Volume 2, Issue 5 Message from the Executive Director Jean-Pierre Beaulieu For the Fun of the Game 9 holes rounds: A shorter game that could be more fun for some and appeal to a larger number of golfers. This is something new that I am glad to hear about! On July, 23, our southern neighbours celebrated the Play 9 Day. The USGA invited golfers to experience the benefits of a 9-hole round: speed of play; a fun, often less serious round; two hours of exercise; perhaps a 3- mile walk; and, most of all, a chance to get their golf fix. And why wouldn t we do it too? In a recent National Golf Foundation (NGF) survey, almost half of core golfers said that a round of 4 hours and 20 minutes is too long. As a matter of fact, this is exactly what I was talking about in my message of this past April. If you are a beginner or have less time to dedicate to your game of golf, why wouldn t you try a little 9-hole round after work? I guarantee that you ll have fun. We know that golf s best consumers prefer 18 holes. So, who are the best 9-hole round customers? Based on the NGF survey, this would be a good alternative for occasional golfers who simply can t find time to enjoy a full 18 holes. A 9-hole round of golf is a perfect solution for them. Statistics show that: 86% of rounds played by beginner golfers; 42% of rounds among juniors (ages 6 to 17); and
31% of rounds by females are of the 9-hole variety. In general, the younger a golfer is, the more likely he or she is to play a 9-hole round. What a great market to explore! In the United States, many operators who have promoted 9-hole rounds see them as retention, and not necessarily growth, efforts. Even though golf will not likely undergo a sea change with respect to how people consume the game, our modern lifestyle suggests that shorter rounds will grow in appeal over time. While golf s lifeblood will remain 18-hole rounds, the goal of maximizing participation in the game demands broader promotion and acceptance of 9-hole play. Enjoy the end of this great 2014 golf season. The younger a golfer is, the more likely he or she is to play a 9-hole round.
Men s Triple Crown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csfqrjy2t9k&feature=youtu.be&list=uuezl5 at-j8i1fbkyhirvv0w A Major Title Before a Major Career Shift For Raoul Ménard Raoul Ménard caught everyone s attention this season on the Québec amateur golf scene. Not so much because he won two of three major tournaments, but because he is ending a brilliant amateur career with indisputable self-assurance. An 11-stroke lead. This is the advance that Raoul Ménard had on his closest competitor in the 97th edition of the Men s Provincial Amateur Championship recently held at Club de golf Val des Lacs. Yet, the two-time champion of this season was measuring up to the best golfers of the province and Eastern Ontario. They included: Vincent Blanchette, winner of the Alexander of Tunis, Pierre-Alexandre Bédard (Cap- Rouge) and Francis Berthiaume (Laval-sur-le-Lac), respectively 6th and 2nd at the Tunis and Kent, Joey Savoie, 4th and 6th in these two events, as well as Étienne Papineau, provincial junior champion. Ménard totally dominated the 97th Edition of the Men s Provincial Amateur Championship. Leader of the field since the very first round in which he played 66 (-5), Ménard pursued his crusade in the next two rounds with under par scores (69 and 70). Overall, this gave him a very comfortable, almost unreachable, advance on his competitors. The final round was only a formality. While the Pinegrove representative maintained his pace, always focusing on the title, other competitors struggled a lot more; making the gap between them and our winner even larger. With very steady performances, two birdies and two bogeys made between holes #7 and 11 were the highlights of Ménard s day. In fact, he is the only golfer of the tournament who was able to play
the four rounds of the event under or at par. His overall statistics are crystal clear: 2 eagles, 11 birdies, and 52 pars against only 7 bogeys contributed to his victory. Ménard, a title collector http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o3owfli S8I&feature=youtu.be&list=UUEZl5aT- J8I1fBKyhIRvV0w Since he started playing on the amateur scene, Raoul Ménard has not stopped cumulating victory over victory. He has already won the Alexander of Tunis in 2013 as well as the Duke of Kent in 2011 and once again. He is now missing only one title to complete a career Grand Slam. In his earlier years, the Ange-Gardien native won the 2010 Provincial Junior Championship before joining the 49ers of Charlotte, in North Carolina. Blanchette, Winner of the Tunis http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=yxk71robpsc&fea ture=youtu.be&list=uuezl 5aT-J8I1fBKyhIRvV0w A member of the Pinegrove Country