UXBRIDGE— The Golf Association of Ontario (GAO) continues to encourage more kids to pick up the game of golf at an early age. Building on the success of 2014 and the introduction of the NXTee Program, funded in part by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, the GAO is pleased to offer a pair of events on the 2015 championship calendar aimed at golfers under 13 years of age. This summer, young golfers will have the opportunity to compete in the NXTee Pee Wee Preview, May 2, at Puslinch Lake Golf Course in Cambridge, and the inaugural Ontario Pee Wee Championship, Aug. 6-7, also at Puslinch Lake Golf Course.

“The GAO is thrilled with the success of our new NXTee initiative which furthers our commitment to providing quality golf experiences for Ontario’s youth and their parents while attracting new participants to the sport for the first time,” said Mike Kelly, GAO Sport Development Director.

The enhanced programming for golfers under 13-years-old began this past fall with the introduction of the NXTee initiative. A pilot project, NXTee aimed to increase the development and engagement of junior golfers (aged 8-13) in York Region, providing them with an opportunity to continue to practice and increase their skills throughout the winter months in preparation for the golf season in a fun and friendly environment. The program also aimed to educate and provide information to parents to help their junior golfers take the next steps.

The first season of NXTee was greatly successful and will conclude on May 2 with the Pee Wee Preview. The event is designed for not only players in the program but other Pee Wee aged players who would like to take the opportunity to play the championship site and experience on-course play with other golfers. It is also a great practice for those who are thinking about competing in the Pee Wee Championship.

The Pee Wee Preview is part of the launch of the inaugural Pee Wee Championship. This two-round tournament is open to both boys and girls in the age group and is sure to galvanize more young players to pick up the game. “We are excited about the implementation of the Pee Wee events into the 2015 competitive schedule and look forward to hosting and engaging with all of the U13 participants,” said Matt Gauld, NXTee Coordinator.

Registration for both the NXTee Pee Wee Preview and the Ontario Pee Wee Championship are now open at the GAO’s tournament page: http://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao15/schedule/index.htm

Dave Mills, Bob Weeks and the late Gordon Stollery to be honoured Saturday, February 14th during Golf Canada’s Annual General Meeting in Mississauga, Ont.

Paul McLean of King, Ont. to be introduced as the 112th President of Golf Canada

Oakville, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Former Golf Association of Ontario (GAO) Executive Director Dave Mills along with SCOREGolf Editorial Director and television personality Bob Weeks, and the late (Arthur) Gordon Stollery of Markham, Ont. will be honoured for their contributions to the game of golf as the 2015 co-recipients of Golf Canada’s Distinguished Service Award.

Golf Canada’s Distinguished Service Awards will be presented on Saturday, February 14th as part of the National Sport Organization’s Annual General Meeting to be held at the Delta Meadowvale Hotel and Conference Centre in Mississauga, Ont.

“Golf Canada is proud to acknowledge Dave Mills, Bob Weeks and Gordon Stollery and celebrate their outstanding contributions to the game of golf as our 2015 Distinguished Service Award recipients,” said Golf Canada Chief Executive Officer Scott Simmons. “They’ve all made a significant impact on the game within their communities and across Canada. Their commitment and passion for our sport makes each of them a truly deserving recipient.”

Created in 1993, Golf Canada’s Distinguished Service Award has been awarded annually to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the game of golf in Canada.

Recipients of Golf Canada’s Distinguished Service Award are traditionally selected from within the province or region of the organization’s incoming President. On Saturday, February 14th, Paul McLean of King, Ont. will be sworn in as Golf Canada’s 112th President.

As President-elect, McLean will succeed 2014 President Doug Alexander of London, Ont.

Golf Canada’s Annual General Meeting and presidential appointment will conclude four days of meetings, February 11-14 at the Delta Meadowvale Hotel and Conference Centre in Mississauga, Ont.

DAVE MILLS

In January 2014, after 27 years of involvement with the Golf Association of Ontario (GAO), Dave Mills retired as the association’s executive director, a post he had held since 1997. He began playing golf in Peterborough, Ont. at Pine Crest Golf and Country Club and then Kawartha Golf and Country Club. Mills first became part of the association in 1986 as club representative for the Bay of Quinte Golf and Country Club in Belleville. His initial involvement with the association focused on the growth of junior golf throughout the province, with Mills chairing the Junior Development Committee for a number of years prior to joining the Board of Directors. After concluding a 27-year career with Ontario Hydro in 1997, Mills became executive director, leading the formerly male-only Ontario Golf Association through amalgamation with the Ontario Ladies’ Golf Association in 2001 to form the Golf Association of Ontario. Since retiring as executive director, Mills has continued to serve the GAO in various activities as a proud volunteer.

