said the association’s executive director, Phil Berube.

“As an avid golfer, if you’re able to, and willing to give back the time, the program is awesome. It’s not meant to replace qualified instruction but rather complement qualified instruction. That’s the way we’re going to grow; it’s an approachable way to penetrate the market. It’s been embraced by the PGA members who have gotten involved with it,” along with the community coach volunteers.

One of those community volunteers is Lois Gilbertson. She has helped an untold number of youngsters get early hands-on training through unique ways outside of simply picking up a golf club and swiping away at hard-to-hit objects.

“Anybody can help anybody when it comes to coaching,” she began. “There are lots, and lots, and lots of kids out there,” who are looking for something to fill idle time. Gilbertson noted she just recently completed the Community Golf Coaching program and has worked with “probably over a thousand kids in just the last year.”

A course like this gives the youngsters a solid learning platform from the start and it’s done in a fun way so they don’t lose focus while learning, she continued.

“The way they do it now, it’s fun. The kids show up and they’re hitting (oversized) balls into nets with velcro on them, they’re doing whatever to get them involved. Most of the time it’s just wonderful. The kids just love it!”

“I used to think to myself, ‘Ah, I don’t know about that (sort of teaching idea). I teach golf. You use real clubs, real golf balls. Now, you just let them swing and have fun. It’s not a real club but as they get older you change,” to standard golf gear as skills improve.

As for what this gives the instructor, Gilbertson suggests that feeling of accomplishment for a coach in watching a young person’s love for the game grow is worth the weekend it takes to become recognized as a trained Community Golf Coach.

“It’s very exciting. When these kids actually know they can hit a ball it’s thrilling for them… but it’s even more thrilling for you! To see the smiles on their faces, like ‘Wow! I can do this!’ They love it and they want to come back and that’s very exciting!”

In closing, Murchison said the importance of this program to the club pros who have community coaching trained volunteers is indeed priceless.

“It’s so valuable. The club pro, by nature of the way the job has always been, there are never enough hours in the day to do what they love to do. And their favorite thing is to be out there with the kids because it’s so rewarding. The bottom line is they just don’t have enough hours so if they can have some people around that have a trained background, their support is just a bonus.”

Get Involved as a Golf Coach

This article was originally published in the 2018 edition of The Alberta Golfer Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.

Sixty-one ladies teed off this morning at Willow Park Golf and Country Club for the 2018 Sun Life Financial Alberta Ladies Amateur Championship. Out of the field of competitors comprised of many juniors, amateurs, mid ams, mid masters and a handful of seniors Sydney Scraba takes the lead after day one.

Scraba finished the day with a 2-stroke lead sitting at two under par. Fellow competitor Skyesong Alexis was close at her heels with an even par of 72.

The top three finishers after Tuesday and Wednesday’s rounds will make up the interprovincial team at the Marine Drive Golf Club, in Vancouver, British Columbia, July 24-27.

Sydney Scraba leads after day one at the @SunLife Alberta Ladies Amateur sitting at 2⃣ under par!⛳️

Check out the leaderboard here? https://t.co/WjDLz3GkF6 pic.twitter.com/ViKnIwhkAx

— Alberta Golf (@Alberta_Golf) July 9, 2018

LEADERBOARD:

Brett Hogan had just blasted a punch-shot from the trees during a playoff at the 2017 Sun Life Financial Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship and since a few of the spectators around the green — folks with a better view than he had — were “freaking out,” he figured the end result was pretty darn good.

Still, he wasn’t expecting this.

“Max (Sekulic) was dead-middle of the fairway, and he hit a great shot in there,” Hogan said, reflecting on that soggy sudden-death session at Ponoka Community Golf Club last July. “That green is kind of sloped down, so we couldn’t see which ball was which. I hit mine to three feet and he hit his to about 10 feet, but we didn’t know.

“He was up a bit ahead of me and he looked at my ball, and then he kept walking to go mark his ball. And I just couldn’t believe that I had hit it inside of him with that punch-shot.”

By that point, Hogan should have been expecting the unexpected.

It’s too bad that Golf Channel wasn’t filming the action that day, because this see-saw between Hogan and Sekulic was an instant classic.

“Even the last couple of holes before the playoff were pretty crazy,” said Hogan, a smooth-swinging member at Glencoe Golf & Country Club in Calgary and now a two-time winner of the Sun Life Financial Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship.

“Max hit a terrible shot on the second-last hole, a Par-3, and then he hits this unbelievable recovery to probably two feet and saves his par. I was plugged in a bunker on that same hole, and I saved my par.