Club, Vincent Blanchette captured his very first victory on the men s provincial amateur scene when he won the 65th edition of the Alexander of Tunis held at the Rideau View Golf Club in the Ottawa Valley area. In the past year, the St-Jean-sur- Richelieu native played with the Runnin Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb University on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tour. This weekend, we had the opportunity to discover his skills. After registering a first round of 74 (+2), Blanchette worked his magic to sign a second card of 70, bringing his cumulative score at par (144). On the Way To the National Championship The Men s Provincial Amateur Championship was the last event of the Men s Triple Crown which includes the Alexander of Tunis and Duke of Kent. The top three
players on the points system of this series made the team. They are: Francis Berthiaume of Lavalsur-le-Lac, Joey Savoie of Pinegrove and Pierre-Alexandre Bédard of Cap Rouge. Despite his two victories of this 2014 golf season, Raoul Ménard is 5th on the Triple Crown ranking. Unfortunately, he had not made the cut at the Alexander of Tunis, the first leg of the series. The Canadian Amateur Men s Championship was held at the Elmhurst Golf & Country Club and Southwood Golf & Country Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, from August 4 to 7, 2014. Photo album https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152602226687767.1073741881.16806231 2766&type=3 2014 Champions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhg5zu_ryzu&feature=youtu.be&list=uuezl5at- J8I1fBKyhIRvV0w Alexander of Tunis Rideau View Duke of Kent Royal Québec Provincial Amateur Championship Val des Lacs Vincent Blanchette Pinegrove Raoul Ménard Pinegrove Raoul Ménard Pinegrove 76: +5 71-73: -2 76-70-72: -1
Provincial Junior Championships Two Victories For Papineau Dream Score For Lacombe Étienne Papineau proved that he s got what it takes to be a champion as he won the Boys Provincial Junior Championship for a second consecutive year at Club de golf Revermont in Amqui. The Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu native intends on defending this title next year again. If he is successful at it, he will become the only other golfer aside from Mathieu Rivard (2006-08) to claim the Québec junior victory three times. A 16-Year Old Fellow After breezing through the first two rounds with scores of 66 and 69 for a cumulative of -9, Papineau struggled a bit more in the final rounds of the tournament in which he played 74 and 76. His outstanding advance did decrease significantly, but without jeopardizing his title. Winner of the 2013 Provincial Junior and Juvenile Championship, the representative of both St-Jean and Cowansville golf clubs will be proud to see his named engraved next to those of seven other players, including Keven Fortin-Simard (2003-04), who were crowned more than once in the history of this event. In the 2014 edition of the event, a new juvenile champion was crowned. Charles-David Trépanier, a member of Royal Québec, is a solid golfer of only 16 years old. He definitely conquered the course at Revermont. Three scores at par or under brought him to rank second overall (72-72-70-74), only four stroke behind the winner. Lacombe Triumphant Annie Lacombe is the new queen of the Girls Provincial Junior Championship. The 17-year old captured the victory of this 78th edition replacing another Team Canada Development Squad
member, Valérie Tanguay, who had won it in the past two years. Ranking third as she started the final round, she was trailing by only 2 strokes behind Noémie Ouellette of Royal Québec who was leading at the time. It turns out that Lacombe registered her best performance of the tournament, a scorecard of 75 (+3) that enabled her to defeat her competitors and become the new Provincial Junior Champion. Céleste Dao who is only 13 years old was really focused on capturing the honours in this championship. Unfortunately, her final round of 82 deprived her from this dream for this year. Altogether, she still dominated the juvenile competition which has rarely been seen from a 13 year old in the past decades Boys Team July 29 to August 1 Legends on the Niagara, Ontario 1. Étienne Papineau - Saint-Jean and Cowansville 2. Charles-Éric Bélanger - Royal Québec 3. Brandon Lacasse - Kanawaki Girls Team July 29 to August 1 Thornhill Golf & Country Club, Ontario On the Way to the National Championships The Boys and Girls Provincial Junior Championships are the culmination of the selection process to identify who will be representing Golf Québec in the Canadian Championships. 1. Océane Jacques - Royal Québec 2. Valérie Tanguay - Saint- Hyacinthe 3. Annie Lacombe - Le Blainvillier Congratulations to Team Québec on their inter-provincial victory!
