NEWSLETTER – August 26, 2011

GJAC Awards & Golf Day and B.C. Fam

 
Group shot of the award winners   Hal Quinn tees off
 
Cunningham from the bunker   Margaret Swaine's finish on the 4th

The commitment we made to take the GJAC Writing Awards & Golf Day to Vancouver this year was met with unanimous positive response by pretty much everyone involved. We had 24 attendees at Marine Drive for lunch followed by golf on A.V. Macan's outstanding golf course. The folks at Marine Drive welcomed us with open arms, put on a fantastic spread for lunch and made the day there a memorable one. It's not like the club didn't have some things going on. Not only did Marine have a full tee sheet that day but also hosted 160 for Richard Zokol's Canadian Golf Hall of Fame induction that evening. All of us there owe the entire staff at Marine Drive our thanks for a tremendous day. A press release of this year's writing award winners was sent out the day after the announcement. The entire executive board congratulates this year's winners and we're looking forward to even more participation next year. As you might expect a number of companies and people require thanks for their support of the event and need to be acknowledged.

  • Steve Marshman and Jim Little of RBC for title sponsoring our event - lunch and first place prizes for writing contest.
  • WestJet - airline vouchers
  • Ted Manning and Acushnet Canada - second place MyJoy prizes and Titleist Pro V1 golf balls
  • Geoff Tait & Bobby Pasternak of Quagmire - shirts
  • Sundog Eyewear - sunglasses
  • Mark Hansen of Mizuno Canada - irons
  • Scott Reid Callaway Golf Canada - driver prize
  • Dave Wilson and PING Canada - driver prize
  • Dave Bradley and Richard Sullivan of TaylorMade-adidas Canada - driver
  • Vity Gomes and John Sibley of Nike Golf Canada - prize package
  • Adam Barr and Miura Golf - wedge
  • Dan Dodman and Cleveland Golf - wedge
  • Spencer Sebastian and Bram Cotton of Pin High Canada - prize packages

None of this would have been possible of course without some signifcant administrative effort. That said Hal Quinn of the GJAC Executive Board cannot be thanked enough. H.Q. did all the organizational leg work at Marine Drive as well as for the early week Fam trip to Predator Ridge, Tobiano and Sagebrush. He put in nearly a year's worth of time to make the trip west a successful one and jumped through a few hoops the past couple of months to make it all work. Hal... we couldn't have done it without you. Thanks. Robert Thompson and Rick Young continued this year with sponsorship duties. RT put in a great deal of time either meeting with and/or communicating with our various sponsors. His efforts on the association's behalf need to be acknowledged. Thanks again R.T. We also owe our contest administrator Dan Pino of Golf Canada and our three judges a debt of gratitude for their time as well. Thanks guys.

Going forward we have some significant initiatives regarding next year's Writing Awards in Hamilton. The executive's goal is to take this from the Tuesday of RBC Canadian Open week to the Monday. With Mike Weir's Charity event in limbo at this point we feel strongly members will be better served by a Monday Writing Awards and Golf Day. This frees up members to begin pre-Open work on Tuesday. By the way a couple of Hamilton area clubs have already expressed interest in hosting our event. We plan a full review of the writing awards later this fall where everything will be looked at including the categories. If you have some suggestions please communicate them to the board. I can also tell you GJAC executive board member David McPherson has agreed to serve the next two years as the writing awards administrator. The board thanks him for taking on this major task.

'The entire GJAC executive would also like to thank member Jeff Malmgren who traded his golf clubs for his camera and spent the day shooting golf writers with bad swings at Marine Drive. Some of his work can be seen at the beginning of this article. Thanks Jeff!

BC Golf Museum and Hall of Fame Roof Fund

GJAC members Grant Fraser, Robert Thompson and Rick Young had the good fortune to spend time at the BC Golf Museum and Hall of Fame on the site of University Golf Club in Vancouver during Canadian Open week. Executive Director Barry McWha arranged the visit and curator Michael Riste was on hand to take us through a simply stunning display of artifiacts and B.C. golf history. During our time there we found out from Barry and Michael the museum requires a new $40,000 roof and is in the midst of a campaign to raise money to make that repair. This news was handed over to the Executive Board and approval has been granted for a donation from the GJAC to help with the roof effort. 

