With ongoing uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic, Golf Canada continues to evaluate all aspects of our business to make informed and responsible decisions within the best interests of our athletes, staff, volunteers, host clubs, partners and other stakeholders health and well-being.

Golf Canada has made the decision to cancel the 2020 NextGen Prairie Championship that was scheduled to be held June 12-14 at Quarry Oaks Golf Club.

The decision to cancel this competition was not taken lightly, but we believe it is the best course of action. The safety and well-being of our competitors, tournament staff and volunteers along with our host site members and staff are paramount to Golf Canada. We also appreciate that all Canadians are dealing with health and travel concerns along with more pressing matters of uncertainty.

Golf Canada has also made the decision to cancel all 2020 Future Links Junior Skills Challenge Provincial Qualifier events and this includes the Manitoba event that was scheduled for July 5, 2020 at St. Charles Country Club. Golf is only beginning to get underway in most regions of the country and it was the lack of time for facilities to run local qualifying events, combined with the current provincial restrictions on group gatherings that led to this decision.

At this time, the Future Links Junior Skills Challenge National Event remains on the event schedule, set for August 30 at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club in Vancouver, B.C. Golf Canada will continue to monitor the guidelines of government and health experts to assess any impact to the event. Should the National Event be hosted as scheduled, Golf Canada will operate under the previous qualifying structure whereby the top-ranked players from across the country on the online National Leaderboard, in each of the four age categories, will be invited to compete at the event.

The government of Manitoba announced today their plan to re-open the economy under a multi-phased approach and beginning Monday, May 4, 2020.  Under this plan, the golf industry will be permitted to open as part of phase 1 and under enhanced operating guidelines.

For more information on today’s announcement, please click below:

• Restoring Safe Services Together: Manitoba’s Phased Approach
• Restoring Services (Phase One)- Beginning May 4

It is with great sadness that Golf Manitoba has learned of the passing of Peggy Colonello on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 at the age of 97.

Peggy Colonello made a huge impact on women’s golf in Manitoba and Canada as an administrator.  Her volunteerism spanned decades and started in 1974 where she served as president of the Manitoba Ladies’ Golf Association until 1976. Peggy continued her administrative work in golf serving a two-year term as president of the Canadian Ladies’ Golf Association from 1982-83. During her time on the national executive, Peggy attended World and Commonwealth championships in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Columbia, Britain and Switzerland, including the various Canadian events in which she participated. Peggy, for her contributions to the sport, was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1994 and was an inaugural inductee into the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame on September 29, 2003.

In addition to her volunteerism, Peggy also enjoyed the competitive side of golf. She represented Manitoba on three Manitoba Senior Provincial golf teams, and many winning Nassau teams for Elmhurst. Peggy was very active in the affairs of her home club, the Elmhurst Golf & Country Club in Winnipeg, where she and her husband Alex had been members since the 1940s.

The Colonello name was well known in golf and not only for Peggy’s contributions. Her husband Alex Colonello first moved to Winnipeg in 1941. In 1973, Alex purchased and become president of the Bay Bronze company and eventually acquired the golf accessory line from Bayco Industries to form Bayco Golf Inc. Bayco golf ball washers can still be found on the tee boxes of golf courses all over the world. Alex Colonello passed away in 2013 at the age of 93.

In 2018 and at the age of 94, Peggy Colonello established the Alex & Peggy Colonello Foundation with a mandate to support junior golf in the province of Manitoba. The Foundation established an unprecedented endowment of $3 million dollars that will aid in supporting the development of new generations of golfers through grassroots golf initiatives and high-performance programming. Since 2019, the Foundation had committed $130,000 to junior golf programs including the Golf in Schools initiative, provincial junior team development and the University of Manitoba Bisons golf program.  The Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame also received support in recognizing and celebrating contributions to golf at the annual Hall of Fame Induction ceremony and will continue to be supported from the Foundation.

Because of her continued devotion to grow the sport for which she and Alex loved so much, the legacy of Alex & Peggy Colonello will carry on through junior golf and for generations to come.

To read Mrs. Colonello’s obituary, please click here >>

Written by Bison Sports

Pat Gill Legacy Award

Garth Goodbrandson

The Pat Gill Legacy Award was created in 2013-14 in the spirit of Pat Gill, who was the long-serving Faculty of Kinesiology & Recreation Management member and Bisons football team manager for over 40 years starting in the mid-1960s before passing away in December 2011.
The seventh recipient of the award is Garth Goodbrandson, head coach and co-founder of the University of Manitoba golf program.

