RCGA Presidency Awaits BC's Jack McDonald

Scheduled for January 21-23 at the Four Seasons Hotel, the 2010 AGM will bring together the RCGA Board of Directors, the Governors Council and RCGA staff as well as representatives from Canada's provincial golf associations and Canadian golf industry stakeholders.

In addition to McDonald's induction as President, the RCGA will also present both its 2009 Volunteer of the Year Award as well as its Distinguished Service Award(s) in honour of a trio of individuals for their outstanding contributions to the game of golf.

Keynote speaker following the AGM dinner will be Ty Votaw, Executive Vice President, International Affairs with the PGA Tour, the former commissioner of the LPGA Tour.

In 2008, Jack McDonald, a member Kamloops' renowned Rivershore Estates and Golf Links, was named British Columbia's Official of the Year at Sport BC's 42nd Athlete of the Year Awards as a result of his many contributions to golf world wide. The lone Canadian among only seven members to sit on the Joint Rules Committee (JRC) of the Royal and Ancient (R&A) in St. Andrews, Scotland and the United States Golf Association (USGA), McDonald and the committee have been responsible for writing, interpreting and maintaining the Rules of Golf for the world in order to guard the tradition and integrity of the game. Every four years, after continuous, meticulous review, the two organizations jointly revise, author and publish The Rules of Golf and Decisions on the Rules of Golf. The last revision went into effect Jan. 1, 2008. (Photo: Jack McDonald, RCGA)

On the occasion of the Sport BC presentation the following video interview was produced featuring 2008 Athlete of the Year Award winner Jack McDonald.

As a member of the Joint Rules Committee, McDonald is globally recognized as one of the leading authorities on the Rules of Golf and is regularly invited to officiate at many of the world's most prestigious competitions. Since becoming the RCGA's Rules Chair in 2005, he has officiated at the Masters, the US Open, the British Open, the Canadian Open, and perhaps the biggest golfing event to ever take place in Canada, the President's Cup in 2008.

A professional engineer by trade, McDonald has been tireless in his efforts to improve the Rules and the game of golf in Canada. In addition to his role as an RCGA governor and the chief Rules official in Canada, he has also been a member of the Executive Committee of the RCGA, sitting on the Championship Committee responsible for conducting over 30 national championships and developmental competitions annually.

As the RCGA Rules Chair, Jack was been instrumental in the development of a national Rules official education program and the teaching of Rules seminars across the country every spring.

In 2006, the RCGA Rules Committee under his leadership introduced the world's first online rules certification program. The program has since gone on to be globally recognized for its ingenuity and is now being used by other foreign golf associations to train rules officials.

The last RCGA President from British Columbia was James Haladay, a member of the hallowed Victoria Golf Club. Since 1896 there have been nine Presidents selected from British Columbia.

2010 Jack McDonald Kamloops Golf & Country Club, Kamloops
2005 James Halliday Victoria Golf Club, Victoria
2000 Don Griffiths Point Grey G&CC, Vancouver
1993 Findlay S. Young Prince George G&CC, Prince George
1985 James D. Bruce Capilano G&CC, Vancouver
1970 J. Campbell McLean Capilano G&CC, Vancouver
1961 H.C. Lyle Capilano G&CC, Vancouver
1951 J. Gordon Bowers Capilano G&CC, Vancouver
1941 W.S. Charlton Point Grey GC, Vancouver

ABOUT THE ROYAL CANADIAN GOLF ASSOCIATION
The Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) is the governing body of golf in Canada, representing 377,000 members at 1,600 clubs across the country. Recognized by Sport Canada as the National Sports Organization (NSO) for golf in this country, the RCGA's mission is to grow participation in and passion for the sport while upholding the integrity and traditions of the game. The RCGA conducts programs and services to help shape the future of golf in Canada. High performance athlete development, CN Future Links, Canada's national junior golf program, turfgrass and environmental research, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum, Rules of Golf and amateur status, handicapping and course rating are only some of the initiatives the association leads for golf in Canada. In addition, the RCGA conducts Canada's most prestigious golf championships. The RBC Canadian Open and CN Canadian Women's Open attract the best professional golfers in the world, while regional junior and national amateur championships showcase the best in Canadian golf.

RCGA Member Golf Clubs interested in finding out more information about the 2010 Annual General Meeting can contact the RCGA at 1.800.263.0009 or visit www.rcga.org.