MILTON— Golf Ontario held its Annual General Meeting on April 22 at Rattlesnake Point Golf Club in Milton. At the AGM, the 2017 Board of Directors was announced along with President and Vice President.

Filling the role of President for 2017 will be John Gallinger (Meadowbrook Golf & Country Club), who says he is excited about the opportunity. “On one hand, it will be a little intimidating because I am following in the foot steps of a lot of great leaders. In my three years on the Board I have seen both Jim King and Chris Osborne who are both great leaders and charismatic speakers. So from that perspective, I hope I can live up to the standards they have set. On the other hand, I have lots of confidence. We have a great team, the staff, the Board, including three new members who bring a lot of unique life experience, so it is going to be a lot of fun. We have a lot of good things going on in golf and a lot of good things going on with Golf Ontario.”

Gallinger has served on the Golf Ontario Board for the past three year but has been involved with golf throughout his life. As a player, he played university golf at the University of Waterloo and continues to participate in Golf Ontario events to this day. He has sat on numerous Golf Ontario committees including: Finance, which he also Chaired, Governance and Junior Golf Drive. Gallinger has also represented Ontario at the Golf Canada Provincial Council and served on the Golf Canada Foundation Board of Directors.

What makes Gallinger a great fit for the role might be his professional experience. Now running his own consulting company, Gallinger previously served as CEO for Standardbred Canada, a national not-for-profit association. “I have been in Golf Ontario Executive Director Mike Kelly’s position and know what it is like to run the organization and report to a board of volunteer members,” added Gallinger

As for his goals for the coming year, Gallinger realizes that all accomplishments must be a team effort. “My goal would be, if I can take the words from Chris Osborne, to leave it (Golf Ontario) in a better place than it was when I came in. I recognize that is not just me; it is the board, the staff and everyone working collectively. No one person makes a big change, so I see my role as being the facilitator of the group and I hope to be successful in that role.”

Taking on the role of Vice President will be Tim Cain (Glenn Abbey Golf Club). Cain joined the board last year and has already shown his commitment to Golf Ontario in moving into the new role.

Returning to the Board in 2017 are: Howard Atkinson (Goodwood Golf Club), Anthony Dunn (The Marshes), Jason Harris (Orr Lake Golf Club), Mark Hayes (Rattlesnake Point Golf Club), Ivy Steinberg (Granite Golf Club), and Kent Trainor (GO Public Player). Chris Osborne will serve as Past President.

New to the board this year will be: Jay Aspin (GO Public Player), Barbara Beaudoin (Hamilton Golf & Country Club), and Susan Vail (Dunnville Golf & Country Club).

Golf Ontario would like to welcome the new board members as well as thank the departing members: Peter Zakarow (Beacon Hall GC), Carol-Ann Goering (Toronto Golf Club) for their service.

UXBRIDGE— Golf Ontario is pleased to announce the 2018 St. Kitts Playcation, January 13-20, 2018. Entering its third year, the Golf Ontario St. Kitts member trip continues to grow and provide Golf Ontario members and guests with a unique experience to one of the Caribbean’s newest and most exciting golf destinations.

“The 2017 trip was great!” said guests Paul and Anita Pouliot of London, Ontario. “We met lots of nice people, played some beautiful golf courses and had lovely weather. We had a really good time and were happy we went.”

Building on the successful format in the previous two trips, the 2018 St. Kitts Playcation will be similar, but as guests will tell you, Golf Ontario always has a few surprises planned.

The trip will once again feature the St. Kitts Invitational, a friendly two-round, two-person team, modified net stableford tournament at the Royal St. Kitts Golf Club. In addition to the tournament rounds, guests receive a practice round and a fourth round to be used at their leisure. The trip also includes a full day on the sister island of Nevis, which includes golf at the fabulous Four Season Resort Golf Course.

Luxury accommodations for the trip are provided by the Marriott St. Kitts. In addition, guests receive a welcome dinner at one of St. Kitts’ top restaurants, as well as an awards dinner, hosted by the Marriott, after the completion of the Invitational.

Cost of the trip is $5900 CAD, per couple, which includes round trip flight out of Toronto’s Pearson Airport.

For more information visit gao.ca/stkitts or contact Jason Hraynyk (jhryanyk@gao.ca or 905-852-1101 ext. 233).

For booking, please contact Vinnie Vatts at TravelAir (vinnie@etravelair.com or 416-964-1950 Ext 100).