Rick Young

Best wishes

All of us at GJAC send our best wishes out to Norm Woods who is battling a serious illness. Recently Norm notified all his friends and his Golf Scene Magazine clients in a press release that his son Steve will be taking over during his absence. Here's a letter Norm shared with his fellow industry members:

To my friends in the golf industry:

This is a very difficult letter for me to write. However, under the circumstances I feel strongly that all of my GolfScene friends, advertisers, supporters and contributors should be aware of my current situation. I have been struggling with my health since late April. Recently, I underwent major surgery. Recovery has been a tedious process, and it will be followed by an extensive therapy period.

Though limited in my capacity, we have kept all of our commitments. In fact, the response has been very positive to the many things we are doing in both print and online to support the golf industry and, in particular, golf courses and manufacturers.

However, the time has come for me to focus on my health. Therefore, I am taking a leave of absence to concentrate on getting better.

It will continue to be 'business as usual' for GolfScene. My son Steve will be taking the leadership role over the next few months. Steve has been an integral part of the publication in all aspects over the past few years and will continue moving things forward in my absence. He can be reached at 416-220-2397 (cell) or stevewoods@golfscene.ca

On a more positive note, we have some interesting editorial / marketing ideas in the works for 2012. Our objective remains constant: to get 'more golfers to play more golf.' We will continue to focus on delivering quality content that is informative, entertaining and helpful to golfers.

Although it's not possible right now for me to visit golf courses and or attend events, I would be pleased to chat with you at any time if you wish to say hello. My passion for the industry and the great people involved will never waiver!

As time moves on, I will keep you posted and I hope we can continue to count on your support of GolfScene.

See you soon.

Norm Woods
Publisher, GolfScene

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Those of you who regularly cover the Canadian Open will remember Stephen Lavigne our portly and jovial security guard at the press tent entrance. Stephen has been battling cancer for a couple of years now. I spoke to him the other day and he's still fighting the good fight. He says he's lost a lot of weight but is well enough to be going back to work in London. He's adamant that he will be at next year's Open at Hamilton. He'd love to hear from anybody who would like to call. You can reach him at 519-630-1762.

Garry McKay

Media Days...

Janeen Driscoll, GJAC Member from Buffalo Communications, announces that the Salish Cliffs Golf Course, an amenity of Little Creek Casino Resort near Seattle/Olympia, is scheduled to officially open in September, one of a small group of newly constructed golf courses in 2011.  Writers interested in visiting the destination should contact Janeen at jdriscoll@buffalocommunications.com or Gary Trask at gtrask@buffalocommunications.com. The resort is specifically seeking golf and/or lifestyle writers interested in attending the Media Day on Sept. 12.

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Fusion Media Strategies, Kevin Frisch, is inviting accredited writing members of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada to experience two premier Midwest golf destinations in the United States this fall. See details below:

September 26-29
Experience northern Michigan in the fall, which will include visiting Otsego Club & Resort in Gaylord along with Shanty Creek Resorts near Bellaire. Enjoy golfing Otsego Club's Tribute course and Black Forest designed by Tom Doak together with The Legend designed by Arnold Palmer and Cedar River designed by Tom Weiskopf at Shanty Creek Resorts. Visit www.otsegoclub.com and www.shantycreek.com.

October 2-5
Experience America's newest golf destination at French Lick Resort. French Lick Resort offers two award-winning golf courses designed by Hall of Fame architects Donald Ross and Pete Dye. Your trip will include golf on both courses and lodging at the highly acclaimed West Baden Springs Hotel. Visit www.frenchlick.com.

For more information and to RSVP contact Kevin Frisch at Kevin@fusionmediastrategies.com or call (989) 614-0241

Garry McKay, President
garrymckay1@shaw.ca