I didn’t know what to expect while I was driving, probably because I never thought that I’d ever be in the position I was in earlier today.

As part of my itinerary this week, I made a special request to visit the town of Kerrobert, just over two hours west of Saskatoon.  Reason being, it was the town my grandfather was born and raised in, prior to moving to Saskatoon for University, and then moving East to start his family.

My grandfather was the man who first introduced me to golf, and who kept my interest in the game while I was growing up. He passed away in 2009. I’ve a tattoo in his honour on my leg.

He grew up playing the Kerrobert GC, back when there were sand greens, and I wanted to make the pilgrimage out there to literally walk in his footsteps.

As I said, I didn’t really know what I was going to get myself into because, as I was growing up, I never felt that I would actually visit. It was a laughable town to look at online, or on Google Map’s street view. What I got, though, was a town with potential, and a town that needs its people.

It was easy to spot upon approach. The water tower (adjacent to the first tee at the golf course) is likely the tallest building for 100kms in any direction. And, it’s fully functional – one of only a few left in Canada.

I can’t even begin to explain the drive. It was like going back in time. I passed one town, and then a sign said the next town wasn’t for another 87 KMs. And there was literally nothing. Fields, a road, and in one instance, a “point of interest” which of course I had to stop at (a spot on the “Swift Current – Battleford Trail”).

When I got out of the car, the silence was deafening. There were no cars in any direction. I stood in the middle of the road and looked around. What else could I do? Did I want to get back into my car and find Kerrobert? Of course. But, that was the first moment when I truly felt far from home.

I pressed on – I had to, there was nothing else out there – and sped down a large hill with Kerrobert in the distance.

The town has two “welcome” signs, along with two Chinese restaurants. I had to laugh. They don’t even have a grocery store. Or stop signs (not joking. The town only has yield signs). Yet, they have two Chinese restaurants.

The golf course is easy to find, just look for the water tower. But first I passed the arena.

The arena, I’ve found, is symbolic in small-town Saskatchewan. It stands for community, and togetherness. It brings people of all ages together. Kerrobert’s area was no different. A little run-down on the outside, but with new boards donated by the community on the inside. It is the home area to the Kerrobert West Central Rage Junior ‘B’ hockey team. The team plays in the Northern division of the Prairie Junior Hockey League.

Upon arrival at the course, there were three people sitting on the patio outside the quaint clubhouse. One of which would be my playing partner for the day, the other, his partner for life. They met online, he (Brian Oates, or “Willow” as everyone calls him) works at the golf course during the summer, and in the oil field during the winter. She, Shirley Elderkin, works at the golf course during the summer as the assistant manager, and usually in the oil fields during the winter as well.

They live on the golf course in a trailer. They have to, as rooms for rent in Kerrobert are hard to come by. They move back to Calgary in the winter, though. She used to be a Mormon, and originally struggled to serve liquor. He is an avid Harley-Davidson rider. What a pair.

They could not have been nicer to me, though. And, they love the golf course. Everyone in the community does. They have to, because it holds them together. They have about 150 members, which is just north of 10% of the whole town.

A full adult membership for the year is $300. Want to buy a membership for your family (two adults, three kids), then it will be $1,000. For unlimited golf, all year long. Men coming off the oil field for a month will buy a membership and play every day. Or riggers who are on a two-week-on, one-week-off schedule will also buy memberships. Why not? There’s something about the land that brings people in.

Five years ago when Oates and Elderkin came on board, the course was in bad shape. “The community said I was a miracle worker,” Oates explained with a laugh. When really, he says, he just put a little love into the course.

It’s now incredibly lush. The greens are slow, but in perfect shape. No imperfections, and have gentle undulations. There are a couple of water hazards, large fairways, and well-manicured tee-boxes. There are, however, no sand traps. There’s spots for them, but to bring sand in is too expensive to maintain, so the “traps” are left sand-less. It may go against conventional golf design, but that’s okay. It’s golf, the Kerrobert way.

I made a birdie on the 384 yard par-4 first. I striped my drive, hit a wedge to 20 feet, and made the putt. I’d like to think on that hole, in the presence of the town’s water tower – the same one my grandfather leaned against, drove past, and grew up next to – I had some help.

