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I was in a conversation the other day about the best golf courses on Vancouver Island. Everyone will have there opinion obviously, and what someone thinks is amazing another could disagree. I’;m sure I’ll get a lot of e-mail's disagreeing with my top five, but to each their own. So with that said, I’ve compiled my list of the top 5 best courses on Vancouver Island.

5) Pheasant Glen- What I like about this course is that it pays to be in play. It’s easy to get into a lot trouble, or even lose a ball if you don’t have accuracy off the tee. The front nine can beat you up pretty bad if you’re not straight. The fescue on the front nine is long and thick, and if you hit your ball into it, it’s almost a guarantee you’re not finding it. I like that this course has a lot of elements of a links style course, but also aspects of a traditional course all in one. The front nine is almost an all links style set up that has opportunities to get birdies, but can also give you some big numbers if you’re not swinging well. The back nine is more of a traditional layout in respects to being surround by trees, and dog legs moving in both directions. There is an island green on 13 that can appear to be intimidating if you’re a high handi-capped player, but as I was playing with a member the last time I played there he showed me a way to make it friendly for the less skilled player…That's something you’ll have to figure out when you get to it. But a side from that I really had a lot of fun playing there, and...trying to keep my ball in play.

4) Morningstar- I’ve always been a fan of this golf course. It’s a championship golf course that plays to the tune 6983 yards. It’s a great track for being able to go low if you really focus and play solid, but it can also leave you on the verge of quitting golf…which if you’ve seen my golf game it’s a recurring thing. But on a serious note, it really challenges every aspect of your game. It’s long enough that you’ll need to pull driver consistently, the greens roll fast and pure in the summer, and you can get your self into interested situations off the tee which you’ll need to rely on a solid short game. I love the course set up and design, and I found myself getting pretty strategic in regards to playing the holes which tested my course management skills.

3) Victoria Golf Club- I made the VGC number three because you can’t beat the scenery, and any course that is cut along side the coast is a golf course that can’t go under the radar. As a whole, the golf course doesn’t play that hard, and the set up isn’t overly tough, however, there are usually other elements that come into play as is expected with being built on the pacific ocean. It can get windy, I mean really windy. I onced played with a guy who had his hat blow into the water from the 7th tee box just as he was about to pull the trigger. It can get fairly wet there as well. Make no mistake though, there are also a lot of perfect conditions. Playing the VGC with perfect conditions, makes the golf course like a some tropical resort. At least that's the feeling I get when I’m there and the sun is beating down, the weather is hot, and there is no wind. It’s hard to explain but there is something about the golf course that really attracts me to it. The only issue I have with it, is the length of the course. It’s a lot shorter than your typical course, and I mean understandably if you see the land and how the course had to be designed it all makes sense. That is just a small complaint, and everything else really sets up well for my game.

2) Royal Colwood- I almost made this number one, but when you read about my number one pick you’ll see why I decided to make Royal Colwood number two. What can you say about this track? It has everything you could ever want out of a golf course. The care and attention the maintenance crew puts into this gem will make you not want to play anywhere else. Every time I’ve played there, it’s been in perfect condition. The course layout in my opinion isn’t as tough as some golf courses on the islands, but what makes up for it, and can make this golf course nasty is the greens. You really have to have a feel for these greens. Royal Colwood I would say has  the best greens on Vancouver Island. It’s a bold statement I know, but there are a number of different reasons for me to back up that argument. The first one, the greens are impeccable. They have one of the truest rolls I’ve ever experienced. Number two, they’re naturally undulating which I find makes the greens tough to read at times, but at the same time it teaches you to get better at reading greens. I could continue, but you’ll have to experience them yourself. There is a lot of history at this course, and you a feeling of pride every time you walk through this piece of land.