View photos from the 2017 St. Kitts trip here!

 Organizers looking for volunteers and donations

PEEL REGION — Peel Regional Police have teamed up with Special Olympics Ontario to host this year’s Provincial Summer Games taking place July 13-16 in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon. The games will feature five sports, one of which will be golf. The golf competition is set to take place at the Caledon Country Club. The games will showcase almost 800 athletes travelling from all corners of the province.

The Special Olympics Provincial Games are a significant financial commitment for any host community and these games are no exception. Organizers are looking for one-time donations or donations made through the Adopt an Athlete program that will help cover accommodations, meals, transportation, venues and other operational costs associated with making these games possible. Since Special Olympics Ontario is a privately funded charity, every donation helps.  The organizing committee is also seeking more than 600 enthusiastic volunteers who want to make a difference in their community while having a fun and a truly rewarding experience.

Special Olympics is an organization dedicated to enriching the lives of individuals with an intellectual disability through active participation in sport. Special Olympics delivers world-class sports in over 170 countries. It encompasses year-round opportunities in sport, competition, health, education and inclusion. It provides athletes a place to attend where they feel important and nothing else matters. It is a place where these athletes can showcase their dedication and commitment while simultaneously building social skills and independence.

To donate, through the Adopt an Athlete program or to get involved by volunteering please visit: www.Peelgames2017.com.

The Parent Child Invitational returns to Granite Golf Club on June 17, 2017. The event is open to all Parent/Child teams and proceeds benefit the Big Brothers/ Big Sister Clubs of Toronto and North Durham. For more information, or to register a team contact James Clark: 905-642-4416 x 2002 or jclark@granitegolfclub.ca.

UXBRIDGE— Golf Ontario is proud to announce the two teams that will represent the province in the Senior Women’s Ada Mackenzie Matches, against the New York State Golf Association, and the Senior Men’s Ontario/Michigan Matches versus the Golf Association of Michigan.

Both sets of matches will take place in May beginning with the Ada Mackenzie Matches, May 14-16 at Ravenwood Golf Club in Victor, NY. The Men’s Ontario/Michigan Matches will take place May 24-25 at Pointe West Golf Club in Amherstburg, Ontario.

Ada Mackenzie Matches

The Ada Mackenzie team will be made up of: Mary Ann Hayward, Judith Kyrinis, Ivy Steinberg, Marion Reid, Cheryll Damphouse, Diane Dolan, Chris Critelli, Allyson Harrison, Theresa deLuis, and Nannette Cuddy. The team is made up of the top 10 from the 2016 Golf Ontario Senior Women’s Championship.

The Ada Mackenzie Matches have been conducted since 1960 and are an annual team event with Upper New York. The format for the competition consists of two match-play rounds. The first day consists of Chapman-format team matches. Chapman format is where both players drive, then hit each other’s tee shot for the second shot, before the best ball is selected and players play alternately on the selected ball for the remainder of the hole. The second day sees morning Better-Ball matches, followed by the trophy presentation to the victorious team. Ontario is the defending champion at the event.

Ontario/Michigan Matches

Representing Ontario in the Ontario/Michigan Matches will be: Larry Cooper, Lars Melander, Christopher Kertsos, Robert Gibson, Jim Briggs, Rick Valin, Tim Southcott, and?John Husband. Players were selected based on finishes in the 2016 Golf Ontario Senior Men’s Order of Merit.

First contested in 2011, the format for the Ontario/Michigan Matches is a two-day Ryder Cup style, team event with the top eight senior men from Ontario competing against the top eight senior men from Michigan. The first day on will consist of four best-ball matches and the second day will consist of eight singles matches.

Golf Ontario wishes the teams the best of luck in both competitions and thanks them for representing their province.

UXBRIDGE—Golf Ontario is pleased to announce a new sponsor to help support golf in Ontario. Immunotec, a scientifically based nutrition and wellness company serving North America, Europe, and the Caribbean, will become a key supporter of Golf Ontario as title sponsor of the Junior Golf Drive.

“Golf Ontario is excited to welcome Immunotec as title sponsor of our Junior Golf Drive fundraiser,” said Mike Kelly, Golf Ontario Executive Director. “We look forward to partnering together to provide opportunities for under-utilized parts of Ontario communities to access and enjoy the sport of golf for life.”

“Golf Ontario is a great organization that helps kids and develops them through golf. The Junior Golf Drive sponsorship is a great fit for us because Golf Ontario changes lives through their programming while we change lives through nutrition,” said Anthony Spagnoli, Immunotec Independent Consultant.

