Greetings,

Welcome to the new eNewsletter from the BC Golf Museum and Hall of Fame. I hope you will read it, and forward it to your friends in golf. The objective is to raise the level of awareness of the activities and the importance of this wonderful asset to the golfing community in British Columbia. Each month we will share articles that we hope you find interesting.

Please send your feedback on our newsletter and continue to look at our web site as we update the appearance and the content over the next couple of months.

Remember, golf is the game of a lifetime! Encourage a friend or relative to learn to play this year!

Sincerely,
Barrie McWha
Executive Director

2545 Blanca St., Vancouver, BC, V6R 4N1
604 222-4653 (GOLF)
www.bcgolfmuseum.org

Countdown to the Tradition 2009

April 15th, less than 2 weeks from now, is an important date!

That is the date that the supplier of the tee gifts needs names for the Tradition 2009 at Marine Drive GC, in order to personalize those gifts. Each competitor will receive four tee gifts as an expression of appreciation for participating, and two of the four will be personalized …..if we have the names.

So, I urge everyone to get their foursomes organized, and their entries in as soon as possible, and by April 15th for sure! If you don't have a foursome, we have singles, twosomes and threesomes for you to join!

If there are any questions, please call the Museum office at 604-222-4653.

Click here to register online »

BCGA and NGCOA Support the BC Golf Museum and Hall Fame

Support for an institution like the Museum can take many different forms. Individuals support it by donating their time, by joining as members, by playing in the annual golf tournament and by donating artifacts. Corporations participate in the same ways as well as purchasing hole sponsorships in the tournament or by helping to underwrite exhibits.

The BCGA and the BC Chapter of the NGCOA (National Golf Course Owners Association) provide support in two critical ways. Kris Jonasson, in his role as Executive Director of the BCGA has not only demonstrated his belief in the importance of the Museum by ensuring that funding was always there, but also by encouraging the Directors, members and staff of the BCGA to lend their support in whatever way is possible. Regional Director, Doug Ferne, and the Directors and member golf courses of the BC Chapter of the NGCOA have done likewise.

Recently those two organizations made their annual contribution to the Museum operations by way of a cheque for $45,000, presented to the BC Golf House Society. I was pleased to accept on behalf of the Board of Directors. The funds represent almost half of the annual operating budget, and more importantly demonstrate leadership by example.

On behalf of the Board of the BC Golf House Society, we gratefully acknowledge their ongoing commitment to sustain the BC Golf Museum and Hall of Fame.

Meet our Volunteers

Sylvia Mellish – the consummate volunteer

Sylvia Mellish, currently serving her third year as president of the BC Golf House Society, has been a member of Quilchena Golf and Country Club since 1974. Prior to that, she was on the executive of the McCleery GC Business Ladies group.

In 1975-76 she served as Business Ladies Vice Captain, and then Captain. She served on the Board of Directors of the club from 1994 through 1999.

She has been very active on the club, district, provincial and PNGA levels, still serving Quilchena on the Constitution and Bylaws Review and on the Ladies Executive Committee of the PNGA.

Having retired from her position as a Project Manager with Telus in 1992, Sylvia has been a tireless worker for a host of projects, among them Co-Chair of the PNGA Men’s Masters 40 Championship in 1992 and 1995, as well as the PNGA Senior Men’s Championship in 1999. She chaired the PNGA Junior Girls Championships at Seymour Golf & Country Club in 1995 and in 1998 at Homestead Golf Club in Washington State. She also chaired the Women’s Amateur and inaugural Mid-Amateur at Quilchena, and continues to volunteer at PNGA events.

After serving as the BCLGA District 5 Junior Director, Sylvia became the Junior Development Director responsible for junior girls from 1997 – 2001. She chaired the BC Junior Girls Championships, and hosted the bi-annual BC vs Alberta matches. She also escorted girls to the Junior Masters Clinic, the Junior World and PNGA Junior Championships. She traveled as Captain with teams to the Canada / USA matches and the Girls Junior Americas Cup, as well as travelling with the BC team to National Junior Cham[pionships.

She has served the PNGA in many capacities; as a Club Representative from Quilchena since 1990, as the PNGA Women's Division Chair in 2000 and as a member of the PNGA Board of Directors 1998 to 2000.

Sylvia was recognized by Quilchena Golf and Country Club with a Honorary Life Membership in 2004, and received the PNGA Distinguished Service Award in 2005.

Golf organizations depend on people like Sylvia to volunteer their time, energy and effort to advance the game we all love. Although she is not as active as a golfer these days, she is still very much a key figure in the local golf scene, and the visionary leader of the BC Golf Museum and Hall of Fame.

What's Happening?