Created in 1999, the goal and directive for Bisons golf was to give talented Manitoba players the opportunity to continue development as golfers while receiving a quality education at home. From day one, the mission statement has always been to develop champions on and off the course.

Goodbrandson has a long history in the sport before creating the Bisons golf program. He was a golf professional at Tuxedo (Assistant, 1982-86), Halcrow Lake (Head 1987-90), Breezy Bend (Associate 1991) and Minnewasta (Head 1992-97). He’s been the Golf Manitoba Director of Player Development since 1997 and was the first coach hired full-time by a provincial golf association.

As a coach, he’s led over 20 provincial teams at national events since 1998 and was named a top 50 teacher in Canada by the National Post in 2007. He’s earned the PGA of Manitoba’s Professional Development Award in 2014 and the Junior Leader of the Year in 1999 and 2000.

All that experience has fed success at UM, where Goodbrandson has been a tireless fundraiser, a great coach, and a real gentleman.

“I think Garth’s work with the Bisons golf team speaks for itself,” said Derrik Goodwin, who assumed head coaching duties of the men’s team in 2019 while Goodbrandson managed the program and led fundraising efforts.

“He basically funded the program out of his own pocket, took his own vehicle to tournaments, and created fundraising initiatives to help the program get established and thrive. I know Garth always speaks very highly of the university and is committed to doing the right thing. He’s a great representative for the program and university.”

As head coach of the Bisons men’s team, Goodbrandson led Manitoba to a national win at the 2014 Canadian University Championship and was named the Canadian University Coach of the Year. Afterwards, he was given the City of Winnipeg Outstanding Achievement Award and the team was a finalist for the 2014 Sportswriters/Sportscasters Team of the Year.

Under Goodbrandson’s direction, there have been 36 overall team tournament victories for the Bisons since their start in 1999.

Garth Goodbrandson is this year’s Pat Gill Legacy Award recipient.

(UPDATED April 4)

The Manitoba government has issued a new public health order to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in an effort to protect the health and safety of all Manitobans, Premier Brian Pallister announced on Monday, March 30.  All non-essential businesses are to close effective 12:01am April 1 to April 14, 2020.  Golf courses were not-listed as an essential service within the health order and would therefore be required to close.

An interpretation of a provision within the public health order would allow businesses such as golf courses to access the grounds to be able to continue with maintenance and repairs.  As of April 1, it was confirmed by the provincial government that golf courses can continue to employee staff for maintenance. Additionally, if the golf course has a shop they can provide goods online or by telephone for delivery or pickup. Additionally, workplaces should still follow social distancing practices as recommended by the Chief Provincial Public Health Officer.

Manitoba health officials clarify business operations >>

The closure of non-essential business services was announced just 10 days after the province declared a state of emergency in an effort to protect the public and reduce the spread of COVID-19.

For more information on the public health order, please click HERE >>.

For golf facility managers and owners looking for more information about how to navigate operations during this time, the National Golf Course Owners Association has populated their website with some resources for your reference.  Please see below:

NGCOA Corona Virus and your Golf Business >>

We Are Golf (The National Allied Golf Associations/NAGA) are committed to ensuring the health and safety of our members, golfers, staff, volunteers and industry stakeholders as well as every Canadian in the communities where we live, work and play.

The COVID-19 crisis is an unprecedented and difficult time for Canadians. We Are Golf fully supports the recommendations and guidelines of Health Canada, the World Health Organization and regional public health experts to stop the community spread of the virus. As leaders in an industry that employs more than 300,000 Canadians and includes nearly six million golfers from coast to coast, our priority above all else is the health and safety of our people and our communities.

Where governments have not mandated the temporary closure of golf courses, operators of those facilities should take every health and safety precaution. We Are Golf also advocates for the essential need for golf course property maintenance during any of the temporary closures to be ready for operation while taking every health and safety precaution.

We look forward to better and healthier days and when the time is right for Canadians to return to recreational normalcy, clubs and courses will be ready to welcome golfers back to the tee.

WINNIPEG – Each year, Sport Manitoba’s annual Night of Champions celebrates sports excellence in Manitoba. In recognition of their outstanding golf achievements in 2019, Southwood Golf & Country Club’s Rhonda Orr and Colwyn Abgrall were honored during this year’s event by being nominated in the Female and Male Open Athletes of the Year categories. This year’s event was cancelled to reduce the public health risks associated with COVID-19, however Sport Manitoba recognized all nominees and winners on its website and through social media.

