SCOTTSDALE, AZ  – Four golf coaches and educators are joining forces to create GenNXT Golf Academy – the first high performance junior golf academy in the American Southwest.

Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott of VISION54, Dr. Rick Jensen of the Dr. Rick Jensen Performance Center at PGA National and Canadian Henry Brunton have selected the Talking Sticking GC as the home base for the ground-breaking academy for aspiring golfers from 14 to 18 years of age.

The golf athlete development program will open its doors January 5th, 2016 and is currently accepting athlete applications for the semester that runs until June 5th. It’s a full-time residential golf academy for boys and girls ages 14 to 18 with a variety of housing and educational options available for consideration. There are options for athletes to participate in GenNXT for a month, a semester or a full school year. The 2016/2017 GenNXT Academy will commence August 22nd.

“We have created GenNXT to be a boutique style high performance golf academy. We are all committed to providing exceptional coaching and training support while developing personal relationships with all of our athletes,” says Brunton, a GOLF Magazine Top 100 Teacher who spent 13 years as the Head Coach of Canada’s National Golf Team.

Athletes will have full access to the exceptional practice facilities and two remarkable 18-hole Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designed golf courses at Talking Stick Resort, which is also the home base for spring training for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.

For more details, visit www.gennxtgolfacademy.com.

FAR HILLS, N.J. – Diana Murphy has been nominated to a one-year term as president of the United States Golf Association (USGA).

If elected, she would be the second woman to be president of the USGA. Judy Bell was president in 1996-97. Murphy’s husband, Reg Murphy, was USGA president in 1994-95.

Murphy is in her fifth year on the USGA executive committee. She is chair of the Championship and Compensation committees. She was elected treasurer in 2013 and has been a vice president the last two years.

Murphy lives in St. Simons Island, Georgia. She is managing director of Rocksolid Holdings, a private-equity firm for small business and real estate in the Southeast.

The election will be Feb. 6 in San Diego at the USGA’s annual meeting.

TORONTO – Ontario is launching a new sport plan that will help more Ontarians participate and excel in sport.

Building on the success of the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am / Parapan Am Games, the province is releasing Game ON – The Ontario Government’s Sport Plan.

Game ON targets actions in three priority areas:

• Participation: actions that enable all Ontarians to participate in safe, organized amateur sport
• Development: actions that help Ontario’s athletes receive the right support as their skills develop
• Excellence: actions to help Ontario’s high-performance athletes pursue excellence by facilitating access to the latest training, programs, facilities, resources and technical experts

Game ON builds on a strong existing foundation of sport organizations, programs and investments. It recognizes the many ways in which organized sport can be good for people and communities, from the health benefits of physical activity to the economic benefits of hosting major events.

Progress is already underway on a number of initiatives, including:

• Minister’s Advisory Panel: the province has named prominent sport sector leaders and experts to its new Minister’s Advisory Panel to help achieve the priorities set out in Game ON
• Roundtable on Women and Girls in Sport: in early 2016, Ontario will gather sector leaders to explore opportunities for women and girls in sport, built around the plan’s priority areas
• Ontario Sport Symposium: in spring 2016, the province will bring together leaders in the sport sector to highlight research, trends and issues and to plan the best ways to implement Game ON.

Investing in the development of Ontario athletes and providing them with more opportunities to succeed is part of the government’s plan to build Ontario up. The four-part plan includes investing in people’s talents and skills, making the largest investment in public infrastructure in Ontario’s history, creating a dynamic, innovative environment where business thrives, and building a secure retirement savings plan.

“Participation in sport improves health and wellness and helps to strengthen people and communities. That’s why, I am proud that we are building on the success of the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games to launch Game ON – The Ontario Government’s Sport Plan. Through this plan, we will collaborate with our sport partners to create a world-class sport system and support our athletes from the playground to the podium,” said Michael Coteau, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport and Minister Responsible for the Pan and Parapan American Games.

“The sport plan will help address the gaps and ensure we have all parts of the system, from government to education to local communities working together to support our athletes and coaches along the pathway. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Advisory Panel to provide guidance on the new plan for Ontario’s sport system in all contexts, ” added Susan Kitchen, Executive Director, Coaches Association of Ontario, Member of Minister’s Advisory Panel.