1) Storey Creek- As I mentioned as I was having a hard time deciding which course deserved to be number one, but after a lengthy debate I’ve made it clear. Story Creek which is located in Campbell River, is a tree lined beauty that really tests your golf game to the max. It’s either hit it straight or play your approach shot from the trees. Every hole is lined with tall Evergreens that are densely woven together so you can’t see the hole beside you. In the true sense you’re part of nature when you play the Story Creek Golf Club. I think Story Creek boasts some of the best dog legs on the island. In my opinion It’s not a course where you pull out driver and rip it. It’s more of a course where you’re thinking "where do I want to place this so that I can set myself up for the next shot and give myself a good angle to the green". The golf course makes you think and break down what the best plan of attack is for your next shot. Unlike some courses where you can hit driver, and it doesn’t matter where the ball goes you can hit from anywhere. Story Creek is the complete opposite. You can hit driver a lot if you want to, but don’t expect great things if you’re having an off day. The course is also in great condition, and I always have a blast playing there. The biggest thing that really attracts me to this golf course is the nature, the serenity, and the quietness to be on the course. The tree lined holes make you feel like you’re in the middle of the forest.

It’s President Cup time! What I’m looking forward to this year seeing how the young players will fair. As per usual, it’s a mixed bag in regards to age ranges competing in the Presidents Cup this year. The one who is on the top of everyone’s mind is Jordan Spieth from the US Team, and Hediki Matusyaam from Japan.

Jordan Spieth, what can you say about this guy…He can’t even drink in the United States, and he’s playing amongst the players golfers on the face of the earth! He is 19 years old, and was one of Fred Couple’s Captain’s Picks, and rightfully so. He has had one hell of a season! The 19 year old won his first PGA Tour event this year at the John Deere Classic in which he holed out a bunker shot on the 72nd hole to force a playoff, which propelled him into the British Open. Jordan has collected nine top tens in 23 events this year season, with three of those being runner ups finishes. Oh…and let’s not forget his 62 during the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship where he had a birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle finish making his final round scoring average 69.63.

Clearly, the Dallas, Texas native deserves to be on the team. What I;m interested to see is how well he handles himself at this level, and with the whole team event completion. Obviosuly, being as good as he is, his golf game will do the talking and it should be just another tournament for Spieth. One can only hope. Maybe I‘m getting a little a head of myself, but I‘m hoping Spieth goes undefeated at the Presidents Cup. I know that‘s a bold statement, but the kid has all the tools to do that. Either way, I think the golf world will start changing in the next few years because of this kid.

On the international side of things, Hideki Matsuyama is another young gun is watch out for. He is 21 years old from Japan, and had top ten finishes in the U.S. Open and Open Championship this year. Matsuyama turned pro this year, and has already won times. He is currently playing on the Japan Golf Tout (JGT). He has played six times in North America this year, and despite missing the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii, he has placed in the top 25 in every other event. In 2011 he played in The Masters as an amateur, and ended becoming the low amateur in the tournament. He’s a very aggressive player, which I will bode well in the Presidents Cup. I’m really interested to see who Nick Price will pair him up with in this competition. He has proved he has the mental skills to be able to contented in big tournaments, and I don’t see that changing this week.

I think having Hideki Matsuyama go head to head against Jordan Spieth would be an epic battle come singles matches on Sunday. Two young studs putting it all on the line in a display of fearless golf that the whole world can watch would be the highlight of my Presidents Cup experience this year.

It’s probably no surprise, but Tiger was named the 2013 Player Of The Player beating out Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott, and Matt Kuchar. This is his 11th time winning the award. Clearly, this was his best season he’s had in a while, but what makes this year even more special I think, is that he finally silenced all of the nae-sayers for good, and proved that all of the circumstances he got himself into was all in the past. Woods had 5 wins; two of those World Golf Championship titles, and not to mention a “Player’s Championship”, finishing second in the Fed Ex Cup. To most PGA Tour pros this would have been a season to remember forever. For Tiger, it was just another year on tour.

