The Missing Champion for Canadian Professional Golfers

The talk on Facebook over the holidays has been the lack of support in Canada for its elite professional golfers. The question is: "Why"?

Why do other countries like Sweden and Australia, for example, lend more of a helping hand than Canada? Why in Canada do we keep building the pipeline at the front end without finishing the job after young amateurs turn pro?

I remember Jerry Anderson giving a speech at my fund-raising event when I first started my pro career. He painted a dismal picture of the struggle of talented Canadian professional golfers. Most had to give up their dreams during the 70s, 80s and 90s. It was a sink or swim environment. Still is.

Things are brightening up a bit with five guys on the PGA. But "Owning the Podium" in a big way can't happen without organized effort. Canada's success at the 2010 Winter Olympics sure pointed that out.

Most good ideas take off when there is one person who takes the bull by the horn and ties all the pieces together. Maybe that's what we need in Canada.

Good News for Canada's Young Pro Golfers

It was interesting this week to be part of RCGA’s survey on how to help young pro golfers. RCGA has had the goal in its strategic plan for a few years. I wondered if it would ever get around to doing something about it.

As an amateur I was glad and fortunate to be part of RCGA’s Player Development Programme. Along with NCAA golf experience as I attended university, the RCGA programme during the summers was icing on the cake. That’s where I made a lot of great friends who are still my buddies.

But after turning pro, we’ve pretty much been left to fend for ourselves. We’ve scrambled to figure things out. What coaches to use, what equipment is best, what opportunities to go after, how to find money to support ourselves and so on. We know now how much we would have soaked up some help from RCGA as we made the leap from amateur to pro.

With the top two amateurs in the world being Canadians and many other promising amateurs and young pros “in the pipeline”, RCGA’s timing is good. The number of Canadians on the pro circuit might double and triple fast!