With the festive season upon us, Golf Manitoba is reflecting on the year that’s coming to a close – with gratitude to our members, member clubs and our volunteers. You’ve made it a year to be proud of and it couldn’t have happened without your support. 

On behalf of the Board of Directors and the staff at Golf Manitoba, we wish everyone a new year filled with hope, good health and beautiful moments.

Hours of Operation 

The Golf Manitoba office will be closed beginning Friday, December 24, 2021 and will reopen at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, January 4, 2022.

The PGA of Canada has announced the finalists for its 2021 National Awards.

“We are blessed to have a family of over 3,600 professionals who proudly share their passion and expertise with golfers from coast-to-coast,” said Teejay Alderdice, the association’s president. 

“On behalf of the PGA of Canada, I would like to congratulate all nominees and finalists for their outstanding accomplishments this year. I look forward to celebrating their collective achievements later this month during our virtual National Awards Ceremony.”

Golf Manitoba junior development team coaches Bri-ann Tokariwski and Derrik Goodwin have both been nominated for national awards. Tokariwski, who is an assistant professional out of the Elmhurst Golf & Country Club, has been nominated for the Moe Norman Apprentice of the Year award. Goodwin, the head professional at the Glendale Golf & Country Club, has been nominated for both the Jack McLaughlin Junior Leader of the Year and the George Knudson Teacher of the Year awards.

Five PGA of Canada Manitoba Zone members have also been nominated for awards and include the following:

• Murray Tucker Club Professional of the Year: James Chapman, Glendale Golf & Country Club
• Dick Munn Executive Professional of the Year: Al Scott, Falcon Lake Golf Course
• Ben Kern Coach of the Year: Derek Ingram, Golf Canada
• Pat Fletcher Retailer of the Year: Kris Ehnes, Breezy Bend Country Club
• Stan Leonard Class “A” Professional of the Year: Jeremy Gallant, St. Charles Country Club

Each year, a National Selection Committee evaluates nominations from professionals across Canada. Winners for each national award are traditionally recognized during PGA of Canada Night at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla., however, this year will see winners revealed live during the association’s virtual National Award Ceremony on January 27, 2022. 

Looking for a last minute stocking stuffer for the golfer on your list? Give the gift of golf this holiday season with a Golf Manitoba/Golf Canada membership!

The Golf Manitoba/Canada membership is a must-have for every Canadian golfer. For only $49.95, members receive annual equipment protection coverage, can establish and maintain an official handicap index and receive exclusive access to special offers and discounts year-round. The full suite of game-enhancing benefits include:

• Incident protection of up $6,000 in total annual coverage (365 days from date of purchase) for damaged, lost or stolen golf equipment and golf cart and window damage coverage
• An Official Golf Canada Handicap Index through the NEW World Handicap System
• Access the Golf Canada Score Centre to post scores and track golf stats
• Golf Canada App that includes GPS distances for over 1,400 courses in Canada
• Exclusive offers on event tickets & merchandise
• Exclusive offers from Golf Canada, Levelwear, AVIS and Hilton
• Golf benefits with RBC Insurance for home and auto
• Free access to online rules education access
• Membership dues are reinvested into Grow the Game programs such as Golf in Schools, mobile clinics and junior development teams

For more information on the Golf Manitoba/Golf Canada membership and to purchase, please visit join.golfcanada.ca.

This time of year, we are inundated with “gift guides for the golfer in your life.” I’m here to tell you I am that golfer and I don’t want most of that stuff.

Why the greatest game has the cheesiest accessories is beyond me. You’ve seen them: Caddyshack gopher head covers, ugly sweaters and those visors with the fake hair sprouting out the top. Note to my family: Buy me one of those and the next time you see one while walking through the local thrift store and remark, “Hey, that’s just like the one we got Uncle John for Christmas,” rest assured it is the same one.

So here’s the real stuff the golfer in your life (and likely you) want for Christmas.

A book you can’t put down

It’s been said that “the smaller the ball, the more is written about it” and, despite the fact I’ve never seen much literature about marbles, I believe that to be true. There are so many great books about every conceivable facet of golf. I particularly enjoy reading about the people, especially if they are Canadian. Gary Cowan’s new autobiography (written with David McPherson) From Rockway to Augusta chronicles his outstanding career. Cowan, an honoured member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, remains the only man to win the U.S. Amateur twice at stroke play. Hard- and soft-cover versions are available for order here.

A Golf Canada membership

If the recipient doesn’t belong to a Golf Canada member club which includes a Golf Canada membership as part of their benefits, get them one. Priced around $50, it’s a bargain, providing an official handicap index among a plethora of other benefits including access to the full-feature Golf Canada app and incident protection coverage against lost, damaged, or stolen equipment. Learn all about it here. 

