While Pierre Choquette might play the game of golf, his passion and personality of enjoying every round is something to behold.

The 81-year-old has so much fun with the sport, he has kept track of every single round he has shot his age (or lower) in his lifetime. Choquette has done so 402 times to date.

“I thought to myself ‘that’s crazy.’ I thought that was pretty incredible,” Choquette says.

Choquette is a member of Rocky Crest Golf Club in MacTier, Ont. He plays there three times a week and buys everyone drinks whenever he hits a significant milestone.

“When I got to 400, I had to buy everybody a drink,” he said with a chuckle.

It all started for Choquette when he caddied his father when he was eight-years-old.

“I remember beating him (his dad, in golf) for this first time when I was 10,” Choquette says. “He was left-handed, so initially, I had to play left-handed, we didn’t have any right-handed clubs.”

He slowly learned the ins-and-outs of the game while caddying at a private course in Montreal between the ages of 13 and 16-years-old. He also started playing golf himself from local courses throughout Quebec.

“When I went to the University of Laval, I was on the golf team there,” Choquette says. “It was kind of neat, but we didn’t do very well (chuckles).”

Choquette first started keeping track of how many times he shot his age or lower when he read an article from the Georgia State Golf Association about another golfer doing the same thing.

“A couple of months ago, there was an article in there about an individual who was 85-years-old, who plays almost every day, and he’s holding the Guiness World Record for the number of rounds he’s shot his age or better,” he says.

Choquette believes the exact number of times this individual shot his age or lower was more than 1,100 times. He then started wondering how many times he had shot his age or lower.

“I remember that if I went back to 2012, I could then look at all the statistics and look at by year how many times I shot 70 or below,” he explains.

By going back all the way to look at what he shot when he turned 70, Choquette found that he shot 70 on his 70th birthday.

“I don’t think I ever shot my age until I was 70-years-old,” he said. “But I was still playing from around 6000-6500 yards.”

Out of the 402 rounds he shot his age or lower, Choquette recalls his most memorable one being at a course in Georgia at age 76.

“I had 13 pars, five birdies and shot 67,” he says. “I think I only missed one green.”

In fact, Choquette has played numerous courses across Ontario, Quebec, the U.S. and various parts of the world for either competitive fun or business trips.

“We had customers in China, Asia, they all had great courses there,” he said. “I lived in Europe for about five years, Belgium, Switzerland, I played a few courses there.”

It was only a few years ago that Choquette began posting his scores in the Golf Canada score centre. His current handicap is 7.2, and he once had a handicap of +1 in 1977.

Not only does Choquette keep track of each round he shoots his age or lower, but he also tracks how many rounds he plays by age.

“I think in the past, 40 per cent of my 402 games came when I was 78,” he says. “When I was 79, I had 83 games. When I was 80, I had 112 games below my age. Since my 81st birthday, which was last September, I had 71 games.”

He even keeps all scorecards from each time he shoots below par to remember his rounds by.

Of course, where would the passion for keeping track of such a stat be without passion for the game of golf itself?

“I cannot think of any sport where you can still be physically competitive and have such a good time and good exercise,” Choquette says.

Exercise is key for Choquette whenever he plays the game. He prefers walking Rocky Crest because it is a physical activity.

“I don’t carry my bag anymore, but to me, the best experience of all my years of playing golf is four guys walking down the fairway either carrying their bag or playing with a caddy,” he said.

Not only does Choquette live and play the game for fun and health, but he still shares his connection to Laval University’s golf team with the Choquette Family Foundation.

“We put $50,000 a year from the foundation into scholarships and the funds for them to go practice in Florida,” he says.

From giving back to former schools to playing all sorts of different courses to keeping track of fascinating stats, Choquette does it all for the bottom line: his passion for golf.

“It’s such a fantastic sport,” he said. “It’s so nice to be out there on courses that are well designed, with people you enjoy playing with.”

