The Golf Association of Ontario will honor Canadian golf legend Richard (Dick) H. Grimm who passed away earlier this week by distributing a commemorative pin with Grimm’s initials (RHG) on it to competitors and volunteers at provincial championships throughout the season.

“This week the Canadian golf industry truly lost one of the cherished ambassadors of our game and a treasured member of our collective family,” said GAO Executive Director Steve Carroll. “We are humbled to honor one of the game’s greatest by wearing his initials on our shirts, hats or golf bags during the 2014 season.”

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Grimm immigrated to Canada in 1948, earned the nickname “Mr. Canadian Open” thanks to his involvement in the event from 1965 to 1993. He used his skills as a salesman, promoter, official and fan to make the event what it is today. He was a key mogul in the development of Canadian golf and was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1993.

The entire Canadian golf community is mourning the loss of Richard (Dick) Grimm who passed away on May 26, 2014 at the age of 91.

PGA of Canada Professionals Dave Smallwood and Mike Skimson are pleased and excited to announce a new junior tour played strictly on GolfNorth Properties.  Registration for the Ian Leggatt GolfNorth Junior Tour is now open.  The purpose of this tour is to provide players the opportunity to experience competitive golf in professionally run one-day events.  All participants will have Tour Membership and will be awarded Order of Merit points based on their finishes. The tour will consist of a qualifying event and five one-day events in four different divisions including:

Girls (U15 and U19)

Boys (U15 and U19)

Tour Qualifying Date—Sunday June 15th—Foxwood Golf Club Cost—$125 + HST

Event # 1—Tuesday July 1st—Mystic Golf Club Cost $75 + HST

Event # 2—Tuesday July 15th—Dundee Country Club Cost $75 + HST

Event # 3—Tuesday July 29th—Conestoga Country Club Cost $75 + HST

Event # 4—Tuesday August 5th—Paris Grand Golf Club Cost $75 + HST

Event # 5—Tuesday August 26th—Grey Silo Golf Club Cost $75 + HST

 To register please visit www.golfnorthjuniortour.ca

For up to date information please follow us on twitter @leggoGNJunior

UXBRIDGE— The Golf Association of Ontario (GAO) and the entire Canadian golf community is mourning the loss of Richard (Dick) Grimm who passed away on May 26 at the age of 91.

Grimm, who was born in Chicago in 1923 but immigrated to Canada in 1948, earned the nickname “Mr. Canadian Open” thanks to his involvement in the event from 1965 to 1993. He used his skills as a salesman, promoter, official and fan to make the event what it is today.

Reaction to his passing poured out throughout the golf community. “A sad day for Canadian golf as Dick Grimm passes away. A wonderful man who helped Canadian golf in so many ways,” said Bob Week via Twitter.

Weeks was a recipient of the Dick Grimm Award from the Golf Journalists Association of Canada in 2013. The award rotates each year honouring someone in the golf media and industry.

“Dick Grimm passed away today. He was a genial and commanding presence, a giant of Canadian golf, and respected by all who knew him,” said Lorne Rubenstein, also via Twitter.

Annually, the GAO also awards the Dick Grimm Distinguished Service Award to the highest honour recognizing volunteer service to the game of golf in Ontario.

The GAO would like to extend our condolences to the Grimm family and celebrate all of the achievements and contributions he made to the game of golf in Canada.

UXBRIDGE— To say it has been a difficult spring for the Golf Association of Ontario’s Tournament Department would be an understatement. Director of Rules and Competitions Dave Colling and the rest of the department have been busy ensuring the 2014 tournament schedule goes on in full despite the challenges.

Colling says that he has never seen anything like this in his 39 years being involved in the golf industry. “There hasn’t been a season like this. There have been small pockets of problems in portions of the province before, but not across such a big area.”

He says that it was only when courses started to thaw from the snow and ice did the department realize they could have additional work to do. “Only when courses started to open did we get notice that there could be problems. Most of the problems were related to the greens. Older courses that have poa annua grass for their greens were harder hit than courses with bent grass.”