We have had the pleasure of hosting meetings at the Museum for a number of groups in the last while. The BC Golf Marketing Alliance, the BCGA Zone 4 Executive, the PGA of BC Board of Directors, and the NGCOA BC Chapter Board of Directors have all held meetings here. Lynn Benedictson, the BCGA Junior Chair brought all of the Junior Chairs that attended the BCGA Junior Committee meetings in Richmond for a tour of the Museum in mid March.

All of these groups are key players in the BC golf scene and can now speak about the Museum to the grass roots of the game in this province. This is part of our strategy to raise awareness of the Museum and its role in preserving and promoting the history of the game in BC.

We exhibited at the Vancouver Golf and Travel Show in mid February and the Seattle Golf Show in mid March. Both shows were well attended which quite possibly speaks to the lousy golf weather we have experienced on the west coast this past few months!

Hall of Fame 2009

Every odd numbered year is a Hall of Fame induction year. This year the induction dinner and presentation will be at Capilano Golf and Country Club in the fall and now is the time to think about possible nominees. The Selection Committee will be assembled in May to examine the credentials of nominees and make the selection recommendations to the Board of Directors of the BC Golf House Society.

Who will be joining Dave Barr, Doug Roxburgh, John Johnston, Gail Moore and the others in the Golf Hall of Fame of BC? If you are interested in placing someone's name for consideration, please contact the Office of the BC Golf Museum and Hall of Fame at 604-222-4653 or office@bcgolfmuseum.org.

The Demise of Foot Joy Classics

A sign of the times

Over the next three to four weeks Foot Joy will implement the final closure phases to its Brockton, Mass., manufacturing facility, the home of Foot Joy Classics. Regrettably, the 103 talented crafts people who diligently handmade the leather soled, welted golf shoes produced there for the past five decades will be out of work.

If you've ever owned a pair of Foot Joy Classics you'll understand why a few tears are likely to be shed over this. These shoes were the proverbial Cadillacs of golf footwear. If you played seriously this is what you aspired to wear. If you were a tour player you wouldn't consider anything else.

So ingrained were Foot Joy Classics in golf that at one time the brand had a virtual monopoly on the high-end premium category. Competitors didn't dare challenge them. Foot Joy Classic materials, craftsmanship, quality and performance standards were so far above that of everyone else it made no practical business sense to contest their supremacy. At its high point in 1985 Brockton's 260 employees were churning out some 400,000 pairs of Classics annually. After that things began to change.

As most of us in North America are painfully aware the state of our beleaguered manufacturing sector has given way to foreign technology and cheaper labour costs. Basically that's why Brockton is being forced to cease operations. Asia has slowly but efficiently chipped away at North American made products. The facility and its ‘Made in U.S.A' stamp was at a major disadvantage in being able to compete with the materials benefits of lighter weight, flexible waterproof components being fashioned offshore.

Once you factor in the current state of the global economy keeping Brockton open simply wasn't practical for Foot Joy. Demand for Classics had fallen to roughly 50,000 pair a year. That might sound significant in terms of numbers but certainly it wasn't enough to keep the place business viable.

The guy I feel most sorry for in all of this is Foot Joy president Jim Connor. On his blog at www.footjoy.com (a blog I really urge anyone who cares about Classics to read) he talks openly about what went into his decision to close Brockton after 50 years. He indicates he made it on his own accord. It had to be painful. No one wants to live with having to put good people out of work not to mention ending an era in golf.

Foot Joy, of course, will go forward. The Acushnet brand continues to be the dominant No. 1 in the footwear category. It has a tremendous new product called SYNR-G drawing rave reviews; is continuing to do well with its MyJoy campaign and according to Connor is in the midst of fitting its worldwide tour staff with a new flagship premium product.

Still, to see Brockton reach a point of no return is hard. If you have a pair or two of Classics I urge you to get out some polish, buff them up, change the spikes (if yours have nails in the bottom) and put them away. Am I being a bit sentimental? As a Classics owner I don't think so.

With Brockton's closure Foot Joy Classics have not only become a collector's item they've become a piece of golf history.

(Reprinted with the permission of Rick Young and through the courtesy of SCORE Golf Magazine)

Trivia Winner

Thirty nine people responded to last month's trivia question: which golfer won the BC Junior, the BC Amateur and The Masters ..... twenty eight had the correct answer ..... Fred Couples

The winner by a computerized random selection was Barb MacBey of Powell River! CONGRATULATIONS BARB ... she wins a round of golf with cart for two at the University GC, courtesy of Michael Mather, General Manager.

Trivia Contest for April

The winner will receive golf for two with a golf car at Swan-e-set Bay Golf & Country Club in Pitt Meadows, compliments of Troy Peverley, General Manager.

Question:
Which Canadian golfer has the most top ten finishes in The Masters?

Click here to enter your answer. We'll announce the winner in next month's newsletter.