• In Ontario, there are at least 2.1 million registered athletes, supported by 121,000 coaches, 58,000 officials and 363,000 volunteers.
• The sport industry contributes an estimated $2.1 billion to Ontario’s GDP and supports 43,730 jobs.
• Ontario has almost tripled its support for amateur sport from $8.78 million in 2003 to more than $25 million in 2015-16.
• The Ontario government is investing almost $985,000 in 2015-16 to provide Sport Priority Funding to 15 Provincial and Multi-Sport Organizations, supporting services and specialized training for athletes and coaches.
• Ontario is committed to providing access and opportunities for our children and students to participate in 60 minutes of physical activity, both in and outside of school. Promoting well-being is a key goal of Achieving Excellence, Ontario’s renewed vision for education.

Oakville, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Golf Canada announced today the 2015 scholarship recipients for the Golf Canada Foundation’s Canadian University/College Support Program.

A total of $53,500 in scholarships was awarded by the Golf Canada Foundation to 15 scholar-athletes this year.

The ClubLink Scholarships of Excellence were awarded to two students studying in British Columbia who have outstanding records in both academics and golf. The recipients are Carolyn Lee of Calgary, Alta. (University of British Columbia), and Brianna Carrels of Lethbridge, Alta. (University of Victoria). Each student will receive $5,000 towards their studies.

Claire Konning of Indian Mountain, N.B., and Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., student-athletes at the University of Waterloo and Radford University (respectively), each received the Connor/Spafford Scholarship award ($7,500 each), presented to eligible students from Atlantic Canada, with an emphasis on Nova Scotia residents.

The Geordie Hilton Academic Scholarship award, presented to students entering their second year of business studies or beyond, was given to Eunice Hong of Thornhill, Ont., a standout golfer at the University of British Columbia.

Molly MacDermaid of Bathurst, N.B. (University of Mobile) received the Mary Ellen Driscoll Scholarship, awarded to a female citizen born or residing in New Brunswick. The award celebrates a life time achievement in golf for Mary Ellen Driscoll and has a value of $1,000.

Caroline Ciot of Brossard, QC. (Université de Montréal), and Emily Creaser of Edmonton, Alta. (University of British Columbia) each received one Canadian Seniors’ Golf Association (CSGA) scholarship valued at $3,000, while Evan Holmes of Calgary, Alta. (University of British Columbia) was presented with the John Powell Memorial Scholarship (valued at $3,000) in honour of John Powell, a former Executive Director of the CSGA, who passed away in 2011.

The Marlene Streit Golf Scholarship awards, valued at $3,000, and presented to standout Canadian female golf­ers attending Canadian universities and colleges, were given to Courtney Schubert of Calgary, Alta. (University of Calgary) and Ana Peric of Etobicoke, Ont. (University of Toronto).

Annie Lacombe of Laval, QC., (Vanier College) and Valérie Tanguay of St-Hyacinthe, QC. (University of Oklahoma) captured the Suzanne Beauregard Scholarship ($2,000 each). Sarah Dunning of Waterloo, Ont. (University of Toronto) was awarded the William Kucey Scholarship ($2,000).

This year also marked the introduction of a new scholarship offered by the Golf Canada Foundation. The Salsberg family approached the Foundation with the request that a scholarship be created and named in honour of the late Robert Salbserg, a family man who loved the game of golf and found that the sport improved his life and helped him deal with difficult life situations. Aaron Black of Grimsby, Ont. (Brock University) received the Robert Salsberg Scholarship valued at $1,500.

This year’s selection of scholarship recipients reflects a wide range of scholastic backgrounds, including health sciences, sociology, mathematics and business, as well as kinesiology and biomedical engineering. The impressive range of educational programs reinforces the Golf Canada Foundation’s commitment to supporting our future leaders and providing them with opportunities to study and stay in Canada.

“We are extremely proud to support young Canadians in their pursuit of academic and golfing excellence,” said Martin Barnard, CEO of the Golf Canada Foundation. “Supporting collegiate golf is an important part of the Foundation’s mission to support and promote participation in the game.”

The Golf Canada Foundation supports Canadian student golfers and the development of Canadian university and college golf programs. Its mandate is to raise and grant funds for the advancement of golf across the country.

Since 1982, the Golf Canada Foundation has awarded over $2.6 million in scholarships to promising young golfers, landscape architects and turf grass scientists. The scholarship program has been funded through generous donations from corporations, golf clubs, associations and individual friends of golf.

In 2004, the Golf Canada Foundation began a program of granting funds to universities and colleges across Canada to enhance the institutions’ golf programs and competitive golf opportunities. The Golf Canada Foundation believes golf is a valuable part of Canadian society and strives to elevate golf programs to help them become recognized as a core sport of Canadian Intercollegiate Sport (CIS).