Other Competitions Four other competitions are yet to be held on the provincial junior scene: Provincial Bantam, Pee-Wee and Mosquito Championship August 17 and 18, Club de golf Drummondville Provincial Junior Match Play Championship August 18 and 19, Mount Bruno Country Club Invitation junior Graham Cooke Vertdure August 23 and 24, Golf du Domaine du Château Bromont Inter-Regional Championship September 14, Club de golf Grand- Mère Vertdure Provincial Junior Tour 2014 Champions Event Boys Girls Vertdure Junior Spring Open Olde Kinderhook, NY Vertdure Junior Classic 1 Montcalm Vertdure Junior Classic 2 Gatineau Boys and Girls Provincial Junior Championship Revermont Kevin Kramarski (Riverton, CC, É.-U.) Sun Kim (Saint-Raphaël) Kurtis Campbell (Whitlock) Étienne Papineau (Saint-Jean and Cowansville) http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=kndjvhbjfbk&feature=youtu.b e&list=uuezl5at- J8I1fBKyhIRvV0w Valérie Tanguay (Saint-Hyacinthe) Noémie Ouellette (Royal Québec) Velda Wong (Eagle Creek) Annie Lacombe (Blainvillier) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3 G9O3Qe7m_k&feature=youtu.be&list =UUEZl5aT-J8I1fBKyhIRvV0w
Le Blainvillier On the Course Provincial Mixed Championship: Double Victory for Carole Ann McCuaig, of the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club. Club de golf Le Blainvillier was the overall winner at the Provincial Mixed Championship held at the Elm Ridge Golf and Country Club on July 28. François Bissonnette, club champion, was proud of his partner, Sylvie Gervais, who sunk a 12-feet putt to win on the first hole of sudden-death playoff. In the process, their twosome defeated the other Blainvillier team composed of Katherine Gravel- Coursol, of Kansas State University, and Marcel Paul Raymond, Golf Québec President. Despite constant rainfall throughout the day, the two teams had tied with a score of 75 (+3). Tied for third were the teams of Loick Laramé and Anick St-Onge, of Drummondville, as well as Chris and Yan and Laurier Touchette as well as Sylvie Gervais and François Bissonnette celebrated their victories at Elm Ridge Photo album https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152602256362767.1073741882.16806231 2766&type=3 Pinegrove Victorious By Three Strokes Laurier and Yan Touchette, representing the Pinegrove Country Club, played 75 to win the Provincial Generations Championship with a 3- stroke lead on the twosomes composed of Stephan and Jeffrey Lebeau, of Milby and Cowansville, as well as André J. and Jean-Charles Côté, respectively from the Atlantide and Beaconsfield golf clubs.
An Inspiring Conference at Royal Montreal The RBC Canadian Open presented at the Royal Montreal Golf Club was not only the stage of Tim Clark s victory. It was also an opportunity for the Québec golf industry to get together for a very inspiring workshop. Three guest speakers shared their business experience in sectors that were successful at reviving their economy or adopt a new corporate culture. Philippe Duval, former CEO of the SAQ, discussed how they made the transition from a product oriented culture to a client oriented approach. Charles Désourdy, Association des stations de ski du Québec, talked about the importance to implement key performance indexes. Finally, Eugène Lapierre of Tennis Canada explained how champions are built. Le Continental Host to the CN Future Links Championship In July, Raphaël Lapierre-Messier lost in a sudden-death playoff against Kelvin Lim, from Thornhill, Ontario, in the CN Future Links Québec Championship held at club de golf Continental. In the girls competition, Céleste Dao, 13 years old, of Notre- Dame de l Île Perrot, was only 11 strokes (232 (+16)) behind the winner, Alyssa Getty, of Ruthven, Ontario. Read the story on Golf Canada: http://www.golfcanada.ca/news/article/amate ur/alyssa-getty-kelvin-lim-continue-leadsecond-round-cn-future-links-quebec/
Jocelyne Bourassa Series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcisimyf1te&feature=youtu.be&list=uuezl5at- J8I1fBKyhIRvV0w Doyon and the Triple Crown Josée Doyon started the Jocelyne Bourassa Series with a roar. Her goal was clear: win the three events of the women s Triple Crown. Members of Club de golf Beauceville surely followed the performances of their representative with great interest. Josée Doyon made them proud as she won the first two events of the Series. Doyon begun with defeating her competitors at the NIVO Debbie Savoy Morel Cup held at Golf Le Mirage. It was the second time that the young 21-year old captured this title after winning it in 2012. She had struggled a bit