The rest of the course was in fine shape, and is a fun layout that could be played again and again. It’s a par 36, with two honest par 3’s (187 and 167 yards) and two fine par 5’s (531 and 540 yards). You could play it forward, or from the tips. It challenged your driving accuracy, your iron game, and your putting. Was it the perfect golf course? No (does one even exist?) but do I find myself wishing to return for another game, another chance to walk in the footsteps of the past?

Absolutely.

The combined age of the golf courses I played while on this trip was over 300 years old. Golf in Saskatoon is more than scores, belly-putter debates, and dress codes. It’s pure. It’s a feeling. It’s a community who relies on its golf course for an escape from whatever it may be going through. Members at the immaculate Saskatoon G&CC have their own problems, just like members of the little Kerrobert GC.

But golf has the power to bring people together. It’s magical, in that way. And that’s why people love it.

***

Tomorrow I fly back to Toronto after a great few days in Saskatoon. Thanks to the Tourism Saskatoon folks – especially fellow Carleton University Journalism grad Alex Stang who helped set everything up – along with the PGA Tour Canada guys, Cooke Municipal GC, Saskatoon G&CC, and of course, Kerrobert GC for hosting me this week. 

The word venerable is used fairly frequently in golf. I’m guilty of perhaps overusing it. It’s easy to – golf is that kind of game. It’s old-school by nature.

By definition, venerable means “accorded a great deal of respect because of age, wisdom, or character.” It was the first word I thought of while looking for a descriptor for the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club, the course I had the privilege of playing today on another perfect Saskatoon Summer’s day.

Saskatoon G&CC is a private club located a mere 10 minutes from the downtown core. It has a wealth of history, as you would expect from a golf course built in 1907.

Originally there were two golf courses that made up Saskatoon G&CC; a public 18, and a private 18. As years passed, it became more evident that a compromise needed to be made, and so they redesigned the entire layout. Canadian architect Ian Andrew had a hand in the recent redesign process.

The golf course now is actually 21 holes. 18 holes on the championship course, plus three holes of “practice” golf (a par 3, a par 4, and a par 5) that I thought was a great idea. I’m sure there are more facilities that do this, but the only one I knew of prior to Saskatoon G&CC was Coppinwood, just outside of Toronto.

The front nine is all new, as of 2011. It was formerly part of Saskatoon G&CC’s “West” course (the public course). The back nine is part of Saskatoon G&CC’s “East” course (the original private one) and it didn’t receive a facelift in the late 2000s.

The nines are distinctively different, which allows for two different playing conditions. The back nine has a lot of the charm that an old-school course would have: mature trees and small greens for example. The front nine had a modern feel to it. There aren’t any tricks at Saskatoon G&CC, and I liked the fact that the golf course was there for the taking. The less quirks the better.

I had the opportunity to play with Todd Brandt, the President & CEO of Tourism Saskatoon, along with his friend and fellow member George, the owner/operator of a family-run Greek restaurant in downtown Saskatoon.

Brandt was thrilled to say how much Saskatoon has changed in the last six years. There has been such a boom in research engineering that a local company invested $30M into a program at the University of Saskatoon in order to encourage local students to remain in the province once they graduate.

Sports are a huge part of Saskatoon as well. Golf aside, the residents thrive on the success of amateur and junior sport. Market research has been done to prove that a CFL franchise would be successful in Saskatoon as well (in addition to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who are based out of Regina). “All we need to do is build a stadium,” said Brandt.

Easier said than done, though. It’s not Field of Dreams.

The city is going through growing pains – developmentally – right now. “Traffic is becoming a problem,” said George with a laugh. It was slightly comical to hear (I think I drove past may 15 cars total on my way out of the city at 9:00 a.m.) but I understand what they mean, and how it will affect the city long-term.

That said, the golf course was fantastic. It was in wonderful condition, and the combination of mature course with new-school design made for a pleasant golf experience. We rode today, but it would be a fine location for golf wandering.

A good location for some golf “wondering” as well.

Wondering how the golf course would have looked  in the 1920s. Wondering how the private and public dichotomy would have worked. And wondering what it would have felt like to hit a shot over a moving train (one of the old tee-boxes actually called for a shot over train tracks… most of the time while a train was coming).

Although Saskatoon G&CC is a private club, a lot of members choose to bring guests with them for various events and tournaments. The membership base is strong, said Brandt, with a large percentage of women. The fees were inexpensive (to me, at least for a course of this calibre) with under $3500 as initiation, and about the same for a full adult membership. The club is making some changes to encourage youth memberships as well, which was good to hear.