After a four-year pause due to COVID-19, the National Allied Golf Associations (NAGA) are on Parliament Hill leading National Golf Day and discussing with Parliamentarians the many positive benefits of golf for Canadians.

The golf industry representatives are also releasing the results of a new Canadian Golf Economic Impact Study highlighting golf’s financial contributions and incredible popularity as the number one participation sport in Canada.

National Golf Day also celebrates golf’s physical and mental health benefits, its safe sport attributes, social merits, environmental stewardship, diversity, life skills for youth, and economic value to the business community. National data indicates that hundreds of thousands of Canadians have entered the sport since Covid-19, totaling six million Canadian golfers and further strengthening golf’s status as the number one participation sport in the country.

“Canadians played 74 million rounds of golf in 2023, a considerable 24% increase from the last Study in 2019,” stated Jeff Calderwood, CEO of the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada, and Chair of NAGA.

“Existing golfers have been playing more often and new golfers have been taking up the game at impressive levels,” said Calderwood. “The broad appeal of golf as a safe, healthy, outdoor recreation that can be enjoyed by all ages, genders, abilities, and budgets, anywhere in Canada, generates continued growth in the game. The impressive economic impacts that are then generated reflect that popularity.”

NAGA conducts an economic impact study every five years to measure such financial contributions as employment, charitable support, tourism, and gross domestic product. The sport and business of golf are thriving post-pandemic and continue to be an important economic engine for Canadians and their communities across Canada. Some of the highlights from the Canadian Golf Economic Impact Study include:

• Golf contributes a massive amount to Canada’s GDP at $23.2 billion, an increase of $4 billion since the previous Study.
• Golf supports 237,000 person-years of employment, illustrating its importance as a vital source of livelihood for countless Canadians. Nearly 135,000 Canadians work directly in golf, with 45,000 being student employment.
• Golf-related activities generated over $14.2 billion in labour income, sustaining families and generating significant economic spin-off spending.
• $382 million was raised through golf activities for charities across Canada, a return to the pre-Covid-19 range and tops among all participation sports.
• Approximately 6 million Canadians played golf in 2023, an all-time high for the number one participation sport in the country, generating 74 million rounds played.
• Golfer spending totalled $14.2 billion in 2023.
• Golf course operations contributed $8.1 billion to Canada’s GDP.
• Capital expenditure by golf course operations in 2023 was $907 million.
• Taxes paid to governments by the Canadian golf industry were $4.7 billion in 2023.

“Golf is a sport that brings so many benefits to Canadians – not just the economic contributions. It is also a holistic solution to many of life’s necessities and an activity that can enjoyed for a lifetime,” said Laurence Applebaum, CEO, Golf Canada.

“Golf is a healthy, safe activity, promoting environmental stewardship, providing exceptional social value, and is great for business. And importantly, we’re seeing tremendous diversity in our growth with incredible levels of engagement,” said Applebaum. “In addition, the recent success of our Canadian LPGA and PGA Tour Pros has further propelled the enthusiasm for the sport, with such stars on the world stage as Brooke Henderson and Nick Taylor.”

Other attributes of Canadian golf include:

• 18 holes of golf burns up to 2000 calories, a very healthy 15 km walk and active exercise in nature.
• 95% of golfers in Canada feel that golf is very good for their mental health, which has also been clinically proven.
• 83% of Canadian golfers state that the social aspects of golf are important to them and improve their lives.
• Spectator interest in professional golf is at an all-time high. The RBC Canadian Open and CPKC Women’s Open are setting records for attendance and commercial success.
• Golf is a trusted Safe Sport environment for both recreational and competitive play.
• Canadian golf has been experiencing great diversity, including a 6% increase in active women golfers and 33% growth in BIPOC golfers in 2023.
• Off-course golf including simulator play and virtual golf experiences have bolstered the growth in  participation.
• Sustainable golf has become a leading environmental stewardship movement in Canadian golf, with golf courses throughout the country embracing sustainability pledges and best practices.

