The Governors Council met during the Golf Canada AGM meetings in February in Montreal.

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1 TO: Golf Canada Board of Directors FROM: Barbara Allan, Governors Council Chair & Roland Deveau, Governors Council Vice Chair CC: SMT DATE: March 25, 2012 RE: April 2012 Governors Council Report to the Board Governors Council Report Chair- Barbara Allan Vice Chair- Roland Deveau Staff Personnel: Scott Simmons The Governors Council met during the Golf Canada AGM meetings in February in Montreal. Operating Committee Chairs were given the opportunity to update the Governors on their committee key activities and plans for Key discussions took place on the following topics: The relevance the Rules of Golf play in our association and the role the Rules play in the game of golf A recommendation to the Amateur Championship Committee that the position of an overall Tournament Starting & Scoring Chair be kept and that Ian Giles be re-appointed in the position for Governor George McLeod gave an update on the Canadian Turf Grass Research Foundation update. The CTRF has asked that Golf Canada continue to appoint a representative to their Board. Our $25,000 annual grant remains critical to their operations. George indicated that there is a new CTRF website and magazine, and that the CTFR had recently approved two new research projects. (George's report is attached). The following motion was made: Governors Council recommends to the Golf Canada Board that George McLeod remain the Golf Canada representative on the CTRF Board Moved by Cliff Goodwin Seconded by Cathy Macatavish The motion was carried The Membership Committee's club visitation strategy was outlined by Nick Marrone. The committee is currently looking at how to deploy staff/volunteers, and to what clubs. It was suggested that we should talk to the provinces to ensure we have synergies with what they are currently doing in this regard. And that we should also talk to the NGCOA and discuss how to combine their visits with ours.

2 There are continuing concerns that Governors in Newfoundland are struggling to have alignment with Golf Newfoundland to be able to work together on visitations. Another concern discussed is that there needs to be coordination between the Membership Committee and the Handicap & Course Rating Committee to develop a strategy on what Golf Canada is prepared to do regarding courses that are using our marks, and course/slope rating, but not paying fees. The major discussion during our Council meeting centered on a review of the development over the past 18 months of our efforts to define the role of Governors Council and to become more effective. Vice Chair Roland Deveau led the discussion on how the Council can maximize its contribution to Golf Canada. A separate document summarizing the views of the Governors Council accompanies this report for discussion at our April Board meeting. Respectfully submitted, Barbara Allan, Chair Governors Council Roland Deveau, Vice Chair Governors Council

3 CTRF - Moving Research Forward Presented to the Golf Canada Annual General Meeting Montreal,Quebec February 11, 2012 Thanks for the opportunity to present to the AGM of Golf Canada on behalf of the Canadian Turfgrass Research Foundation

4 2011 in Review Strategic Planning Retreat - January 2011 Communications. CTRF Website. CTRF Annual Magazine Current Research Call for Proposals In the past year the CTRF has made tremendous steps to improve its accountability and to respond to the concerns of its supporters. In January the CTRF Board of Directors held its first Strategic Planning meeting. The two day session helped the CTRF to develop a strategy with specific achievables. In the following twelve months the CTRF has developed a new website and has also signed a contract to publish an annual turfgrass research magazine. The objective of the magazine will be to consolidate and publish the results of turfgrass research in Canada. This magazine will be disseminated to CT~F members and their constituents and will allow the CTRF to demonstrate the value of its work to the industry and to the game. The Foundation is hopeful that this will encourage organizations and corporations to provide continuing and additional support for turf research. Current research projects include a Nova Scotia Agricultural College project evaluating the effectiveness of using compost teas to manage dollar spot disease and a second project at the University of Guelph that is developing a better diagnostic tool for the identification of root diseases in golf course turf. The CTRF also conducted its first Call for Proposals in three years this past August. By the September 30th deadline a total of nine projects had been submitted. After thorough evaluation and third party assessment, three new research projects have been selected for initiation in They include:

5 Funding Current Funding Status Funding Strategy Importance of Golf Canada Support Our current annual funding is approximately $60,000. Approximately half of the funding is made up of voluntary contributions from provincial research agencies in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. The remaining $31,000 consists of $6,000 donated by the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association and Golf Canada; The CTRF will be working on a new funding strategy over the next year, another of its strategic plan deliverables. One of the options that will be pursued is the development of corporate support from both turf and non-turf related companies, with a particular focus on the CTRF charitable status. Another possible approach is to engage the golfer in the support of the turf research function. A single dollar from each Golf Canada member on an annual basis would provide substantial research funding and improve the ability to fund a much more substantive research program. Even the opportunity to work with Golf Canada to present its members with a voluntary contribution program could prove to be extremely helpful. In addition, Golf Canada support would lend credibility to any such research program and to the fundraising efforts of the CTRF. Thanks for your time and attention. The CTRF Board of Directors appreciates very much the ongoing support of Golf Canada, it Board and members.