My favourite hole on the course was the par-3 12th. I say this in part because I knocked a 7-iron to two feet from 162 yards (#humblebrag) but also because the design of the hole was pleasing, despite it’s difficulty.

Brandt says that the new marketing tagline for the city is “Saskatoon is calling.” I’m a big fan of what it stands for, and what it will hopefully do for the city. If it’s Saskatoon G&CC calling for a return round, then I will surely answer.

***

In the morning I went to the opening round of the Dakota Dunes Open for a couple of hours. The big news of the day from a PGA Tour Canada perspective is that the previously cancelled ATB Financial Classic will be rescheduled for August 6-9. The tournament was cancelled in the midst of the Calgary flooding, but will return to the city next month. A great story all around.

I walked a few holes with Team Canada’s Justin Shin – who shot a 4-under 68 in his debut PGA Tour Canada round – with former Big Break PEI champion Derek Gillespie, and with PGA Tour Canada veteran Darren Griff. I also had a chance to see Mackenzie Hughes up close for the first time. Hughes, who qualified for the U.S. Open a few weeks ago, seemed to be in fine form.

Interestingly enough, after I took a photo of one of his tee shots, he called over to me, shook my hand, and introduced himself. What a beauty.

He was still wearing The Score logo on his shirt, so I’m meaning to ask if his sponsorship agreement with them is still in place.

Hughes was also given an exemption by Golf Canada into the RBC Canadian Open Thursday. A lot on the horizon for the native of Dundas, Ont.

***

Despite the forecast, tomorrow is the part of the trip I’m most looking forward to. In the morning, I’m off to the town of Kerrobert (pop: 1,000) for a round of golf of their local nine-hole course. It’s not much on the surface, but my Grandfather was born and raised there, and played on that exact course during the 1930s and 1940s. I’ll likely attend the afternoon round of the Dakota Dunes Open as well, to see who will be around on the weekend.

As always, you can follow me on Twitter (@adam_stanley) or Instagram (@adam_stanley1) for more updates and photos!

Day two in Saskatoon is in the books, after a fine meal at Las Palapas (a Mexican spot in Saskatoon, who would have thought?).

Walking back to my hotel – or wandering, as the case may be – it was hard not to notice that the sun had yet to set behind the downtown buildings. This, at about 10:00 p.m. local time.

Today marked my first round of golf on the trip. After about an hour and a half drive North, I arrived at Cooke Municipal Golf Course in Prince Albert.

Waking up this morning the sun was shining, and it was warm. The hot topic of conversation – excuse the pun – is how warm it has been of late. Someone even said to me today that Saskatoon was having “Ontario-like humidity.” I wouldn’t go that far.

Regardless, as I was driving to Prince Albert, the skies were getting darker, and I could see forks of lightening in the not-so-far sky. Upon arriving at Cooke, I was greeted with a loud thunderstorm. I was upset that my round of golf seemed to be inevitably rained out but I was quickly cheered up by my lunch companions for the day.

The people of Prince Albert are a proud kind. They like their town, they like their sports, and yes, they like their golf. With reason, of course. There are many golf courses within a one hour radius of the town, along with copious other outdoor activities.

Once lunch was completed, the sun came out again, and it was time to play.

I was joined on the course by the assistant professional Ryan Wells. Wells is a 29-year-old native of PEI, who worked at a resort course in B.C. for a few seasons before shuffling a few provinces and landing in Prince Albert.

He has a smooth left-handed swing – I mention that because the head professional is also left-handed. How often do you see that? – and his iron game is impeccable. I’m fairly certain he hit every green in regulation on the day. His putting has always been his weak spot, he said, so we managed to have something in common golfing-wise. He finished at 2-under, I believe, so the putting struggle is the limit of our on-course similarities.

Wells was filled with interesting tidbits on the golf course.

Cooke Municipal celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2009, and it has only had four head professionals in its history including the current one, Darcy Myers. Myers joined us for lunch, and aside from his role at Cooke, he also “owns” the pro shop (as a separate entity from the city-owned golf course) and is the “chief ice maker” for the adjacent curling club.

When we arrived at the third hole – a fairly straightaway par 3, with water on the left side – I noticed an interested monument constructed behind the tee box. Turns out they used to have another tee box further back but, as Wells explains, they were doing some digging and discovered some bones. The “old” tee box is now an officially-marked Native Canada burial site.