Golf flourished during the pandemic as the nature of the sport easily allowed for social distancing while delivering a social recreation experience that could not be found elsewhere.

With golf now better recognized as an important part of the solution, and all of the health, social and economic benefits, the positive spotlight on golf and its impact on Canadian communities has since sustained most of that increased demand.

In summary, the study clearly shows that golf is good for Canada and Canadians.

RattleSnake Point Golf Club’s Nobelle Park was crowned victorious at Golf Ontario’s Junior Girls U19 Spring Classic at London, Ontario’s FireRock’s Golf Club.

After posting a career low (66) in round one, Park set herself up for success for the rest of the championship.

In the final round, she secured the victory after a thrilling two-hole playoff win over Team Canada’s Michelle Xing (NextGen) and Team Ontario’s Wendy Li.

Park, Xing (Maple Downs Golf Club) and Li (Summit Golf & Country Club) each shot a two-day (shortened from 54-holes due to rain) a score of 7-under-par 139.

Angela Cai (Heron Point Golf Links) finished in solo fourth at 4 under, while Grace Henderson (RattleSnake Point Golf Club) rounded out the top five.

The top ten players from the Junior Girls’ Spring Classic have earned exemption into Golf Ontario’s Womens Amateur Championship.

For the full leaderboard, Click Here.

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Scarboro Golf & Country Club’s Matthew Javier won the 2024 Ontario Junior (U19) Boys Spring Classic at Wooden Sticks Golf Club after a dazzling final round.

Javier shot a final round 7-under-par 65 to clinch the win, finishing three shots clear of his nearest competitor. With the 54-hole total of 202—14-under-par, Javier sets a new low scoring championship mark.

Javier, who is part of Team Canada – Next Gen program, finished three strokes ahead of runner-up Aidan Talent (Royal Ashburn Golf Club), who had a great final round, shooting 6-under-par 66. Whistle Bear Golf Club’s Rylan Hall rounded out the top three at 10-under

Luke Smith (The Thornhill Club) won the U17 division for the second straight year, after finishing the championship at 9-under-par.

The top five players in this tournament have qualified to the Canadian Junior Boys Championship in Innisfail, AB. They are: Matthew Javier, Aidan Talent, Rylan Hall, Luke Smith & Rowan MacDonald (Royal Ottawa Golf Club).

In his four-year playing career, Javier has won the Ontario Juvenile (U17) Championship twice in 2022 and 2023, and now, he adds the Ontario Junior (U19) Boys Spring Classic to his resume.

For the full leaderboard, Click Here.

The Ontario Senior Women’s Ada Mackenzie Matches Team was victorious with a 12-8 win over the squad from Upper New York. The matches are an annual two-day event and were hosted this year at the Heron Point Golf Links in Ancaster, Ont.

Ontario’s championship team consisted of: Debbie Court, Carolyn Gallinger, Shelley Lothian, Mei Wang, Sandy Byckowski, Denise Schaefer, Kim Legge, Jayne Chalmers, Judith Kyrinis and Meredith Standford.

The Ada Mackenzie Matches have been conducted since 1960 and are an annual team event with Upper New York State. 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 features Better-Ball matches.

Six winners were crowned Tuesday at The Club at Bond Head for the 2024 Ontario Champion of Champions.

This championship featured a field of 247 players—the largest of the season—drawn from over 100 clubs throughout Ontario, with each participant a club champion from their respective home club. 

The event took place on the north and south courses at The Club at Bond Head, with competitors vying for titles in various divisions including men’s, women’s, junior boys’, senior men’s, senior women’s, and junior girls’.

Winners

Ethan Frost of Tangle Creek Golf and Country Club won the Junior Boys’ division after a 2-under-par 69.

Julia Alexander-Carew of Credit Valley Golf and Country Club won the Junior Girls’ division after an even-par 72.