Immunotec’s flagship product is Immunocal, a unique and specially formulated dietary supplement that has been clinically demonstrated to maintain the immune system, increase muscle strength, and enhance performance. Immunocal is a product that has already been used by members of Golf Ontario’s Team Ontario. “We say that Immunocal is the most important natural health product that you will ever use,” added Spagnoli.

The basis of the sponsorship will see Immunotec, through their Children’s Fund, become title sponsor of Golf Ontario’s Junior Golf Drive fundraiser, with a generous contribution of $10,000. The Immunotec Children’s Fund was established to improve the lives of underserved and underprivileged children by supporting their academic, nutritional, and physical education needs within their Independent Consultant’s local communities. “We are proud to help junior golfers in Ontario and be part of the Junior Golf Drive initiative,” said Immunotec V.P. of sales David Marshall.

The 6^th annual Junior Golf Drive will be held May 29^th at Granite Golf Club in Stouffville.

Golf Ontario is the latest sports organization to be added to Immunotec’s stable of sponsorships, which includes a number of professional athletes and Olympians including Rowing Canada.

About Immunotec

Immunotec is a Canadian-based company that develops, manufactures, markets and sells research-driven nutritional products through direct-to-consumer sales channels in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company offers an extensive line of nutritional, skin care and wellness products targeting health, weight management, energy and physical performance. Please visit us at www.Immunotec.com/anthonys for additional information.

By Scott MacLeod- Ontario Golf News

Come Monday there will be three Canadian pros taking on the Augusta National Golf Club (ANGC) as part of the field for The Masters for 2017. Before they took up the spotlight though, it was time for it to shine on another trio of Canadians of the amateur variety. Juniors, in fact.

Three young Ontario girls qualified for the finals of this year’s Drive, Chip & Putt Championship Finals at Augusta National. They did their nation proud with their performances.

Carlee Meilleur (Landowne, ON), Mia Wong (Markham, ON), and Savannah Grewal (Mississauga, ON) each took to the famed golf course in Augusta, Georgia to compete and it was all televised around the world on The Golf Channel.

Completing play first, in the girls 7-9 category, was Carlee Meilleur. She came out strong in the driver and chipping portion of the event but struggled a bit with the putts on the treacherous ANGC surfaces. She ended play in a very respectable tie for 5th place.

Eleven year-old Mia Wong of Markham competed in the 10-11 Girls Category and worked her way to a 9th place finish, with her strongest showing in the putting.

Capping the day was the performance of Savannah Grewal of Mississauga, Ontario. She came into the final event, the putting, with a slim lead. Ultimately she needed to get her last putt within five feet of the hole and managed to have it stop at 4? 10? past the cup. It was enough to secure victory by a mere two inches.

She was presented with her division-winning trophy by 2007 Masters Champion Zach Johnson.

Later in the day Grewal posted some comments to her Instagram account. She said, in part: “Words can’t describe how grateful I am right now. Being able to win the #drivechipandputt on the 18th green at Augusta National is a dream come true. I was proud to represent Canada and become the first Canadian to ever win the #drivechipandputt competition. Thanks to everyone who has supported me and encouraged me throughout the years and everyone who helped make this possible. Congrats to all my fellow competitors for the great achievements.” 

Congratulations to all the competitors and the organizers involved. As it has been for four years now, it is great way to start The Masters week.

Complete Results

UXBRIDGE— From August 6-12, Winnipeg, Manitoba will host the 2017 Canada Summer Games. More than 4,000 athletes are set to take part in 16 sports, including Golf, during the course of the week. Southwood Golf and Country Club will play host to golf during the games. Each province and Territory can send a team of three boys and three girls, under 19 years of age, to compete in the individual and team 72-hole competitions.

Golf Ontario has outlined its selection criteria, which will include a Prep Camp, April 22-23 at Grand Niagara Golf Club in Niagara Falls. This invitational camp will be used as the first look at the potential athletes that can be selected to the 2017 Canada Summer Games team for Ontario. The two-day camp will consist of physical and technical testing along with two rounds of 18 holes.

In addition to the camp, the rest of the selection criteria includes results from: the 2017 Ontario Junior Spring Classic, Future Links Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, Ontario Junior Boys’ and Girls Championships, International Invitational Events, and Ontario Order of Merit rankings up to July 20^th.

