CANADIANS
ON TOUR

with
Barry Sharpe

November 12, 2003

It was like scoring a double bogey on every hole.

No. Actually, it was worse than that.

It was more like flying to Hawaii for a week of prepaid golf only to discover:

• your clubs and clothing are on a flight to Hong Kong,
• your credit card has expired,
• your drivers license is at home,
• your hotel room was double booked,
• a convention in town has claimed all available rooms for the next 10 days
• and now it‘s starting to rain.

Back on Wednesday, October 15 your intrepid reporter landed in Penticton eager to meet old friends and acquaintances, make some new ones, witness the excitement of the annual BC PGA Awards Banquet and get a glimpse at what the golf industry was introducing for the 2004 season.

Feeling grateful just to be part of this enthusiastic record turnout of golf manufacturers representatives --- whose booths and displays filled the Penticton Convention Centre --- the first hint of misfortune occurred, not to BC Golf News but, to Phil Reimer, the unflappable weather personality at CKNW who flew up from Vancouver to be Master of Ceremonies at the Awards Banquet. Arriving wearing a pair of shorts and his favorite Hawaiian shirt, Reimer was shocked when he discovered his bag with the tuxedo he was planning to wear had been left aboard the aircraft and was on its way back to Vancouver. However, with the resolve and resiliency that has made him the veteran broadcaster he is, Phil turned adversity to his advantage by convincing a local tailor to cut him a new suit and, in about two hours, Reimer was at the podium looking as dapper as ever.

On the other hand, returning to Vancouver the following evening, near disaster was waiting for BC Golf News on Highway 3 just east of Hope when heavy rain and loose gravel contributed to loosing control of our car and careening into a gully. Through the grace of God the only damage incurred was the loss of a car. Soaking wet and hungry, one could only be grateful for being alive, for the services of BCAA and eventually making it back home to a friendly environment.

However, just over 24 hours later came our second bogey in two days. At 1:45 AM Saturday, fire in the electrical room in the basement of the building housing our office and residence resulted in the loss of all utilities and services, forcing more than 70 occupants into the street and seeking shelter. A subsequent fire investigation had the building sealed for over a week and now the earliest we can expect a return to normalcy will be the end of November.

In the meantime, a lot has occurred in the past month and we have some catching up to do. So for starters, we invite you to view our photo section to meet the 2003 BC PGA Award Winners and see the many displays that were presented by the golf industry for the benefit of BC golf professionals who were selecting the items they hope will make visiting their shops and playing your game a great experience this coming season.

Meantime, we’ll have a comprehensive update here shortly on the season-ending activities of the PGA TOUR and which Canadians are going to be joining Mike Weir on the ‘Big Show’.

Dave Barr will be back for another season on the ‘no cut’ senior circuit and hoping in 2004 to top the million dollar mark for the first time in his career.

Lorie Kane will have some new Canadian friends on the Ladies’ Tour next year to replace Kelowna’s Gale Graham, who has retired, and Dawn Coe Jones, who plans to spend more time on Vancouver Island in 2004.

You’ll be seeing and hearing about more graduates from the Canadian Tour moving up the ranks and shooting for bigger paydays as we review the final stages of the Tour Schools.

One of the reasons the Canadian Tour has become so popular among viewers to the Golf Channel is because the quality of golf is so similar to the Big TOUR so in 2004 more tournaments will be televised and you’ll be seeing more Canadians gaining international recognition.

In the next few weeks we also hope to introduce our new audio features which will allow you to enjoy the voices of some of golf’s greatest players together with our very own CANADIANS ON TOUR.