Kyle Gordon of Coppinwood Golf Club won the Men’s division after a 6-under-par 65.

Elizabeth Tong of The Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto won the Women’s division after an even-par 70.

Robert Gibson of Cedar Brae Golf Club won the Senior Men’s division after a 2-under-par 70

Lynn Lean of Spring Lakes Golf Club won the Senior Women’s division after a 12-over-par 84.

For the FULL LEADERBOARD, CLICK HERE.

Golf Ontario’s in-province 2024 Championship schedule kicks off on Tuesday with the Ontario Champion of Champions event.

This championship features a field of 247 players—the largest of the season—drawn from over 100 clubs throughout Ontario. Each participant is a club champion from their respective home club. 

The event will take place on the north and south courses at The Club at Bond Head, with competitors vying for titles in various divisions including men’s, women’s, junior boys’, senior men’s, senior women’s, and junior girls’.

“The Ontario Champion of Champions is set to be an exciting showcase of some of the best golfing talent from across the province,” says John Lawrence, Golf Ontario’s Director of Competitions and Performance. “This championship is particularly special as it celebrates the achievements of club champions from our incredible member facilities all over Ontario.”

For the full player roster and more championship details, CLICK HERE.

FAST FACTS:

Championship Venue: The North and South Courses at The Club at Bond Head.

Championship Date: May 14.

Field Size: 247 players.

Golf Ontario Member Clubs Represented: 122.

Format: 18-hole stroke play, with six divisions.

Pairings: CLICK HERE

The First: The first Ontario Champions of Champions took place in 1946.

Impressive List: Past champions include Ontario Golf Hall of Fame members Mary Ann Hayward, Bill Morland, Gerry Kesselring, Warren Sye, and Stu Hamilton.

Hall of Famer: Newly inducted Ontario Golf Hall of Famer Ashley Chinner (Coppinwood Golf Club) tees it up in the senior division.

Record Holder: Patrick Suraj won the senior men’s division championship a record six times.

The Next Wave: Next Wave Junior Development members in the field include Sierra Kowalyshyn (Sawmill Golf Course), Ava Gilbert (Summit Golf and Country Club) and Cole Thompson (Lookout Point Country Club). 

The Club at Bond Head: When the South Course opened in 2005, it was named as one of the “Top New Courses” by Golf Digest. A year later when the North Course opened, The Toronto Star named it as the “Top Public Golf Course in the GTA.”

Social Handles: @thegolfontario on Instagram, Facebook and X.

Golf Ontario held one of its most cherished events recently: the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame ceremony.  

Two new inductees were welcomed into the Hall of Fame, while a longtime journalist was presented with a distinguished award at the ceremony that saw more than 150 in attendance at Wooden Sticks Golf Club. 

Inducted in the Builder Category was the late Anne Edgar Dodds-Hebron, whose husband, Rick, accepted the award in her honour. Dodds-Hebron was a dedicated figure with decades of amazing achievements in the Ontario golf community. Her commitment and passion for sharing her knowledge of the game led her to teaching the rules of golf for the respective Golf Management programs at both Niagara Falls Community College and Toronto’s Humber College. She is also a certified rules referee for the Golf Association of Ontario, Golf Canada, and other members of the golf community.  

Ashley Chinner was the inductee in the Player Category. Chinner had a phenomenal career as both an amateur and professional golfer, whilst giving back to the sport. He turned pro in 1989 when he joined the Canadian Tour and would go on to compete in tournaments in over 25 countries. During his playing days in the 1990s on the Korn Ferry Tour, Chinner won the PGA Championship of Canada in 1996 and finished tied for 13^th at the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open in 1998.  

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The recipient of the 2024 Lorne Rubenstein Media Award, presented by Lorne Rubenstein himself, was Robert Thompson, an award-winning reporter and an influential marketer and journalist for almost three decades. Thompson has won numerous Golf Journalism of Canada Awards (GJAC) for his work of covering the sport and is a three-time winner of the Kenneth R. Wilson award for magazine writing. His writing has appeared in well-known papers and magazines such as the National Post, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Listed magazine and so many more. Thompson is also the author of seven books and has interviewed a wide range of prime ministers, sports legends, pop stars and economists. 