The golf course itself was far from underwhelming for a municipal layout. It was in immaculate condition; the greens were rolling true and the fairways were lush.

It was quite the contrast from the City of Toronto’s five courses, where conditioning sometimes leaves little to be desired.

The price, too, was something I had to ask twice about. A single green-fee is a mere $49(!) and an unlimited year-long membership will set you back only $1400.

Given the course layout, golfers can also choose to play 11 holes at a reduced rate (instead of the normal nine, because the ninth hole is far away from the parking lot, unlike No. 11).

It reminded me a lot of the venerable H.S. Colt-designed Toronto Golf Club in Mississauga. A wonderful, old-school track that does not punish one with its length.

Wells explains that the two words that he would use to best describe Cooke would be passion and community. The golf course itself was built by a farmer over 100 years ago because it was his dream. He built it with passion. The current members – or, pass-holders as they’re called at Cooke – share that same passion, as demonstrated by their desire to keep the course in great shape. Therein lies the community aspect as well.

Wells mentioned that a common saying around Prince Albert (or, “PA” as the locals call it) is that you “can’t spell ‘party’ without PA.” I laughed, of course, but then realized you couldn’t spell ‘passion’ without PA either.

Tomorrow I’m off to the first round of the Dakota Dunes Open, and then I have a round of golf scheduled at the Saskatoon Golf & Country Club in the afternoon.

As always, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@adam_stanley) or Instagram (@adam_stanley1) for updates/pictures throughout my trip.

When one thinks about Canadian vacation destinations, do they ever think of Saskatoon? Unlikely, I would argue.

Unless you’re a big CFL fan, or perhaps you have family connections, most would pass by Saskatoon en route to the vibrant Vancouver, or the cool Calgary, and not look back.

But there’s more to Saskatoon than being a fly-over-city. It’s got a rebranded identity, with a new tagline – “discover the city you thought you knew” – and I like it. I can already tell, after being here for just one day, that there is a lot to discover.

I’m here in Saskatoon until Saturday. And yes, when I drove from the airport to my hotel, it was flat. There were fields. And there was farmland. Perhaps that is part of Saskatoon’s charm – the fact that everyone knows that you’re in the prairies, but as the tagline suggests, the city encourages you to peel back some layers.

On the agenda for me this week is golf, of course, but I’m hoping to do some exploration of the downtown core, and I’ll also be returning to my Grandfather’s original hometown of Kerrobert. Kerrobert is about two hours from Saskatoon, with a population of approximately 1,000 people. I’ll be playing the golf course where he learned to play, and visiting the town. My grandfather was the biggest influence I had with respect to golf, so I’m thrilled at the opportunity to head there and pay tribute to him.

Today I attended the pro-am day at the Dakota Dunes Open. It’s a PGA Tour Canada event that has been on the schedule – formerly the Canadian Tour – for a few years now. The players rave about the golf course (Dakota Dunes Golf Links, the 60th-ranked golf course in Canada, according to SCOREGolf Magazine’s ranking), and why wouldn’t they?

I saw first-hand that it’s a beautiful beast. Set on rolling sand dunes about 25 minutes from downtown, it will yield low scores (this I’m sure, the rough is not that penal) but one must be straight off the tee. The players will get some quirky side-hill lies, and if the wind blows across the prairies, then perhaps my assumption will be proven incorrect.

The greens are rolling true, and one player remarked they were “some of the best on the Tour.” The course is playing long – a little over 7,200 yards, the longest course the players of PGA Tour Canada will play on this season – but fair.

I had a lengthy conversation with Justin Shin on the driving range. Shin is a member of Team Canada’s National Team, and will be making his PGA Tour Canada debut this week after getting an exemption to this tournament via Golf Canada. He’s excited, and feels good about his game. Will he perform this week? Predictions are pointless – that’s just golf – but he seemed relaxed and ready, so why not?

Shin also has some fairly decent travelling partners to lean on for advice.

He’s staying with Albin Choi – a former Team Canada standout who just turned professional this year after an incredible college career – and Mackenzie Hughes – the 2011 and 2012 Canadian Amateur champion, fresh off an appearance at the U.S. Open.

Today, the “prairie heat” was in full force. The temperature was north of 33 degrees, and there is not a tree in sight.

The players are ready, though, and the Drive for Five (that’s the five Web.Com Tour cards that are going to the top-5 money winners at the end of the PGA Tour Canada season) will continue after the ATB Financial Classic in Calgary was cancelled because of the flooding in Alberta a few weeks ago.

