The Sign Says It All

Canadians at Q-School

Here's a good article from sympatico.ca's Robert Thompson:
http://bit.ly/UO8vKJ

I'm always interested in the Canadian contingent at Q-School, wondering if this will be a "break-out" year for Canadian pros: who will join DeLaet, Hearn and Fritsch?
Could this be Ryan Yip's time? Let's keep our fingers crossed!

A Better November

The season ended here at Victoria Park East and Victoria Park Valley on the afternoon of Thursday November 22. And what a fabulous day it was! Mild and VERY busy - we even had the beverage cart out, much to the delight of the golfers. But now the pins are pulled and the crew is busy putting the winter touches on the turf.
November actually proved to be a decent month, balancing the generally wet and cool October.
The Road Construction Saga is nearing an end - Victoria Road is now paved between Arkell Rd. and McAllister; but a retaining wall is still under construction just north of our entrance, so it's still northbound access only from Arkell Rd.

The East Course pro shop and office remains open during the off-season, and will handle all Victoria Park Valley business as well.

Get Used To Seeing This

A very interesting announcement was made on October 18: the PGA Tour Canada will assume the title from the Canadian Tour, with the PGA Tour taking operational control. This is an incredible "re-brand" and will definitely help in promoting the Canadian game to the American - and worldwide - markets. Here's the announcement from the PGA Tour's website

I Love This Picture

A great 'Fall Golf" shot: Hole Lakes #1 at Victoria Park Valley, taken with my humble phone. If we could only have days like this all October, we'd be very happy! Click on the pic to enlarge it.

My Yearly Treat

Every year, usually on the first Monday of October, we enter a team into the Hulbert Memorial, an Ontario PGA event. It's a real treat for me because we get to play some fabulous courses, and this year the tournament was held at Thornhill Golf and Country Club. This wonderful Stanley Thompson-designed golf course - my first time there - is celebrating its 90th birthday this year. Fortunately the weather was great, sunny and mild most of the day. And needless to say, it was fun to play this challenging and very scenic golf course. Here's a view of the first hole, taken with my modest phone camera:

It was fitting for Thornhill to host this event during its anniversary year, because Arthur Hulbert was its head professional during the early part of the 1940s. Mr. Hulbert passed away suddenly in 1945, and left his family with little means; and so the area golf pros held a benefit tournament to raise funds for the Hulbert family. The event continued, and now the Hulbert Fund benefits Ontario PGA pros who are in need of emergency support.

Ryder Cup All Around

Is it just me, or does the hubbub surrounding the Ryder Cup match seem a little more intense this year? Sure, the Rory/Tiger thing is good for some buzz, and Snedeker is in fine form - or has been, anyways.
Here's a great article from Bleacher Report, as well as some great pics, leading into today's match: Bleacher Golf - Ryder Cup

                                Here's Team Europe

I don't usually hear this much excitement about a match, outside of The Masters. And we'll take it!