“On behalf of Golf Ontario, I would like to extend our congratulations to Anne, Ashley, and Robert. Their unwavering dedication and remarkable contributions have left an indelible mark on the sport in our province,” says Golf Ontario CEO Kyle McFarlane.  “This year’s induction ceremony was filled with emotion as we honoured their extraordinary achievements and celebrated their passion for the game alongside family, friends and industry colleagues.” 

Of those 150 strong in attendance, 10 are current Ontario Golf Hall of Fame members. Marlene Stewart Streit, Stu Hamilton, Cathy Sherk, Mary Ann Hayward, Lorne Rubenstein, Sandra Post, Patty Howard, Judith Kyrinis, Bob Beauchemin and Gary McKay were all in attendance. 

Esteemed Canadian sportscaster and presenter, Rod Black, guided the ceremony for a second straight year as Master of Ceremonies. The evening started with an emotional tribute to recently passed Ontario Golf Hall of Famers: Sam Young, Bob Panasik and Ken Tarling.  

The Ontario Golf Hall of Fame is dedicated to the recognition of extraordinary contributions and accomplishment in the game of golf in Ontario. Founded in 2000 by the Ontario Golf Association and the Ontario Ladies’ Golf Association, the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame is housed at Wooden Sticks Golf Club in Uxbridge.  

Golf Ontario is excited to announce the return of Junior Golf Drive!

This year’s event will be hosted at Granite Golf Club on Monday September 9.

Please consider joining us for this highly anticipated event which features 18-holes of golf with carts, registration gifts, breakfast, three-course lunch meal, prizes, and a silent auction. All while raising important funds for Golf Ontario’s Junior Golf programs, such as: The Junior Golf Pathway, Next Wave Program and Team Ontario. 

Supporting Junior Golf not only creates future golf champions for Ontario and Canada, but provides all the young athletes in our programs a springboard to future success outside of golf and allowing them to reach their fullest potential.  

We thank you for supporting Golf Ontario and we hope to see you on September 9 at Granite Golf Club! 

Spots are limited – Register your foursome today by visiting: www.juniorgolfdrive.ca 

Natasha Stasiuk lives a very active life: she attends Toronto’s Humber College and studies in their Developmental Services Worker program; she works at her local Golf Town in Mississauga, Ont.; she walks dogs; and she’s an accomplished competitive golfer as a member at Heron Point Golf Links.

However, it is how she does it all with autism, and an auditory processing condition that defines who she is.

“It’s like a superpower as I call it,” she said, “and it’s what people with autism call it too.”

Stasiuk, 25, was born in Russia where she was left as an orphan in a run-down hospital. Sick and often unattended, she was slow to develop learning and language skills.

Peter and Sandra Stasiuk adopted Natasha at 13 months and brought her home to Canada, where she displayed above-average hand-eye coordination as a toddler.

Stasiuk has played golf ever since PGA of Canada member Nick Starchuk was brought into her gym class in fifth grade to introduce children to the game.  

“Nick came and he saw a lot of potential in me and suggested I started golf, and that’s how my passion for it came about,” she said.

Starchuk invited Stasiuk to an introductory lesson at the former home of the RBC Canadian Open, Glen Abbey Golf Club. Stasiuk was handed a putter and took to the course’s practice green, where Starchuk instructed her to putt a ball towards a hole that was 30 feet away from her; a putt in which she drained on her first try.

For many years after, Stasiuk was part of a large junior girl’s golf group led by PGA of Canada member, Carrie Vaughan.

Carrie helped Natasha with all aspects of her game, introduced her to competition and provided constant encouragement whenever she felt “out of place” or discouraged because she learned differently and didn’t always understand what was being taught.  