BOB WEEKS

Bob Weeks has been with SCOREGolf since 1987 and is currently the Editorial Director, overseeing all content at the media company.  He was recently listed as the sixth most influential person and the No. 1 media person in the Canadian golf industry by the National Post.
Weeks is the host of SCOREGolf TV and the golf analyst for TSN, where he has covered more than 50 major championships as well as hundreds of top Canadian and international tournaments. For 20 years he has been the host of the SCOREGolf Show, a daily 90-second golf radio program heard in more than 70 markets across the country. An award-winning writer, Weeks also authors a highly popular blog on SCOREGolf.com, Canada’s leading golf web site, and has written for GOLF Magazine, Golf Digest, Golfweek, the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s as well as countless other publications throughout the world. Weeks, who began playing golf at the age of 11 in Prince Edward Island, has been a proud member of Weston Golf and Country Club in Toronto for more than 40 years. He is a member of the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame and winner of the Dick Grimm Award presented by the Golf Journalists Association of Canada.

GORDON STOLLERY (1947-2011)
Until his untimely accidental death, Gordon Stollery was a passionate golfer and dedicated supporter of the game in Canada. As a member of Rosedale Golf Club in Toronto, he won their club championship four times and was runner-up at the 1965 Canadian Junior Golf Championship. An all-round athlete, Stollery attended Princeton University and then the University of Toronto before moving to Alberta in 1979 to become involved in the oil and gas business.  In 1994, when his father Arthur passed away, he returned home and became involved in Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ont., which his father had built. The club, which opened in 1995, saw the hosting of multiple championship events including the 2002 and 2007 RBC Canadian Opens. In 1996, following the opening of the golf club, he took the vision of his father one step further by building a community surrounding the Angus Glen Golf Club. In 2007, Goodwood Golf Club was completed—a course he enjoyed as his private sanctuary.

Check out the GAO’s highlights from 2014 including provincial teams, championships, national and international success, special events and more!

HALTON HILLS, ON – Oakville’s Christian Osborne will serve as the 2015 President of the Golf Association of Ontario (GAO). Osborne, who is a member of the Mississaugua Golf and Country Club, was named President at the GAO’s Annual General Meeting held Jan. 24, at Glencairn Golf Club in Halton Hills.

Osborne is the 13^th GAO President in the Association’s history, which was formed in 2001 with the amalgamation of the Ontario Ladies’ Golf Association and the Ontario Golf Association (OGA).

“With regards to this honour of being ‘Head Volunteer,’ as Past President Jim King often referred to the position as, it is an honour that I don’t deserve but certainly am very proud of and will work at it as hard as I can,” said Osborne.

“They say that golf is in trouble, but when we look at the portfolio of success (of Ontario golfers) that we saw this morning, how can it be?” Asked Osborne to those in attendance at the meeting. “There are challenges of course, but the game of golf that we love has survived world wars, depression, famine and recession. The challenges we face now are difficult but nothing compared to what the game faced in the past.”

Osborne went on to underline some of the challenges that the Association will tackle in 2015 and moving forward. “We are financially strong as an Association, but we can always be stronger. We need to look for new streams of revenue whether it be through funding or sponsorship.”

The relationship that the GAO has with Golf Canada was another talking point for Osborne as he emphasized how critical it will be for the two bodies to continue to work together. “We have to work with Golf Canada, they are working on a synergy program to come up with new ways for us to generate funds, to modify our membership model and to ensure we all have a future and we will support them, but not at the expense of our own identity, programs or existence.”

Osborne began volunteering with the GAO in 2011 and citied his experience with the GAO and the OGA as the reason he got involved. “I am a product of the OGA and GAO. My reason for volunteering is very self-serving because what I wanted to do was settle the score, with  an Association that gave me so much. I wouldn’t have had the opportunities in my life if it weren’t for the OGA and GAO.”

During his time with the GAO, Osborne has served on multiple committees. He has chair both the Finance and Risk Management and the Governance and Nominating committees. He has also been part of the Human Resources and Compensation, Marketing and Sponsorship, Scholarship, Sport Development, and Fundraising committees.

A collegiate golfer at Toledo, Osborne has also been a member at The National Golf Club of Canada before Mississaugua. He has served on the Mississaugua Board and as Club Captain. He also captured the Club Championship in 2000. Osborne is currently the Owner and Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Kleen-Flo Tumbler Industries in Toronto.

Osborne summed up how special the game of golf is to him by sharing the friendship it helped to foster. “The game of golf is like nothing I have ever seen,” explained Osborne. “It brings people together in a manner that I just haven’t seen anything else do. Jim King would be the first to admit that we come from different generations and different parts of the world, but it is amazing that this game of golf has brought us together and we found out very quickly we’re very similar and in a short amount of time, Jim King became one of my best friends in the world.”

