Gutting It Out

Alberta Golf's John Burns got wet to help retrieve equipment for Ontario's Sarah Gallagher at the 2020 Alberta Ladies Amateur.

By John Burns

Competition checklist: 14 clubs in the bag, check...rangefinder, check...a dozen ProV1’s,,,,,check,,, swim trunks, check... scuba gear, check.

Wait a minute, golf round or afternoon swim? For Sarah Gallagher, 16, and playing in the Alberta Golf Ladies Amateur Championship at Lakeside Greens in Chestermere last July, round two of the provincial championship turned into both.

Competing against many of the top female golfers in Canada, the Burlington, ON junior fired a stellar opening round of 1-over par 72. Gallagher started her second round with two bogies in her first three holes, but then settled in with a string of pars, despite the inclement weather. Not bad at all, considering the gale force winds and driving rain that greeted the competitors that day.

Then, the unthinkable! On the Par-5 12 th hole, while chipping to the green, disaster struck! A large gust of wind literally picked up her cart and deposited it into the pond just right of the green. Clubs, cart, rangefinder, phone…. all submerged under three feet of water. With the help of her fellow players, Gallagher gathered what she could find and resumed play.

She retrieved the essentials to finish the round, but her phone and rangefinder were seemingly lost forever. Resumed play?? Yes, resumed play.

Sheer willpower and determination (or perhaps simple stubbornness) kicked in and Sarah played on. Now when we think of gutting out a finish, perhaps visions of Tiger Woods hobbling on a torn ACL and fractured left leg in the 2008 US Open comes to mind

For Sarah, gutting out her finish after going for a swim that July morning simply meant doing the best she could despite the adversity. By the way, Sarah finished 15 th in the tournament as the weather shorted the championship to just two rounds. The entire experience was certainly representative of her determination and mental toughness.

When asked via Zoom months later, Sarah conceded, “Quitting was never really an option. I was cold, soaked and upset at what had happened, but wanted to represent myself the way my dad had taught me...never give up.” Sarah’s father Mike admits he was “..worried growing up. Sarah may have been a bit of a princess,” as they both chuckled at the reference.

“Seeing how she handled the challenge that day makes me proud of the person she’s become.” Mike said. Two hours after the incident, both the rangefinder and the phone were located and retrieved from the pond by Alberta Golf’s John (Aquaman) Burns! The equipment was initially in working order, but later succumbed to the submersion.

The future bodes well for Sarah. The grade 12 student carries a 4.0 grade point average and is a member of the Ontario Golf Association -Team Ontario. She has her sights set on college in the US, all of which will continue to test her ability to gut out finishes.

Sarah’s story parallels the story of the 2020 golf season in Alberta.

More than ever, we focused on simply playing golf. Whether practicing on the range, or getting out on the course, we were altogether grateful just to be able to get outside.

The year that almost wasn’t renewed our love of the game. It renewed our appreciation for the great outdoors and reaffirmed in our minds how blessed Albertans are for the number of courses at our disposal. If only briefly, golf helped divert our attention and refreshed our spirits.

Sarah Gallagher played through adversity, but then didn’t we all? Despite what this world threw at us, despite how good we may or may not be at playing golf, the fact is, we played.

We’re all in our own way gutting it out, and that’s what really counts.

It was an idea whose time was coming in any case. The pandemic just accelerated its arrival.

Call it your ‘digital membership kit’. It’s the new, more convenient and more environmentally conscious version of the traditional Golf Canada kit containing your membership card, benefits booklet, and other information.

Now you can access all of that membership information —and much more —via the Golf Canada app on your smartphone or on the website from your computer.

Previously, in many cases, the kits were shipped to courses which then distributed them to their members. In the new COVID-19 reality, that became an unattractive option.

“We were hit hard by COVID-19,” said Brian Doherty, Golf Canada’s Senior Coordinator for Golf Services. Doherty’s special area of responsibility includes Alberta. “We didn’t want to contribute to any unnecessary touch points. The app avoids those. It’s also more environmentally friendly because it requires no printing or shipping.”

The app, which was rolled out in 2020, allows you to post and track scores and statistics, immediately access your official Handicap Index, keep your score digitally, and access GPS distances for more than 1,400 courses across Canada. It also enables you to find the applicable Rule of Golf to explain procedures for common situations on the course, follow other golfers, achieve badges, and more.

There will be even more benefits in 2021, says Taylor Stevenson, Golf Canada’s Senior Manager of Golf Services. “We will have Shot Tracer to record the path of your shots and other enhancements like expanded course search criteria,”

By John Gordon

Stevenson said. As well, Golf Canada member courses will have the ability to offer promotions and special offers to their customers.

Doherty says the app has been well received in Alberta. Its ease of use is one important factor while another is that golfers, like everyone these days, are leery of the aforementioned public touch points due to fear of the virus. The numbers don’t lie.

In Alberta in 2019, 395,000 scores were posted through the app (34 per cent of all scores posted) and 134,000 were posted via club kiosks (11 per cent of all scores posted). Compare that with 2020, when 516,000 scores were posted through the app (40 per cent of all scores posted) and just 32,000 via club kiosks (2.5 per cent).

Membership dues are reinvested into Grow the Game programs in Alberta and across Canada. Stevenson points out that in addition to the other benefits, the move to a digital membership kit will free up more resources to put back into the game.

A Golf Canada/Alberta Golf membership provides a variety of benefits and amenities. Here’s a summary. For the full explanation, visit https://join.golfcanada. ca/. To find out more about the app, go to https://golfcanada.ca/article/needknow-golf-canadas-new-app. • An official Handicap Index through the World Handicap System • Access to the Golf Canada Score

Centre to post scores and track your statistics • Follow other golfers, achieve badges for bragging rights, and more • Track all your scores and stats in the

Golf Canada app • Access your handicap anytime, anywhere • Access to GPS distances for more than 1,400 courses in Canada • Free access to online Rules of Golf education that explains procedures for common situations on the course • Up to $2,500 reimbursement for damaged, lost or stolen equipment • Up to $1,000 for any travel-related incidents • Up to $2,500 for golf cart-related accidents • Up to $1,000 towards the cost of repairing or replacing a window • 15 per cent off RBC Canadian Open and CP Women’s Open tickets • Up to 25 per cent off Avis car rentals • 11 per cent off Hilton hotel room bookings with complimentary upgrades at participating properties • 10 per cent off Golf Canada merchandise • 25 per cent off Levelwear • Golf benefits with RBC Insurance for home and auto