A long list of athletes have the potential to make up Team Ontario at the 2017 Canada Summer Games. Names will be submitted to the selection committee on June 23rd. The final team will be chosen no later than July 7th.

For more information on Golf Ontario’s Canada Summer Games team visit: https://gao.ca/excelling-performing/team-ontario/canada-summer-games/. For more on the Canada Summer Games, see the Winnipeg 2017 website at: http://www.2017canadagames.ca/.

MURRELS INLET, S.C.— While it was one of their strongest performances since last winning the Can Am Matches back in 2010, Team Ontario suffered a narrow 219-213 loss to the South Carolina Junior Golf Association (SCJGA) March 18-19 at the 2017 Can Am Matches.

The Matches, held at the Wachesaw Plantation Club in Murrels Inlet, South Carolina, capped off a week of training for Team Ontario. Unseasonably cold temperatures caused a number of adjustments to the team’s plan, but in the end the Matches remained in tact.

The team arrived on March 12 but saw their scheduled training cancelled due to a course closure because of weather. They played their Can Am Matches practice round on March 13, because the course had plans to tarp the greens the following two days. That moved the annual Junior/Member day to Friday, March 17, a first in the event’s history. “For the first time ever, it included juniors from both Team Ontario and South Carolina,” said Reggie Millage, Golf Ontario Head Provincial Coach. “It was a lot of fun to see and meet members of the South Carolina team before the matches. While it was unintentional, it could become an annual tradition.”

The opening day featured team, four-ball matches. The format for the matches is unique in the sense that, unlike traditional match play, all matches are played in full and points are awarded for each hole.

When the Matches got underway Team Ontario came out of the gate flying. The boys had a strong round in the four-ball matches and held a one-point lead. “It was really exciting to see the boys’ matches as they were all exceptionally close,” said Millage.

The even play carried over into the girls’ matches as three of the four finished tied. Team Ontario squeaked out a victory in the fourth girls’ match and held a two-point lead at the end of the first day.

Round two featured individual matches and was another close round. Through 14 matches, Team Ontario was clinging to a one-point lead. However, they would come just short, giving up points in the last matches to fall 219-213.

“When you play the format that the Matches are, things can change drastically very quickly,” noted Millage. “In the end we lost by six, but that’s really only three holes throughout the course of the weekend. I thought our play was good. It shows we are getting closer and how strong our athletes are. It is a big boost to play well coming out of our winter when you consider South Carolina is in the middle of their season.”

Despite seeing the positives, Millage did admit that the loss was a bit harder to handle this year. “It is tough because we were so close. Leading after the first day was something we thought was a first in the event’s history. I could tell it was hard for some of the senior players, knowing how close we were and that it was their last Can Am Matches.”

Results

Round 1

Round 2

In addition to playing at the Wachesaw Plantation Club, the team trained at True Blue Golf Club and Tradition Club in Pawleys Island. The team also hosted and competed in the first Ontario Spring Break Challenge, on March 16 at Whispering Pines Golf Course in Myrtle Beach. Full results of the one-day event can be found here: https://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao17/event/gao1733/index.htm

Golf Ontario would like to thank all of the courses, along with their staffs and members, for hosting the team. Thanks also to their SCJGA for their continued support of the matches.

UXBRIDGE— Golf Ontario is once again calling for volunteers to be part of its 2017 Golf Advisory Teams (GATs). Created in 2016, GATs are an innovative way for Golf Ontario staff to gather advice and guidance from experts and program participants on matters related to a particular area that supports the Golf Ontario strategic plan.

In 2017, Golf Ontario will have the following GATs: Communications, Golfers, Facilities and Next Gen. Each team will have a staff lead who will appoint members of the committee in consultation with the Golf Ontario Executive Director. Members will range from three to eight depending on GAT. GATs will meet a minimum of twice during the year with the goal of providing a list recommendations.

The GAT model aims to support the Golf Ontario Strategic Plan. The GATs will help to accomplish the goal of becoming the Best Provincial Sport Organization in Canada; innovate golf by providing industry leading services; drive more people to play the sport and encourage more children to get into the game; support golf clubs/facilities and all people involved in the game by aligning golf organizations, creating positive partnerships and ensuring that golf remains the most popular sport in Ontario.

To see the core functions of each of the four GATs visit: https://gao.ca/about-us/gats/. To volunteer for a GAT submit the following form: https://www.cognitoforms.com/GolfOntario1/_2017GolfAdvisoryTeamExpressionOfInterest