Osborne is an invaluable asset to the Association, and the GAO is proud to welcome him as President.

The GAO would like to thank 2013/2014 President Jim King for his commitment and dedication to the role of President over the past two years. King, a resident of Waterloo, served as the GAO’s 12th President and will continue to serve on the GAO Board as Director and Past President. Filling the role of Vice President in 2015 is Kent Trainor of Toronto.

The 2015 board also includes: John Turner (GAO Public Player), Alan Trivett (Glencarin GC), Ivy Steinberg (Granite GC), Peter Zakarow (Beacon Hall GC), Carol-Ann Goering (Toronto GC), Anthony Dunn (The Marshes), John Gallinger (Meadowbrook G&CC), Anna Wells (GAO Public Player), Mark Hayes (Rattlesnake Point), and Ottawa Valley Golf Association Representative Tom Hossfeld.

Honorary Life Director Award

Also at the AGM, the GAO presented Past GAO President Steve James with the Honorary Life Director Award. The award recognizes those who contribute their time and hard work over an extended period of time. The recipients of this award have given unselfishly to promote amateur golf, the GAO, and has done so in a variety of ways over a number of years.

James began as a Tournament Volunteer in 1994 as a starter, scorer and Rules Official. In 2002, he joined the Board of Directors and served as Tournament Chairman. He would go on to serve on both the Finance and Nominating committees. From 2005-07, he chaired the Finance Committee.  In 2008, James acted as GAO President. Throughout his time on the broad, James has continued to volunteer as a Rules Official.

2015 AGM Photos

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On January 22, the PGA of Canada honoured it’s 2014 national award winners at the 2015 PGA Merchandise Show, in Orlando, Florida, as part of Canada Night. Congratulations to Jeff Overholt, Liam Mucklow and Henry Brunton who were all honoured at the event.

Jeff Overholt 2014 Jack McLaughlin Junior Leader of the Year Award Winner

Liam Mucklow 2014 George Knudson Teacher of the Year Award Winner

Henry Brunton 2014 Ben Kern Coach of the Year Award Winner

The Kingston Whig-Stangard

Jenny Ellis, a native of New South Wales, Australia, who emigrated to Kingston in 1963, excelled in three sports: tennis, squash and golf, which she only started playing in her 30s.

A rough first outing — a dozen shots needed to get off the first tee at Glen Lawrence — soon gave way to summers of splendid play.

Ellis, now 73, copped the women’s title at her Garrison course six times and for 15 years was a member of the team that represented the city at the Ontario championship.

It was during the latter event, in the late 1980s, that Ellis recorded her first hole-in-one. She carded another last year with a perfect wedge shot on No. 11 at Garrison. That makes — get ready for this — 11 career aces.

Golf she learned in this country. Tennis she knew well from her youth Down Under. The family backyard featured a full-sized court.

She captured the Kingston singles and doubles titles in 1979 and replicated that double-barrel feat six more times in the 1980s.

“I know it’s a short season, but I couldn’t believe how often they played over here,” said the retired physiotherapist. “In Australia, we played once or twice a week. Here they played every day.”

Ellis was the GAO’s 2008 District Volunteer of the Year, she is a past District Coordinator and was involved with the Kingston District Women’s Training Program.  She currently volunteers as a Course Rater.

Ellis joins four others who will be honoured on May 1 in Kingston. The other inductees are: George Richardson, Athlete (hockey), Bob Storring, Athlete (fastball), Jack Aldridge, Builder, and Don Dennee, Builder.

UXBRIDGE — The Golf Association of Ontario (GAO) is pleased to begin the countdown to the 2015 competition season with this week’s release of the 2015 Provincial Championships schedule. Once again, the schedule features some of the best courses in the province that are sure to challenge all competitors.

The season will kick off on May 14, with the Men’s Better Ball Championship, hosted annually by Oakdale Golf and Country Club in Toronto.

After the Men’s Better Ball is the first junior event: the Investors Group Junior Spring Classic, May 16-18. The boys return to play Wooden Sticks in Uxbridge, while the girls’ event will be held at Grey Silo Golf Club in Waterloo.

One of the highlights of this year’s schedule will be the Investors Group Ontario Women’s Amateur Championship, July 7-11 at St. Thomas Golf & Country Club in Union. The 2015 tournament will mark the 100^th anniversary of the event. Following a very successful tournament in 2014, which saw now professional golfer Brooke Henderson capture the crown, the 2015 event should be even more of a celebration of women’s golf in Ontario.

The Investors Group Ontario Men’s Amateur Championship will be played the following week, July 14-17 at the Peterborough Golf & Country Club. The 2014 Men’s Amateur Champion, Chris Hemmerich, is also now pursuing a career among the professional ranks, meaning 2015 will crown new men’s and women’s Ontario amateur champions.