A club-fitting session

Here’s a vital tip. DO NOT buy golf clubs for the object of your affection. Few things are more personal than a golfer’s choice of tools. Getting fitted for clubs (and balls) is essential. A gift certificate for your local pro shop may seem a touch antiseptic but, trust me, it will be deeply appreciated. While an in-person fitting is preferable, most equipment companies offer sophisticated online fitting apps.

Tickets to Canada’s National Opens

Canada’s national open championships (CP Women’s Open and RBC Canadian Open) make their highly anticipated return after a two-year break. Consider the full experience of world-class golf with tickets for you and yours.

Gift cards to your local pro shop

On the topic of gift certificates, how about patronizing your local courses this holiday season? Most offer gift cards for everything from merchandise, food and beverage, lessons and even a contribution toward annual dues.

Practice and tracking progress

Unless you live in balmy British Columbia, your practice is pretty well restricted to indoors. If you are committed to game improvement in the offseason, consider purchasing a launch monitor or visiting an indoor facility with access. Putting mats like the Wellputt are under 200 bucks and we all know how many strokes poor putting costs us.

This is my opinion only but mid- to high-handicappers don’t need an expensive rangefinder. The free Golf Canada mobile app offers GPS data alongside detailed hole-by-hole scoring.

A new push cart

The recent boom in golf participation has revealed that many golfers prefer to walk and use a push cart which is proven to be easier on the body (and better for your score) than carrying your clubs. Non-motorized carts like Bag Boy’s Nitron have all sorts of options. But if you want to splurge, go for something in the Motocaddy line of electric trolleys.

A donation to golf’s future

Give a donation to the First Tee – Canada. Your gift in any amount will help prepare kids for their future in golf and beyond. Give back to the game that’s given us all so much.

A final caveat: Supply-chain issues being what they are, you should order your golf gifts as soon as possible.

It was another active year for Golf Manitoba members posting over 260,833 rounds to the Golf Canada Score Centre in 2021. The season total represents a 17% increase over 2020 (223,711) and a 28% increase over 2019 (205,384).

The top five member clubs for score posting were as follows:

1. Breezy Bend Country Club – 23,051
2. St. Charles Country Club – 20,203
3. Pine Ridge Golf Club – 17,513
4. Niakwa Country Club – 17,409
5. Elmhurst Golf & Country Club – 16,846

There was a total of 4,101 members who posted 25 scores or more. Two hundred and seventy-six (276) members posted over 100 scores.

Below is a summary of Golf Manitoba member golfers, categorized by gender and Handicap Index (as of November 9, 2021):

Aaron Cockerill shot rounds of 69 and 70 to finish T12 at the 2021 DP World Tour Joburg Open being played at the Randpark Golf Club in Johannesburg, South Africa.  Due to increasingly inclement weather in the region, the third and fourth rounds of the event were cancelled.

With the finish, Cockrill earned $12,144 euros and 20.61 points toward the DP World Tour Rankings where he sits in 9th position.

View leaderboard >>

The DP World Tour Rankings is a season-long competition to crown the European Tour’s Number One player.

Celebrating the global connectivity of Dubai and the European Tour, the list of champions since 2009 reads like a who’s who of modern-era greats, including three-time winner Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson with two titles, as well as Tommy Fleetwood, Martin Kaymer, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and most recently Collin Morikawa.

November 18, 2021 – On behalf of selection committee members Clayton Dreger, Jill Hardy, Adam Speirs and Ken Wiebe, Golf Manitoba is pleased to announce the 2021 Female and Male Amateur Golfer of the Year Award winners. 

Bobbi Uhl of Shilo Country Club is the Female Amateur Golfer of the Year. 

Uhl had a flawless 2021 provincial competitive season.  She started with a win at the Women’s City & District Championship, her first ever title in the event and carried that momentum going on to capture the Diamond Athletic Women’s Amateur Championship.  It was the first provincial women’s amateur title for Uhl and her second straight tournament victory. With the amateur win, Uhl has now won every single Golf Manitoba major women’s event including the Junior Girls, City & District, Match Play and Amateur championships.

Having won this award in 2020, the 21 year old follows in the footsteps of 2018 and 2019 winner Rhonda Orr.

Uhl is currently in her senior year at Longwood University majoring in Athletic Training.

Braxton Kuntz of Breezy Bend Country Club is the Male Amateur Golfer of the Year.

Kuntz was a perfect 2-0 in provincial competition in 2021. He led wire-to-wire at the Junior Boys Championship shooting a three-day total of 219, good for a three-shot victory.  The 18 year old carried the momentum from his first junior boys title into the Nott Autocorp Amateur Championship where he posted an impressive 16-under par total winning his first men’s amateur title. 