“The ice did the damage to the greens forcing clubs to re-sod or re-seed. Because the spring temperatures have been so cool, it has been difficult for new grass to grow,” added Colling.

That created numerous problems for the department. “Our major problem was finding a new site for our Men’s Mid Amateur Championship. Luckily, we had Taboo Resort step up and take the tournament, but there is a ripple effect. Anytime you move an event, not only from a site but also to a new date, it creates a conflict for golfers. We had to offer withdrawals to players who were unable to play on the new date.”

The qualifying sites were another challenge for the department, as they needed to find new dates and new venues for previously scheduled sites. “One site only had 15 playable holes for us, another only nine holes that we ended up playing twice. However, we did everything to make sure we got the rounds in. I feel bad for the players because, for some, their own clubs weren’t open and some only played one or two rounds before a qualifier.”

Not only is there a challenge with the players and venues, but also in rescheduling volunteers, a major component of GAO tournaments. “You have to find different volunteers when you move and you run into conflicts. In the case of our Mid-Am, it will be the second event that Taboo hosts so we needed to get volunteers out to both.”

However, despite all of the challenges this season has produced, Colling says that all the work is pretty much done. “I think we are done now. We changed the last site that we needed to and can move forward.”

He acknowledges that the changes couldn’t be possible without the support of the golf community. “We turned to other clubs and worked with them to make sure there were solutions to the challenges. Whether we needed a new site or to change a date, the clubs were a big help to us. Even if we called one up that couldn’t help, they would recommend another nearby. The entire community really came together to help us.”

It was that support from the clubs that allowed the GAO’s Tournament Department to make sure the schedule stayed intact. “The GAO member clubs have been fantastic through the process and really stepped up. “

Colling says that there was not much that could have been done to prevent the challenges of this season and chalks it up to simply an act of nature. Still, he feels that clubs will learn from it and will make necessary decisions to avoid their own issues in the future. For now, Colling and his department, that includes Tournament Manager Larry Longo and Interns Rob Blaker and Ryan Bond-Gauthier, can focus on running the GAO events now that the challenges are behind them.

MINETT, ON (Golf Canada) – The Rock Golf Course in Minett, ON, will play host to the second CN Future Links Championship event of 2014 – the CN Future Links Ontario Championship – which will be held May 22-25, with a practice round being staged on Thursday, May 22.

The 54-hole stroke play championship will feature the country’s top junior golfers aged 11-18. Players will vie for titles in a Junior Boys and Junior Girls division, respectively.

“We are excited to be in Muskoka for the CN Future Links Ontario Championship,” said Golf Canada Tournament Director Cam Crawford. “With so many Team Canada Development Squad members, as well as other CN Future Links veterans, this championship should prove to be both exciting and challenging for the competitors.”

In the Junior Girls division Team Canada Development Squad members Valérie Tanguay, 18, of St. Hyacinthe, Que. and Naomi Ko, 16, of Victoria will look to continue their strong play from the CN Future Links Pacific Championship. Earlier this month, Tanguay captured the season-opening event in a playoff, while Ko finished third. On the Junior Boys side, Team Canada Development Squad member Carter Simon of Sutton, Ont., returns to defend his CN Future Links Ontario title from 2013. Tyler Saunders of Sturgeon County, Alta., will also look to improve on his third place finish at CN Future Links Pacific.

The Rock Golf Club opened in 2004 and was Nick Faldo’s first Canadian design course. The Rock has previously played host to the Ontario PGA Class ‘A’ Championship in 2009 where golfers battled for a coveted spot on PGA Team Ontario.

“The Rock takes pride in helping to build the game of golf in Canada, and in doing so we recognize that growing junior golf is imperative to that,” said Spencer Morland, Director of Instruction and Associate Golf Professional at The Rock Golf Course. “There is nothing better than hosting competitive junior events to carry on our tradition of being family-friendly and a great home for junior golfers.”

Team Canada’s Development Squad will be well represented at The Rock in both the Junior Boys and Junior Girls divisions. The men’s side will be represented by defending champion, Carter Simon, 18, of Sutton, Ont., along with Étienne Papineau, 17, of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., and Matt Williams, 18, of Calgary, Alta.