on the front nine, but got back on her feet in the last holes, played 76 and surpassed Julie Brossoit, of Whitlock, with a one-stroke lead. The Kent State University student stayed on the path to achieve her goal by capturing the victory of the NIVO Women s Players Cup held at Club de golf Lorette. In this event, she won with an amazing advance of 10 strokes. Doyon had begun the first round with four birdies and a cumulative score of -2, gradually leading her to winning the second leg of the Series. Sabrina Sapone, of Le Blainvillier, and Caroline Ciot, of the Montréal Country Club, tied for second with +8. Suzan Pearl and Grace St-Germain Victorious With Grace Unfortunately, Josée Doyon saw her quest for a hat trick in the Triple Crown come to an end when a young Ontario player of 15 years old
surprised everyone on the Women s Tour. Grace St-Germain of Club de golf Eagle Creek played on the Milby course, in the Eastern Townships, with the same confidence as seasoned golfers would. victory champagne for the third time in as many participations in this event. She had captured the title in 2010 and 2011. This amateur golfer who is usually wearing the Team Ontario colours became the younger player in Golf Québec s history to be crowned as amateur provincial champion. With a first round of 76, she was ranking 3rd with a 3-stroke gap to catch up on the leader of the moment, Valérie Tanguay of Saint-Hyacinthe. However, in the second round of the event, the young prodigy took control of the competition with a score of 70 (-3). St-Germain also dominated the final round with another great performance of 72 (-1). As a result, Valérie Tanguay ranked 2nd, three strokes behind the winner and Josée Doyon placed 3rd, 4 strokes behind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cdgj4y UCco&list=UUEZl5aT-J8I1fBKyhIRvV0w Shared Honours The 2013 senior golf season was dominated by Marie-Thérèse Torti who won the three events of the Series. This year, things were completely different and three champions were crowned. Absent from the past two editions of the NIVO Debbie Savoy Morel Cup, senior golfer Louise Boivin drank the Marie-Thérèse Torti and Josée Doyon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxtqjnz pegc&feature=youtu.be&list=uuezl5at- J8I1fBKyhIRvV0w The member of La Vallée du Richelieu, Marie-Thérèse Torti, still intended on defending at least one of her titles on the Women s Tour this year. This is exactly what she did at the NIVO Women s Players Cup where the senior golfer won with a 4-stroke advance. Pearl Catches Up In the senior category of the Provincial Championship, Susan Pearl of Rideau View surprised everyone by climbing to the top of her ranking with a birdie made on the ultimate and last hole of the event. This enabled her to conclude the competition with only one stroke of advance on the rest of the field. As a result, her name will be
engraved on the trophy for the second time in four editions of the event. One would remember that she had also caught up on her co-competitors when she captured the victory in 2011, at Le Blainvillier, and earned her first provincial title. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqx0_eik 3vg&feature=youtu.be&list=UUEZl5aT- J8I1fBKyhIRvV0w Photo album https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152563647412767.1073741877.16806231 2766&type=3 A Canadian Title for Québec? Amateur golfers of the province had a shot at capturing a national title at the Canadian Amateur Women s Championship held in Ontario. At the end of the day, the best of our representatives was Josée Doyon who ranked 12th with +1. Team Québec finished 3rd behind Alberta and the winning province, Ontario. Canadian Senior Women s Championship presented by Golf Canada from August 19 to 21. Our Women s Québec Teams The Jocelyne Bourassa Series was used to identify the Québec Teams representing us in the amateur and senior Canadian championships. Amateur Team July 22 to 25, Craigowan Oxford Golf & Country Club, Ontario 1. Anne-Catherine Tanguay, public golfer 2. Josée Doyon, Beauceville 3. Sabrina Sapone, Le Blainvillier Senior Team August 19 to 21, Club de golf Milby, Québec 1. Susan Pearl, Rideau View 2. Marlene Desbiens, Murray Bay 3. Marie-Thérèse Torti, Vallée du Richelieu Another Canadian competition will take place in our province when Club de golf Milby will be host to the 2014 Champions NIVO Debbie Savoy Morel Cup, Mirage NIVO Women s Players Cup Lorette NIVO Women s Provincial Championship, Milby Josée Doyon Beauceville Josée Doyon Beauceville Grace St-Germain Eagle Creek 76: +5 71-73: -2 76-70-72: -1