National Junior Facility award winners recognized at RBC Canadian Open – SCOREGolf

On the Tuesday of RBC Canadian Open week, recipients of last year’s National Facility Awards for Junior Golf (presented by Humi) were recognized during the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame’s induction ceremony for Lisa Meldrum at Hamilton Golf and Country Club.

It’s hard to imagine a more opportunistic backdrop than the RBC Canadian Open, a room full of Hall of Fame members and some of Canadian golf’s most important and influential people to recognize golf facilities across the country making an impact on the grassroots of the game. 

Look no further than the field last week to appreciate just how important junior golf programming is to this country.

Nick Taylor, the 2023 RBC Canadian Open champion, and his fellow PGA Tour winner Adam Hadwin are both products of Abbotsford, B.C.’s Ledgeview Golf Course junior program.

Two-time PGA Tour winner Mackenzie Hughes grew up playing junior golf at Dundas Valley Golf and Curling Club in Dundas, Ont., where the club’s short course is named after him, and if you ask 2022 RSM Classic winner Adam Svensson he’ll tell you about the access he got as a junior while playing courses all around Metro Vancouver.

So will Kevin Blue.

During his two-plus years as Golf Canada’s chief sport officer (Blue is now general secretary and CEO of Canada Soccer), the former athletics director at the University of California, Davis initiated these national facility awards for junior golf. The goal was to give engaged clubs across the country a benchmark and heighten national awareness of how golf facilities can support junior golf in their community. 

“Providing a determined young person with the access to play, practice and pursue their golfing dreams at a welcoming golf course can change the trajectory of their life,” he wrote in the Golf Canada press release for the awards in 2023. “My own path was dramatically changed by the opportunities afforded to me as an employee with course access at Donalda Club and a sponsored junior member at Bayview Country Club in Toronto. The chance to play and practice at these facilities was the foundation that ultimately led to a golf scholarship at Stanford University.”

There are, however, courses across the country that either don’t support junior golf programming or do so at a minimum. During the pandemic, I recall reports of clubs that had eliminated junior access from their tee sheet.    

Golf Canada’s director of membership Ryan Logan, who did a wonderful job facilitating the awards presentation during the Hall of Fame induction luncheon, believes these facility awards will shine a brighter spotlight on courses impacting juniors and will influence others to become more involved.

“The awards were born out of the moment we’re in right now in Canadian golf. Tee sheets are full and often the first group of people to get squeezed off are junior golfers. We felt it was our role to recognize facilities that are going above and beyond and not just opening their doors but providing a fun, welcoming inclusive environment for junior golfers. We think that’s special and so if we recognize these clubs and put them on a pedestal for other folks to see across the country our belief is it will pay dividends down the line and create more future golfers,” Logan said.  

Recipient of the Tournament Host of the Year Award, South Muskoka Curling and Golf Club’s general manager and director of golf Adam Frederick and head professional Jacklynn Miller were both humbled by the club’s award and what it means.

“We’re a pretty small-town, community golf course,” said Frederick, who mentioned the club has 120 juniors at its facility near Bracebridge, Ont. “Our tournament is a drop in the bucket compared to the bigger picture for golf in Canada but we’ve been able to host our junior tournament two years in a row and to have a kind of first of its kind for that age group has meant a lot. We recognize this is our future customer. It’s not the reason we do it but it gives us a chance to give back. We understand there are a lot of golf courses that don’t provide the same kind of opportunity as we do. We’re at capacity but we challenge other golf courses to open their doors and try to spur that growth.”

Here is a list of the 2023 winners and finalists of the National Facility Awards for Junior Golf:

Junior Golf Opportunity Award

Winner: Sawmill Golf Club (Fenwick, Ont.)

Finalists:

Revelstoke Golf Club (Revelstoke, B.C.)

Tangle Creek Golf Club (Thornton, Ont.)

River Hills Golf and Country Club (Clyde River, N.S.)

Grassroots Junior Program of the Year

Winner: Deep River Golf Club (Deep River, Ont.)

Finalist:

Lakewood Golf Resort (Sylvan Lake, Alta.)

Competitive Junior Program of the Year

Winner: Royal Ottawa Golf Club (Gatineau, Que.)

Tournament Host of the Year

Winner: South Muskoka Curling and Golf Club (Bracebridge, Ont.)

Youth on Course Program Location of the Year

Winner: Shaganappi Point Golf Course (Calgary)

First Tee – Canada Program Location of the Year

Fraserview Golf Course (Vancouver)

Nominations for the 2024 National Facility Awards for Junior Golf will open in September.