“And then I remember on the last hole, I had about a five-footer to win because he’d just made this crazy 30-foot birdie putt to tie me if I missed. And I ended up lipping out my putt, so we had to go that playoff.

“Then, on the first playoff hole, he hits this unbelievable flop-shot to, like, two feet again when I thought he was dead and he ties me on that hole. And then, finally, I hit the punch-shot to three feet and somehow win that way.

“So it was a crazy finish. It was a lot of fun.”

Of course, the winner will always say that, but Sekulic also has fond memories of what turned out to be a near-miss.

“It was awesome. I mean, how many people get to experience that, where you get to play in the heat of the moment and knowing what’s at stake — a Pacific Coast Am spot and all this stuff that comes with it?” said Sekulic, who won the provincial junior title last summer at Coal Creek Golf Resort and carried that momentum into the Alberta Am the following week in Ponoka.

“It’s so much fun to play for all that. In the end, Brett hit better shots and ended up the winner. He got what he deserved there. But I didn’t give it to him. He earned that ‘W.’ So it was a lot of fun.

“In 2015, I think I missed the Alberta Amateur cut by six shots. So to be in a playoff for the win two years later, it was one of those looking-back moments. It’s good to see how far I’ve come.”

Hogan engraved his name on the provincial hardware for the first time in 2015 at Edmonton Petroleum Golf & Country Club, building a big lead and eventually finishing three shots better than the runner-up.

He also triumphed at the 2016 Alberta Open Championship at RedTail Landing, draining a chip-in on the final hole to seal a two-shot victory.

With his father Brian on the bag in Ponoka, Hogan made his move in the third round, sizzling to a score of 29 on the back nine — that’s two eagles, three birdies and four ho-hum pars — to trim Sekulic’s lead to two.

That set up an unforgettable final round.

Hogan was 5-under for the day when he arrived at the tee-box at No. 11, but he would give four of those shots back. Sekulic, meanwhile, continued to keep things close, then buried that birdie putt on the 72^nd assignment for a two-stroke swing.

Tie ball-game, with both signing for four-day tabs of 12-under 276.

A playoff — and punch-shot — would eventually determine the winner.

“I had almost that same shot from the same position in the first round, so I knew how to play it. It was a bit lucky that way,” Hogan said. “Going into the tournament, obviously you’re thinking you want to win and to be able to put myself in the position that I was on that last day, that was nice. It always makes it a lot more fun when you have a chance to win. Just battling it out with Max at the end, it was a great finish. That always makes for fond memories and makes it a lot more special.”

Now 24, Hogan will sign up for Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada qualifying in the spring, with plans to turn pro. If that’s the case, Sekulic should be considered the favourite at the 2018 Sun Life Financial Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship at RedTail Landing.

The long-hitting lefty from Rycroft, Alta., turns 19 this summer. He’s been a regular at Grande Prairie Golf & Country Club. Now, he’s just completed his freshman season with the men’s golf team at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.

“In golf, wins are hard to come by,” said Sekulic, who was also a representative of Golf Canada’s national development squad in 2017. “It’s awesome whenever you get the chance and hopefully the next time I’m in that position, I get it done.”

Hogan, a graduate of the University of Texas-San Antonio, promised his playoff opponent would benefit from that rainy-day heartbreak.

“I’ve been on the other side of that and, honestly, I think you learn a lot more from the tournaments that you lose than the tournaments you win,” he said. “It really stings in the beginning, but you learn a lot about yourself, how you handle the situation.”

“In our case, if I would have lost, I wouldn’t have looked at it like I gave it away. I don’t think he would feel like he gave it away. We both played well, and one of us played a little bit better in the end. I think it was a good learning experience for him, and I think he’s stronger and better because of it.”

Hogan, too.

If this was his farewell to the Alberta Amateur, the two-time champion from Calgary certainly ended on a high note.

There will, without a doubt, be times along the professional trail that he reflects on that punch-shot and on that playoff and on a superb performance in Ponoka.

“Obviously, it’s a different level, but I think you have to go with the same mindset — that any week you can beat anybody and anybody can beat you,” Hogan said. “I think the best way to look at it is it’s not that much different. Yeah, it’s the next level with better players, but you need to believe you can beat those guys and earn some of those same experiences that you’ve already had.

“It’s the next level but you can look back on what you’ve done to help you move forward.”

A Wild Ride

This article was originally published in the 2018 edition of The Alberta Golfer Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.