The Golf Canada Foundation is the leading source for golf philanthropy in Canada. The Foundation’s mission is to support and promote programs that increase participation in golf by engaging players of all ages and abilities across Canada. For more information on the Golf Canada Foundation, click here.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Team Canada member Eric Banks finally ran out of steam on Friday, falling in his quarter-final match at the Argentine Amateur by 2 holes.

Banks, a Truro, N.S., native, fell at the hands of 13^th seeded Luca Cianchetti of Italy at the Tortugas Country Club in the 120^th running of the event. He exits competition as the 5^th seed, earned by his runner-up finish in the two qualifying stroke-play rounds.

The 23-year-old had an impressive couple weeks in Argentina, which also included placing runner-up in stroke-play at the Tailhade Cup en route to winning the team event.

Click here for full scoring.

TORONTO – The Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) and Freedom 55 Financial have awarded the inaugural Freedom 55 Financial GJAC Journalism Scholarship to Kelly Hobson, a Masters of Journalism Candidate at Carleton University.

Hobson, who holds an undergraduate degree from Western University, and has interned at the Edmonton Journal, impressed the four-judge panel with her writing prowess and multimedia skills. “Kelly’s writing was a notch above all the other candidates,” said Jason Logan, editor of SCOREGolf Magazine and GJAC scholarship coordinator, noting she also submitted an outstanding radio feature. “She’s an excellent example of the great journalists Canada’s schools continue to produce.”

Hobson was ecstatic to receive the news. She receives $2,000 from Freedom 55 Financial for her efforts.

“It’s an honour to present Kelly with this bursary,” said Mike Cunneen, Senior Vice-President, Freedom 55 Financial. “We believe in supporting Canadians in achieving their goals and dreams today and tomorrow. This bursary will hopefully help Kelly as she continues to pursue her goals.”

“This bursary gives me not only the means to pursue some of the sports stories I want to tell, but also the confidence in my abilities as a sports journalist,” Hobson said. “Incurring costs as a freelancer is par for the course, but with shrinking newsroom budgets, every piece is now a risk with slimmer chance of reward. I’m indebted to the Golf Journalists Association of Canada.”

Hobson was also invited to attend GJAC’s annual Writing & Photography Awards ceremony and dinner this coming July at the historic Mississaugua Golf and Country Club.

Established in 2006, part of GJAC’s mandate is to promote golf journalism in Canada and recognize excellence in Canadian golf journalism. The focus of this scholarship was to encourage excellence in sports writing by student journalists across the country.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – National Amateur Squad member Eric Banks has continued his hot play of late, advancing to the Argentine Amateur quarter-finals on Thursday at the Tortugas Country Club.

Banks, a University of Florida alumnus, defeated 12^th seed Montenegro Jesus Dario of Argentina, 4&3, to punch his ticket to the quarter-finals. The win also came on the Truro, N.S., native’s 23^rd birthday.

Banks has not taken his foot off the gas since helping Canada win the Tailhade Cup last week in Argentina. He tied for second in the stroke-play qualifying rounds at 4-under before going on to win his first match 6&5.

Banks will look to keep thing rolling against 13^th-seeded Luca Cianchetti of Italy in Friday’s quarter-final match. The semi-final round will also commence Friday, with the 36-hole final set for Saturday.

Tony Gil, the second half of Canada’s winning duo at the Tailhade Cup, slipped in his opening match against Mexico’s Eduar Carrete Serratos, losing in 20 holes. The Vaughan, Ont., product finished T24 in stroke-play qualifying at 2-over par.

Click here for live scoring

Since its inception in 2009, the Golf in Schools program has grown to be in over 2,700 schools across Canada. In the six years since, Golf in Schools has continued to evolve its programming to appeal to the dynamic interests of both teachers and students.

In its most significant change to-date, Golf in Schools has introduced revamped learning resources to include life skills curriculum for the existing Elementary and High School levels. Alongside the new curriculums, Golf in Schools also expanded with a brand-new Intermediate level for grades 6 – 8—now available for the 2015/16 school year.

Golf Canada, along with in-depth research support from the University of Ottawa, carefully spliced eight life skills throughout all lessons provided in the learning resources. With the change, teachers running the program gain a more streamlined approach on how to best maximize lessons learned through golf—see below:

To register or adopt a school, please click here.

UXBRIDGE, Ont. — The Golf Association of Ontario (GAO) has announced the retirement of Manager of Sport Performance Mary Ann Hayward, with her final day being January 29, 2016.