Could it be Shin, Hughes, or Choi who wins this week? Perhaps it will be Eugene Wong who gets back to his winning ways from 2012? Or Stephen Gangluff. The American who won the inaugural PGA Tour Canada event in Victoria, who may win his second event of the season?

Ah, golf. Where every player is a story.

All that being said, I’m off tomorrow to play at Cooke Municipal Golf Course in Prince Albert – just about an hour and a half from Saskatoon – one of the top golf courses in the province (and some argue it should be ranked as one of the Top 100 in the country).

Running back to Saskatoon, indeed.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@adam_stanley) for updates through the week – there will be a lot more photos of my travels. I’m also on Instagram at @adam_stanley1

FootJoy, arguably the No. 1 shoe in golf, has once again provided golfers with a cool customization option.

This time, for its crossover kicks – the Contour Casual.

The industry-leading shoe customization program called MyJoys – where golfers can design his or her own pair of FootJoy shoes – added the Contour Casual on Monday.

The Contour Casual is ranked as the No. 1 spikeless golf shoe according to the April Golf Datatech survey, and trails only another FootJoy model – the cleated Contour Series – in total overall golf shoe sales.

Being available in the MyJoys program will allow the Contour Casual to deliver 1.6 million(!) possible customization options through four different areas that can be colourized.

Golfers can add colours, animal prints, patent leathers, or even custom logos to his or her designs.

The best part of the MyJoys program in my opinion is the simplicity. The online application makes the experience seamless, and that is definitely needed in any app. A tip of the cap to FootJoy for recognizing this. As golfers experiment with different colour combinations, logos, etc, the shoe preview happens automatically. A great feature.

Check out the design that I created below.

If you’re interested in designing your own pair of the new Contour Casuals, or interested in the MyJoys program, click here.

FootJoy Canada is also running a contest this week only that is integrated with Facebook and Twitter. More details here.

For the first time since 2010, TaylorMade has introduced a driver that does not have a white crown: the R1 Black.

The R1, which debuted in early 2013, was the latest offering from TaylorMade, “the No. 1 driver in golf,” and it was well received by tour players and amateurs alike.

It featured a white crown with sleek racing-stripe graphics on the crown and was the most adjustable driver on the market.

Some research suggested that eight out of ten drivers that were sold in 2012 had a white crown. These are interesting statistics, but anecdotally people still wanted the traditional black.

Golf is a traditional game.

“Our mission is to make the best-performing equipment for all golfers. We don’t want golfers to miss out on the opportunity to play the R1  just because they prefer a black crown,” says Canadian TMag performance lab manager Cameron Jacobs.

“I’m still a massive fan of the matte white paint-job on the current R1 driver, but I can appreciate how it isn’t for everybody. The R1 Black lets golfers get into the same technology […] but in a paint-job that they prefer.”

As of yesterday, the R1 Black is available for pre-order at specific Golf Town locations across Canada , and in retail June 10.

It will be a limited run of the R1 that will allow golfers – who may have held off purchasing the club due to colour preference – the chance to get their arms around TaylorMade’s leading driver for 2013.

“We like to shake things up a bit every once in a while and keep the industry on their toes,” says Jacobs.

“You’ll continue to see a sea of white drivers on Tour and in shops around the world.”

I was a fan of how the R1 felt, sounded, and performed when I hit it at the MATT performance lab at Glen Abbey this past winter, and this design has just made a fine product that much better.

The video that TaylorMade is circulating around the web is below. And check out the “making of” photos from the video shoot here.

This story originally appeared in Fairways Magazine in May, 2013.

***********************************************************************

It was a whirlwind adventure. But in late April, I had the privilege of attending a trip to Northern Ireland, and the experience was truly a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

The focus was golf – the North Coast of Ireland is rich with golf courses, hundreds are available for locals and tourists alike – but in reflecting, I’ve found that golf was merely the thread that tied together my trip of magical memories, inspiring landscapes, fascinating people, and delectable food.

Flying across the pond through New York City – Air Canada’s new airline Rouge has since announced that starting in 2014 it will offer direct flights from Toronto to Dublin year-round, all the more reason for me to return – I perused the movie selection on my flight and chose The Hobbit.

Perhaps it was symbolic.

Young Bilbo Baggins exclaims in the Tolkien classic: “I’m going on an adventure!” as he departs The Shire for the first time, just as I was departing Canada for the U.K. for the first time.