New on the schedule for 2015 is the Ontario Pee Wee Championship. This two-round tournament will be open to boys and girls under 13-years old. Puslinch Lake Golf Course in Cambridge will be the host for the inaugural event, Aug. 5-7.

Lastly, the Investors Group Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship will team up with the Investors Group Senior Women’s Championship and both will be played July 21-23 at Loyalist Country Club in Bath.

A full schedule and tournament registration information can be found on the GAO’s tournaments site at: http://gao.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gao/mo/15fullschedule.htm

TORONTO –  The Golf Journalists Association of Canada [GJAC] is proud to announce Adam Hadwin, Alena Sharp, Corey Conners, and Brooke Henderson are the 2014 Players of the Year as voted by GJAC members across the country.

“We at GJAC are delighted to honour this remarkable foursome, and the runners up who in other years could have won handily,” said Hal Quinn, GJAC President. “The skill levels and accomplishments of the winners and all the nominees heralds a new and very promising era in Canadian golf.”

Adam Hadwin was named the Male Professional of the Year in a tight vote with Graham DeLaet and Nick Taylor. Hadwin won twice on the Web.com Tour, finished first on the Tour’s money list, and earned full status for the PGA Tour in 2014-15. He already has one top-10 finish this season. DeLaet, who earned over $2.6 million on the PGA Tour in 2014, is Canada’s highest-ranked pro golfer, while Taylor became the first Canadian in five years to win on the PGA Tour.

Alena Sharp was named the Female Professional of the Year for the second time in the past four years. Sharp had two top-20 finishes on the LPGA Tour in 2014 and was Canada’s highest-ranked female professional golfer, prior to Brooke Henderson turning professional in December.

Henderson was voted Female Amateur of the Year for the third year in a row. The 17-year-old vaulted to the top of the world amateur rankings with six tournament wins in 2014. Henderson was runner-up at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, and was low amateur with a T-10 finish in the U.S. Women’s Open.

Corey Conners is another repeat winner as Male Amateur of the Year for the second year in a row. Conners, a member of Canada’s national team, finished second at the U.S. Amateur earning a chance to participate in the 2015 Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open. Conners won three NCAA Division I individual titles in his graduating year from Kent St. University, and is Canada’s highest-ranked male amateur golfer.

The Winter Issue of Ontario Golf News is now available. Click here to read your digital copy:

http://www.flagstick.com/digitalissues/ogndigi_2014/ogndigiwinter2014/index.html

TORONTO – Brooke Henderson, the No. 1 ranked female amateur golfer in the world, has turned professional and signed with IMG for worldwide management and marketing representation.

A native of Smiths Falls, Ont., Canada, Henderson was assisted by her hometown Ottawa Senators hockey team and defenseman Mark Borowiecki in making today’s announcement. Video link: http://ottsens.com/brooketurnspro

Henderson has signed with PING and will continue to be supported by Golf Canada’s young professional program.

“I am really excited to begin my professional career in 2015 and proud to represent Canada along the way,” said Henderson. “I realize what a big step it is to play professionally and I think IMG and their partners at WME give me a competitive advantage on a global level.”

The 17-year-old was an integral member of Golf Canada’s National Amateur Team across the past three years. She won the individual title at the 2014 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship and led Canada to a silver medal. As a 16-year-old, she was runner-up at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur and tied for 10th at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

She boasts more than 50 victories as an amateur and has also won three professional tournaments including two Canadian Women’s Tour events and the 2014 PGA of Canada Women’s Championship. Henderson’s Canadian Women’s Tour victory in 2012 at the age of 14 years, 9 months and 3 days made her the youngest player (male or female) ever to win a professional golf event.

Guy Kinnings, Global Head of Golf at IMG, commented, “Brooke’s tremendous talent on the golf course is exceeded only by her positive and engaging personality. We are delighted to help Brooke make the transition into professional golf and very much look forward to helping her achieve all of her goals both inside and outside the ropes.”

Henderson joins former No. 1 amateurs Lydia Ko and Minjee Lee as recent IMG signees. Ko most recently earned 2014 LPGA Rolex Rookie of the Year honors, while Lee was co-medalist at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament earlier this month.

“Through outstanding competitive results and a commitment to excellence, Brooke has proven herself to be a special talent, demonstrating all of the necessary characteristics to make a successful transition to the professional golfing ranks,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer. “She has been a huge part of the Team Canada program which is designed to challenge our top athletes through exposure to the highest levels of training and competition. We are proud to have played a role in her development and will continue to support her in this next exciting stage of her career.”

Following today’s announcement, Henderson is now the top-ranked Canadian professional.