Hayward has been with the GAO since May of 2009 when she came onboard as Sport Performance Coordinator. Hayward brought with her a long list of accomplishments as a competitive golfer including: numerous provincial and national championships; a member of the Canadian Women’s National Team for multiple years between 1990 and 2006, as well as being part of the Canadian World Amateur Team on eight occasions. Hayward, a Canadian, Ontario and Quebec Golf Hall of Famer, also served as a volunteer on the GAO’s sport committee before joining the staff.

Looking back, Hayward says that it was her role in the Team Ontario and Regional Team programs that she will remember most. “The athletes, families and coaches that have been a part of these programs have been phenomenal. I have learned even more about golf and performance from them over the past six years.”

Being as close as she was with the athletes, in the various programs, Hayward offered some parting words to the players.

“The only advice I can give is to put 100 per cent into everything they do. We do not always achieve the results we want, but there is never any excuse for not putting forth 100 per cent effort in training and preparation.”

“Although Mary Ann continues to have an incredibly decorated, Hall of Fame playing career, her impact on young juniors and their families is right up there,” added Mike Kelly, GAO Executive Director. “I am personally grateful and feel confident speaking on behalf of all staff and volunteers in sincerely thanking Mary Ann for her commitment and dedication to the GAO. We wish her all the best in this exciting, next phase of her life.”

Moving forward, Hayward says she is focused on playing in more competitions and achieving more goals as a golfer.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Jack Nicklaus says he was “saddened” to learn of plans to redevelop Glen Abbey Golf Club, the first course the legendary golfer designed himself.

But he understands business is business.

In late October, course owner ClubLink Corporation filed preliminary paperwork to convert the Oakville, Ont., club into a residential community, featuring 3,000 homes, along with offices and retail space.

“We have been in communication with the leadership at ClubLink and they have fully explained the process to date and local economic conditions driving the potential redevelopment of the Glen Abbey site,” Nicklaus told The Canadian Press through a statement. “While it saddens me personally to think the site of my first solo golf course design might be repurposed, we understand and respect the business decisions being made.”

A development consulting firm submitted the request to city council on behalf of ClubLink Corporation, which in addition to Glen Abbey, owns more than 40 courses in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Florida.

Arguably Canada’s most iconic golf course, Glen Abbey has hosted the Canadian Open 27 times, including earlier this year.

Golf Canada CEO Scott Simmons said the news isn’t of immediate concern to the business of the sport’s governing body or the Canadian Open.

“The estimates are that this will be a playable golf course for another five years, if not 10,” explained Simmons. “When we’re looking at our rotation for the Canadian Open, we’re not five years out, we’re not even three years out. It gives us a lot of time to work on our future planning.”

Located on more than 200 acres of prime real estate some 40 kilometres west of Toronto, Glen Abbey was built in 1976 at a cost of $2 million. The Royal Canadian Golf Association (now known as Golf Canada) purchased the course for $3 million in 1981 from Great Northern Capital. ClubLink became the owner in 1998, paying the RCGA $40 million, a fraction of what the property would be worth now.

York Downs, a private club in Markham, Ont., just north of Toronto, recently sold to developers for $412 million.

ClubLink’s chief executive officer Rai Sahi, who is also the CEO at the real estate company Morguard Corporation, said the first steps in the re-zoning process will take at least four years to complete.

Glen Abbey has only about 400 members, he said, and redeveloping the space would provide a much wider benefit to the community and feed more taxes to the city.

“Our intention would be to build a pretty high-end, luxury community, with commercial office space and dining and all kinds of things,” he said. “That would be a lot more attractive than a few hundred people playing golf.”

The initial proposal includes turning the half-dozen holes in the valley beside Sixteen Mile Creek into a public park.

“Right now it’s not accessible to the public, it’s only accessible to those who are playing golf,” he said. “The valley will become more popular than the golf course Glen Abbey.”

While Simmons has been a long-time advocate of moving Canada’s national open around the country, he knows the event must make economic sense.

“At the end of the day, one of the main driving purposes of the open is to create a revenue stream that can help develop the grassroots of the game,” he said. “The Canadian Open is not the U.S. Open, you have to look the circumstances in this country. One of those options is to look at a permanent site.”

Glen Abbey will still host the 2016 RBC Canadian Open, and Simmons confirmed the club is “definitely” one Golf Canada is looking at to host in 2017 as well. That decision, Simmons said, will be made “as soon as possible.”