For me, it truly was an adventure – one that anyone, not just golfers, should try to go on in his or her lives.

I arrived sleepy in Dublin, but was soon energized by the seaside air. My travel companions for the drive up to the North Coast were two Americans: Dave Lucas, a real-life anchorman from Washington, D.C. and Art Stricklin, a typically southern writer from Dallas, Texas.

The beauty of this particular trip was that it was a worldwide event. Along with my North American colleagues – I did, however, make sure to announce that I was actually Canadian any chance I had – there were members of the golf media contingent from around the world. A photographer from Italy, four writers from the U.K., magazine editors from South Africa, China, and Germany, and columnist from Australia were among the group.

En route to our final destination, we stopped in Holywood to visit the home club of Rory McIlroy. He joined the club at age three, and they have erected a shrine to his accomplishments at the club, including replicas of his two major trophies. Seeing as McIlroy is only 23, they might have to build a whole wing of the clubhouse before his career is finished. McIlroy’s father, Gerry, remains an active member and is a former club champion.

We also stopped in Belfast prior to completing our journey up north, which was highlighted with a stop by the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, and lunch with our hosts for the week, members of the Northern Ireland Tourism Board.

Belfast is an interesting town that seems to be caught between two places in time. It holds on to the legend of the Titanic – a new museum debuted in 2012 dedicated to the ship and it received more than 800,000 visitors in its first year alone – and evidence of “The Troubles” remain. But, there is also modern architecture and a palpable buzz in the city with respect to its athletics and its culture, especially given the recent success of the HBO television series Game of Thrones.

Upon arriving in Bushmills – home to the Bushmills whiskey distillery, the oldest in Northern Ireland – I did some freelance wandering, as a friend likes to call it, through the quaint town.

Most bistros and shops closed early, but they had wonderful paintings on their shutters of people and products, which made the street seem much more lively.

I was shocked to see in a local grocery store there was a kiosk for Tim Horton’s, complete with coffee (available to go, and in large tins), and donuts. I’ll admit, the donuts were terrible, but it was a valiant effort at expansion.

The Bushmills Inn was our home base for the next three nights. It was a homey place with large rooms built in sort of castle-manor. A fun tradition they have is that they fly the flag of one of its guest’s home country each day, and upon my arrival, the familiar red and white Canadian maple leaf was flying high.

Tim Horton’s and the Maple Leaf, did I really come to Northern Ireland?

That aside, each meal at the Bushmills Inn was an event in itself. Multiple, rich courses with immaculate presentation coupled with lively conversation made it difficult to leave the restaurant each evening (the fresh Guinness and various whiskeys likely played a role in why it was difficult too, but I digress).

The next day, it was time to golf.

Some of the travellers had played a round or two already, but for most of the group, including me, our first crack at the Northern Irish links was at Portstewart Golf Club.

Portstewart presented a walkable challenge that allowed me to experience everything that links golf is about. It only rained for one hole, but the wind stayed down and the sun stayed out.

My caddie for the day – highly recommended for first-time links golfers like myself – was a 40-year member at Portstewart and a former journalist at the BBC, which made for great conversation.

One of the most interesting parts of Port Stewart is the beach off of 12^th green. There, my caddie said, was where the allied troops practiced for the invasion of the beach at Normandy. It was quite a piece of history.

The sun was still out as the entire group made its way to Bushfoot Golf Club, adjacent to The Giant’s Causeway (more on that later), and the Dunluce Castle, another piece of Northern Irish lore, after our round.

At Bushfoot we received a presentation on what will become the new Bushmills Dunes Golf Resort before walking the property where the golf course will be completed. Bushmills Dunes has been the focus of much chagrin in Northern Ireland, a 20-year project hampered by environmentalist politicking.

It’s tough not to see the club becoming one of the best in Europe, if not the world, simply because of its location. Architect David Kidd, he of Bandon Dunes fame, has said that it is “the most beautiful piece of land for a golf course” he’s ever seen. High praise.

The 125-room hotel and world class golf course seems to be on track now, with an estimated completion date of 2015.

The next day we ventured out to the crown jewel of golf courses along the North Coast, Royal Portrush. Portrush is the home to Darren Clarke, the 2011 British Open champion, who actually was out on the practice green when our group arrived.