From the Women’s Development Squad, the field includes Tanguay, Ko, and Sabrine Garrison, 18, of Calgary, Alta.

In 2013, Carter Simon won the CN Future Links Ontario Championship at the Listowel Golf Club, while Matt Williams placed first in the 2012 championship at the Loyalist Golf and Country Club in Bath, Ont. Maddie Szeryk , the 2013 CN Future Links Ontario Junior Girls champion, will not be in the field at this year’s event.

The top six competitors in the Junior Boys division of each CN Future Links Championship will earn exemptions into the 2014 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, which will be contested July 28 – August 1 at the Legends on the Niagara Battlefield course in Niagara Falls, Ont. The Junior Girls Champion from each CN Future Links Championship will earn an exemption into the 2014 Canadian Junior Girls Championship, which runs July 28 – August 1 at the Thornhill Golf and Country Club in Thornhill, Ont. In addition, the champion will receive an exemption into a Canadian Women’s Tour event.

The CN Future Links Junior Golf Championships are part of CN’s ongoing partnership with Golf Canada and their commitment to junior golf. Focused on supporting safe and fun activities that have a positive impact on children’s health and well being, CN’s investment in CN Future Links is helping to increase grassroots junior golf participation in communities across Canada.

The CN Future Links tournament schedule also includes the CN Future Links Prairie Championship (May 29 – June 1 at Shilo Country Club in Westman, Man.), the CN Future Links Western Championship (July 1- 4 at Birchbank Golf Course in Trail, B.C.), the CN Future Links Quebec Championship (July 7 – 10 at Club de Golf Continental in Ste-Victoire de Sorel, Qué.), and the CN Future Links Atlantic Championship (July 13 – 16 at Humber Valley Resort in Little Rapids, N.L.).

For more information on the 2014 CN Future Links Ontario Championship, click here.

BRAMPTON – Jeff Overholt and Jon Roy of Golf Performance Coaches have partnered with the Brampton Golf Club to launch the first and only Junior Golf Development Centre designed specifically for girls in Canada.

The objective is to create an opportunity to encourage young girls to participate in golf while developing confidence and respect in a safe and supportive environment. It will also provide a coaching pathway for girls who are interested in playing competitive golf.

The program, a joint effort between Golf Performance Coaches and Brampton GC, is in conjunction with the governing bodies for golf in Canada. It is supported by Golf Canada, and run by PGA of Canada members.

“We found there was an opportunity to create a structure to take girls’ golf games to the next level,” explained Overholt. “There’s a gap between the number of girls, especially at the competitive level, and we thought this program will help fix a disconnect we’ve seen. Other programs are already in place for different sports like hockey or baseball, but this is the first for golf.”

It’s a unique strategy for growing the game that will be mimicked in future years across Canada and a chance for young girls to develop a passion for the game that will enable them to enjoy golf for the rest of their lives.

“Our hope through this program is to grow the game, specifically with young girls, in a very unique, fun and social environment,” explained Emerson Mahoney, Head Golf Professional at Brampton Golf Club. “The board and membership of Brampton GC are very excited for this partnership, as it aligns well with the Club’s vision of promoting a lifelong passion for golf.”

The centre will launch in early July with both recreational and competitive coaching programs available for both current Brampton junior members as well as the public.

More specifically, things will be kicked off on July 7th with a free “girls only” future champions clinic – open to the public – prior to the Golf Association of Ontario’s Women’s Amateur Championship (happening July 8th – 11th at Brampton GC).

For parents in the Brampton area, there will be an information night on June 2nd from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the golf course.

Brittany Marchand, the 76th-ranked female amateur in the world, member at Brampton GC and member of Golf Canada’s national amateur team, will be fully supporting the program and will appear at the information night.

If you have a daughter between the age of 6 – 18 who would be interested in being a member of the JGDC please contact Jeff Overholt at 647-897-6178 or email him at jeff@golfperformancecoaches.com

The GAO is proud to present The Regional Team Program.

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