With the win, Kuntz set a new Men’s Amateur scoring record in relation to par and becomes only the 4^th golfer in Manitoba golf history to win both the junior boys and the men’s amateur championships in the same year joining Todd Fanning, Rob McMillan and Mike Keast, who also accomplished the feat.

Kuntz is currently in his first year at Nicholls State University majoring in Finance.

About the Golf Manitoba Amateur Golfer of the Year Award – The Manitoba Amateur Golfer of the Year award recognizes outstanding performance by Manitoba golfers in all levels of competition with the first award presented in 1975. In 2015, the award was re-established to include both a female and male category.

About Golf Manitoba – Golf Manitoba is the governing body for golf in the province of Manitoba and North West Ontario. Its mission is to develop, promote, govern and service the sport of golf for the benefit of all participants. 

For interview requests with Uhl and Kuntz, contact:

Brian Munz
Director of Communications
Golf Manitoba
(204) 899-1092
Email: brian@golfmb.ca

Michelle Lee is the sixteenth recipient of the volunteer Distinguished Service Award.

Michelle’s volunteerism with golf first began serving as a district representative with the Manitoba Ladies’ Golf Association. In this role, Michelle would visit and advocate for the MLGA with member clubs inside the district.  She also ran the district “Bronze Tournament” where she met numerous women golfers from around the city.  Michelle remained a volunteer of the MLGA until the amalgamation with the Manitoba Golf Association in 2003.

In 2004, Michelle joined the Board of Golf Manitoba where she completed a full 10-year term. During that time, Michelle was very active taking on numerous volunteer roles including the following:

• 2005 – Present: Starter/Scorer/Pace of Play Official
• 2006 – 2010: Marketing Committee
• 2007 – Chair of Membership Committee
• 2007 – 2008: Volunteer Committee
• 2009 – Chair of the Volunteer committee
• 2010 – Chair of Tournament Committee / Co-chair Medical at CN Canadian Women’s Open
• 2013 – Chair Volunteer Committee / Nominating Committee member
• 2013 – Present: Tournament Committee

Of special note in 2007/2008, Michelle assisted Volunteer Committee Chair Bonnie Stephenson in establishing the inaugural Golf Manitoba volunteer Distinguished Service Award.

In addition to her volunteerism with Golf Manitoba, Michelle also volunteered at St. Charles Country Club, her home course.   She joined the Board of St. Charles where she completed three full terms holding the following appointments:

• Chair of Play & Rules
• Honorary Secretary
• Communications Chair
• Membership Committee member
• LRP Committee
• Member of the Ladies Invitational committee (Rossbrook House)
• Member of the Ladies Mackenzie Gathering committee

Michelle continues to sit as a member of the St. Charles Ladies Executive serving as the Communications Chair.

“I feel that I have gained more than I have given as a volunteer to Golf Manitoba,” said Lee. “It is humbling and amazing to be part of a group of distinguished service recipients who have mentored me in the past and who have trained me, and they have inspired me to continue on as a Golf Manitoba volunteer.  My deepest gratitude for the nomination and I am humbled and honored to receive this award.”

“On behalf of the Board of Directors and our entire Golf Manitoba volunteer family, it is my great pleasure and honour to recognize Michelle Lee of the St. Charles Country Club as the 2021 Distinguished Service Award recipient,” said Wayne McWhirter, President of Golf Manitoba.  “Michelle’s leadership and contributions to the sport of amateur golf during her many years of service are admirable and very worthy of this award.  Thank you, Michelle, for all that you have given.”

Golf Manitoba is very pleased to honour Michelle Lee as the volunteer Distinguished Service Award recipient for 2021.

Golf Manitoba is pleased to announce our 2021 Volunteer of the Year and the Female and Male Amateur Golfer of the Year award winners during our Virtual Awards presentation.

To watch our show: click here.

The Order of Sport Excellence Award Program was established by the province of Manitoba to celebrate athletic achievements by Manitobans. Administered by Sport Manitoba, the awards give public recognition to the accomplishments of athletes and coaches in provincial, national and international competition. In recognition of this award program, Sport Manitoba and Golf Manitoba would like to congratulate the 2021 provincial golf champions with Award of Merit certificates:

• 2021 Junior Girls Champion: Clara Peake
• 2021 Junior Boys Champion: Braxton Kuntz
• 2021 Women’s Amateur Champion: Bobbi Uhl
• 2021 Men’s Amateur Champion: Braxton Kuntz
• 2021 Men’s Mid-Amateur Champion: Todd Fanning
• 2021 Women’s Senior Champion: Rhonda Orr
• 2021 Men’s Senior Champion: Garth Collings

Congratulations to the 2021 Order of Sports Excellence Award recipients!