While I was almost disappointed the day before at the lack of true Irish golf weather, the day at Portrush made up for it as we experienced 35 MPH winds, rain, hail, and a beast of a golf course. Even the locals said that they wouldn’t have played golf the day we went out. And, although we thought we were crazy, one of said locals mentioned we must have been “passionate” about golf. We were indeed.

After the round, members of our group either had a soup or a whiskey, depending on what your preferred method of warming up was, and back to the hotel for our final meal at the Bushmills Inn.

The next morning was time for some quick tourist exploration. The Giant’s Causeway is a must-see attraction in Northern Ireland, an area of basalt columns that is a result of an ancient volcanic eruption. You could believe that, or, you could believe the legendary Northern Irish tale of the giant, Finn MacCool – but that’s another story.

I went at sunrise, and it was a magical sight. I was able to walk down to the bottom of the Causeway, almost right into the ocean if I so chose, and there were no security guards to be seen. This is unlike any tourist destination in North America. The full experience took only 45 minutes, so I was able to get back to the Bushmills distillery for its first tour of the day – which began at 9:15 a.m. Now, it was 4:15 a.m. Toronto-time, so instead of considering the glass of 12-year-old Distillery Reserve whiskey that was handed to me as “breakfast,” I deemed it a “night-cap” and felt better about my decision.

Departing Bushmills was bittersweet, but a German colleague and I needed to hit the road for a two-hour drive back down south with a final destination of Newcastle, home to our bed & breakfast for the evening.

On our way we stopped at the beautiful Royal Belfast Golf Club for lunch and a tour. It’s the oldest golf club in all of Ireland, and it’s a true hidden gem. It’s relatively inexpensive when compared to other clubs in the area, and is on my list of courses I’d like to play when returning to Northern Ireland.

We also stopped at Ardglass Golf Club just outside of Newcastle for a quick nine holes.

The beauty of Ardglass is that the practically the entire front nine is along the sea. The clubhouse also has the distinction of being the oldest in the world, an old castle built in the 1400s that they have converted.

The round at Ardglass was emotional and fulfilling at the same time. Looking out onto the sun-soaked sea, alone with just my thoughts and my golf clubs, it was hard not to be both sentimental and inspired.

After one more three-course meal – that finally included a salad (but I did have cheesecake for dessert. With two kinds of chocolate.) – it was time to tuck in before a 6:00 a.m. wake-up call the next day to start the trip back to Toronto, despite the fact that there was so much more to see and do (and golf to play) still on the agenda.

As I waited for my flight home, I thought of another Tolkien quote from one of his other tales of adventure from middle-earth. “Not all those who wander are lost,” he says, and I thought about my own wandering in Northern Ireland.

I played, drank, and I found myself along the Irish Sea. It truly was an adventure.

On the cusp of the reinvented PGA Tour Canada’s season, the tour has partnered with MF1 Marketing to create a national branding campaign called “The Roar Starts Here.”

Television spots that feature the theme began airing last week in anticipation for the Times Colonist Island Savings Open – the season opening event for PGA Tour Canada starting June 3.

The goal of the campaign is to introduce PGA Tour Canada to the Canadian public, and “build excitement for the arrival of the PGA Tour brand in Canada,” said PGA Tour Canada president Jeff Monday.

“It’s important for us to quickly break through to the marketplace with this campaign. Our strategy has been to create an emotional connection between Canadian golf fans and PGA Tour Canada,” said Brian Woyt, senior director of brand development for the PGA Tour.

It’s a 360-degree involving print, digital, radio, and TV and uses PGA Tour Canada alumni to help focus on the fact that the tour is a gateway to the PGA Tour.

It was announced late in 2012 that the top five players on the season ending money list will qualify for the Web.com Tour, just one step away from the PGA Tour.

My take:

Unless it is lumped in with “digital” – I’ve not yet seen a social media activation included with the campaign, however, I wouldn’t be surprised to see one as the season presses on. PGA Tour Canada has started to include #TheRoarStartsHere hashtag on some Tweets, will have to keep a keen eye on that to see if it continues

It’s an emotionally-charged campaign that is aspirational in focus – which ties in nicely with the aspirational nature of the tour.

It will be interesting to see what other spots come out for each of the tournaments for the rest of the season.

WATERLOO – Wilfrid Laurier University’s School of Business & Economics, with the support of the Golf Management Institute of Canada (GMIC), is introducing a new field within its MBA program: Management in the Golf and Resort Industry, beginning in fall 2013.