Rhonda Orr – Golf

Golfer Rhonda Orr extended an impressive streak in 2019, winning the Manitoba Women’s Seniors Championshipfor a fourth straight year. She also finished 11^th out of 118 players at the Canadian Women’s Seniors Championship, and she also qualified for the United States Women’s Seniors Championship for the second straight year, playing in the round of 32 and winning her first match while competing against golfers from all over the world. From golf, Rhonda Orr.

Colwyn  Abgrall – Golf

Niverville’s own Colwyn Abgrall is putting the tiny Manitoba town on the map. The 23-year-old golfer had several highlights in 2019, none more noteworthy than winning the Nott Autocorp Manitoba Amateur Championship. He was also a member of the Manitoba Men’s Provincial Amateur Team, and his success even took him south of the border, where he qualified for and competed in the United States Amateur Championship in North Carolina. From golf, Colwyn Abgrall.

Manitoba is rich with countless remarkable sport people of all ages with amazing stories of success, service and dedication. The Night of Champions recognizes these accomplishments in sport across the spectrum including athletes and teams, coaches, officials and volunteers.

For more information on this year’s full list of nominees and award winners, please click HERE >>.

WINNIPEG – Garth Goodbrandson, Director of Player Development with Golf Manitoba, was honoured this past weekend where he was awarded both the Janet Arnott Memorial Award and the Male Coach of the Year award as presented by Sport Manitoba and Club Regent Casino & Event Centre. This year’s event was cancelled to reduce the public health risks associated with COVID-19, however Sport Manitoba recognized all nominees and winners on its website and through social media.

The Sport Manitoba Coaching Awards recognize and celebrate the outstanding achievements and significant contributions coaches have made to their athletes and sport over the past year. The selection of recipients is based on their unique contribution to sport through the continued development of their athletes.

For the past 23 years, Garth has been at the helm of Golf Manitoba’s player development program. A 37-year member of the PGA of Canada, Garth’s resume includes coaching at eight multi-sport games competitions including two Manitoba Summer Games, three Western Canada Summer Games and two Canada Summer Games. Additionally, Garth is the lead coach of the Golf Manitoba Junior Development Teams, has coached numerous athletes who have played on Golf Manitoba Provincial Junior Teams and is the co-founder and past Head Coach of the University of Manitoba Bison Men’s and Women’s Golf Teams.

About Sport Manitoba – Sport Manitoba is a  not-for-profit organization and the lead planning, programming and funding agency for the development of amateur sport in Manitoba. Sport Manitoba partners with over 100 organizations to deliver sport in the province and is responsible for programs including the Manitoba Games powered by Manitoba Hydro, Sport Manitoba Coaching, Team Manitoba, Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame, Fit Kids Healthy Kids and KidSport. Services provided include the Sport Manitoba Clinic, Sport Manitoba Performance, Sport Manitoba Fitness Centre, and the Paul Robson Resource Centre for Leadership and Coaching.

With heightened uncertainty and global concern related to COVID-19, the Golf Manitoba office will continue to be closed until further notice.  Office staff will continue with operations remotely during this closure from 8:00 am – 4:30 pm daily.  If you have any questions or wish to contact a staff member directly, please visit our staff contact page for email and phone number information.

More updates on operations to follow as they become available.

Please stay safe and we hope to see you on the links soon!

Jared Ladobruk
Executive Director, Golf Manitoba

WINNIPEG, MB – The coaching staff for golf for the 2020 Manitoba Summer games met on Monday, March 9 for a learning and development session in preparation for the Dauphin 2020 Manitoba Games powered by Manitoba Hydro.  This was the first meeting for the coaching staff that included a coaching development session lead by PGA of Canada professional, head coach of the 2020 men’s Canadian Olympic golf team and PGA Tour coach, Derek Ingram. Also in attendance was three-time PGA of Canada Manitoba Zone Coach of the Year and Golf Manitoba Director of Player Development, Garth Goodbrandson.

This will be the 5th year that golf will be included in the provincial multi-sport games event with the first participation taking place in 2004. The City of Dauphin will be hosting over 1500 athletes at the 2020 Manitoba Games from August 9 – 15, 2020 with golf athletes competing on the gorgeous Gilbert Plains Golf & Country Club.

Regional coaching staff for golf include current and former members of the PGA of Canada and include Dave Scinocca (West), Dean North (South), Ryan MacKenzie (East), Greg Hesom (Winnipeg) and Bri-ann Tokariwski (Winnipeg). For more information on the 2020 coaching staff, please click HERE >>.