Besides golf, Stasiuk played up to seven other sports when she was younger. Though swimming, soccer, gymnastics, softball and ballet were in the mix, hockey and golf were her two favorites.

“My sister played, I played, my dad played, some of his brothers played,” she said. “So, we were always a big hockey family.”

Despite her family’s involvement in hockey, Stasiuk chose to stick to golf to this day because she admired the LPGA Tour and wanted to be like her role models such as Paula Creamer and Brooke Henderson (winner of five Golf Ontario Championships from 2010-2013).

However, Stasiuk’s auditory processing condition prevented her from thinking and processing what she saw or heard when she was younger, and still affects her to this day.

 “When people start talking to her and they’re talking normal, she can’t process everything that they tell her,” said her father, Peter. “They’ll be on their third sentence when she’s just processed the first sentence they’ve said to her, and by the time she goes back to the conversation, she’s completely lost.”

Peter has always been there to help her in speaking and believes his daughter’s disability has always impacted her because it is an “invisible” one.

“From a lot of people, you can tell what their disability is because it’s a physical disability,” he said. “Looking at her (Natasha), you wouldn’t think she has a disability, but she does.”

Stasiuk originally didn’t know she had autism until a psychologist advised her to test for it almost three years ago. Her auditory processing condition has been with her almost her entire life, which affected her ability to process what people were saying to her or keep count of her own score when she was younger.

“In the beginning, when she joined the junior circuits, the other girls caught on to that (disability), Peter said. “They would always tell her she scored more than what she got, and they scored less than what she thought they scored.”

Peter believed this was always a “disadvantage” for her simply because she took what other golfers said for granted because she couldn’t remember what she actually scored. He always followed Stasiuk around and kept score as a spectator; the scores were sometimes “completely different” from the scores that were reported.

However, thanks to the help of her father and family in adapting to living with her disabilities, Stasiuk has been better at keeping her scores as well as processing what people are saying.

Now, Stasiuk has made herself known as a role model to golfers with disabilities both on and off the course. Off it, she always advises anyone with any disability who is unsure of playing golf full-time to “go for it.”

“You never know what will happen,” she said. “Go watch these people with disabilities play golf, it’s amazing and pretty inspiring too.”

Stasiuk believes anyone with a disability who is new to the sport can quickly make connections and lifetime friends. Just like she did.

“I think she enjoys expanding the game to others that may not look at golf as a possibility because they have a disability,” said Peter. “It’s still a small segment that actually plays with disabilities, but it’s growing.”

On the course, Stasiuk has built quite the résumé in the past few years. She is currently world ranked No. 1-female golfer with intellectual disabilities as per the WR4GD Rankings.

Since 2019, she has been Golf Ontario’s Women’s Adaptive Champion, and plans on competing in this year’s Adaptive Championship at Weston Golf and Country Club in July. She has also been Golf Canada’s Women’s All Abilities Champion for the last three years.

Stasiuk has also finished top five in the USGA Adaptive Open in the past two years and finished first in the intellectual category of that same championship last year. She also finished third in the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin in 2023 and first in the Special Olympics North America competition later that fall.

Although the year has just begun, Stasiuk was one of 12 in the world chosen to train at the first EDGA Development Camp in Portugal, and she recently finished third overall and first for her disability category at the USDGA Championship at the PGA Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Traveling to different places away from her home to compete in each of these championships, as well as making friends along the way, have led to Stasiuk having more confidence in her game than ever before. She feels like she finally belongs.

“It’s good to experience different places in the world,” she said. “I know some of them are back in Ontario, but it’s still nice to play courses I’ve never played before.”

As April marked the observance of Celebrate Diversity Month, it presented Golf Ontario with a wonderful opportunity to share inspiring stories and honour the diverse backgrounds and contributions of our members, volunteers, players, and colleagues. We plan on sharing these inspiring stories–like Natasha’s–throughout the season.