“We are excited to be working with the golf and resort industry to be the first to offer this kind of specialization in an MBA program,” said Hugh Munro, director of Laurier’s MBA program. “Our goal is to develop managerial talent to enhance the performance of those firms operating in this challenging global industry, and to provide exciting career opportunities for our graduates.”

Laurier’s MBA candidates are required to complete 10 electives as part of their degree. Within those 10 electives they can complete one of 12 fields offered by the university. The Management in the Golf and Resort Industry field requires five electives relevant to the industry. The GMIC is supporting the field with access to industry-specific content, applied learning experiences, guest speakers and career opportunities. Students will be ideally positioned to complete the requirements for a GMIC diploma that is well recognized in the industry.

“I’m excited about the new MBA field in Management in the Golf and Resort Industry,” said Laurier alumnus Grant Fraser (BBA ’87), founder and president of the GMIC. “The GMIC is thrilled to be working with Laurier on the development of this unique program. This will be the only university program in Canada designed to train the next generation of golf business leaders here at home and around the world.”

For more information about Laurier’s MBA program, visit www.lauriermba.ca. For more information about GMIC, visit www.golf-management.org.

About the Golf Management Institute of Canada
The GMIC was established in 1999 and is recognized by all of Canada’s national golf associations. The GMIC’s mission is to provide excellence in golf management education by offering specialized programs to the golf industry and its labour force across Canada and around the world. To date, the GMIC has attracted students from 20 different countries to its program. In 2004, the GMIC was awarded the “Canadian Award for E-Training Excellence” by the Canadian Society for Training and Development.

About Laurier’s School of Business & Economics
The Laurier School of Business & Economics (SBE) is one of Canada’s leading business schools. With more than 5,500 students enrolled in a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, it is also one of the largest. Laurier develops leaders with skills in management and economics for a rapidly changing and complex global environment. It seeks to advance knowledge and practices in these fields by supporting both theoretical and applied research. SBE also strives to serve business and its community by fostering mutually beneficial alliances with local, national and international leaders.

Did Keegan Bradley lose the HP Byron Nelson Championship, or did Sang-Moon Bae win it?

Arguments can be made for either side.

For Bae, whenever you shoot three rounds of 66 on the PGA Tour, it’s highly likely that you’ll emerge victorious when all is said and done.

But for Bradley, he torched the field after the first round with a 60 (that included two bogies) and looked set to capture the HP Byron Nelson for the second time.

He faltered on the weekend, and Bae took full advantage.

Bae, 26, has 11 worldwide tour wins to his credit (plus a mention in the Golf Boys second song, “2.Oh“) and is another young gun on the PGA Tour with a sweet swing.

But, is it fair to lump him in with the other mid-20s contemporaries like Bradley?

I would argue it isn’t.

Although Bae has trumped the rest of that group (Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, etc) in terms of worldwide wins, he has only had two full seasons on the PGA Tour.

Yes, he has a victory to his credit and a loss in a playoff, but he needs to start showing up in majors and World Golf Championships before he can be included in the conversation with some of the elite 20-somethings on Tour.

…

Across the pond, Graeme McDowell captured his second worldwide win of 2013, besting Thongchai Jaidee at the finals of the Volvo World Match Play Championship at the picturesque Tharacian Cliffs Beach and Golf Resort.

McDowell has to be the secondary favourite (behind Tiger Woods) for the U.S Open at Merion in a couple of weeks. It appears that the off-course distractions that knocked McDowell off his 2010-perch are finally cleared and he is concentrating on playing good golf again.

McDowell has already become one of the best players in the world, but could he be primed for another highly successful run?

Impossible to predict – that’s just golf – but McDowell is certainly playing well.

Good news for him, but perhaps bad news for his new restaurant Nona Blue Tavern – as he opens the bar for patrons whenever he wins.

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Canadian Notes – 

World-renown swing instructor Hank Haney was in the Greater Toronto Area this past weekend… Graham DeLaet finished T-10 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, moving him up one spot in the International President’s Cup team standings… DeLaet, Adam Hadwin, and David Hearn are playing in a 36-hole Open Championship qualifier today in Dallas… More drama surrounding the municipal golf course ownership in Winnipeg this weekend… Mike Weir finished T-33 this past week, his best finish on the PGA Tour in two years… “Kids Golf Free” week announced by the NGCOA for July 8-14… Nick Taylor has won back-to-back Vancouver Golf Tour events…