A lot of guy’s on tour could have said they would have had a good career with five wins. Heck, there are guy’s who could say they had a good career having never won a PGA Tour event. In the eyes of many, two wins for Tiger in a year is probably considered bad. What interests me the most about Tiger Woods is his personal drive and motivation to be the best, and to keep getting better. Even when Tiger is playing his best, he’ll mention that he can always get better. Is there a limit on just how good Tiger can get? Or…given the circumstances, and the era we’re now in, is this best Tiger is going to get? Will he plateau at this level (which is still better than everyone else), or will he soar to even greater heights, heights as good or greater than his 2000 season?

This post might be the only non golf related post I will ever do, but it’s worth it. I want to let you into my world, the world that is VIGolf.ca. It hasn’t been an easy road getting this website developed, in fact quite the opposite. There were countless failures, road blocks, and stumbles that I’ve gone through with getting this off the ground. First off, VIGolf.ca is a labour of love, and I feel so proud when I get an e-mail from someone saying that VIGolf.ca helped them out in someway, or that they really enjoy something they read or heard on the site. Thank you so much for those e-mails, it gives the me drive to keep moving forward with this.

As I look back on my long journey of getting VIGolf.ca developed, I realize that despite all of the failures, set backs, and road blocks nothing has stopped me from moving forward with this project. There have times when I could have packed it in all in, gave up, and looked at myself as a failure. But why? I put an idea into action, and slowly watched it grow. It’s a feeling that I can’t explain, but knowing that what I’ve created is something bigger than me. As far as I’m concerned, as long as you’re doing something everyday to move you closer to what you’re trying to do you’re not failing. Sure, they’re days when you put in a full effort, and you don’t see anything come out of it, but if you truly believe in what your doing then you’ll always have the drive and motivation to do what ever you want.

There were some development issues that put delays on this website which pushed me down a couple of times. I dealt with countless people telling that I couldn’t do this, the idea was stupid, and that who am I to put start something like this up, etc. At the end of the day it’s all just noise. It’s really to bad that people try to bring you down to their level when you talk about doing something big, and something that they’ve been to scared to even try. Those people have a false belief that they can’t achieve great things so in order for them feel adequate they try and bring you down. I had an idea, I put into place, and that’s all it took to create something. Anyone can do something amazing! Silence the false beliefs and are telling you, you can’t achieve something, and once you can do that big things will stat to unfold.

The point I’m trying to make is that whatever it is you’re trying to do don’t give up. It’s hard sometimes because when a shitty situation gets you down you don’t like the feelings associated with it so that stops you in your tracks. You have to have mental resilience to be able to push through the boundries. The same goes for golf. If you look at all of the world’s top players, I guarantee you they’ve been through some pretty shitty situations. There have been times when I bet they thought about quitting, but as you grow as a person you start to understand that failure is meaningless. It has nothing to do with who you are. It just means what your tried wasn’t the right way to do it, and you need to try something else in an order to get to where you need to go. Once you can start to accept that falling down is all part of the process then you’ll be well on your one to achieving greatness.

I was at the practicing at the other day and two stalls over was a middle aged couple. The women had maybe played golf a few times before, and the guy looked like he had been playing golf his whole life but had a golf swing that represented a seizure. It was pretty gross to watch to honest. He was trying to give his wife a golf lesson but had no idea what the hell he was talking about. It seemed that all that came out of his mouth was “keep your head down”.

It made me want to puke because that’s all I hear when someone who doesn’t understand the golf swing and tries to give golf lessons says. The funnier part was he was totally trying to show off that he knew what he was talking about by trying to hit a golf shot. Every time he attempt one, he hit the ball like shit and then tried blaming the club. It’s hysterical to say the least.

Guy’s, if you don’t have a golf, and don’t have an understand of the gold swing please don’t attempt to give lessons. You’re not only making yourself look bad, but you’re setting up who ever you’re teaching for failure. If someone wants to start taking up golf, the best thing you can do is take get that individual to a certified CPGA golf coach. If you can instil good fundamentals out of the gate you’re going to accelerate their development…and not to mention save yourself the embarrassment of thinking you know what you’re talking about.

I want to make a shout out Henrik Stennson on his Fed Cup Victory! It was well deserved to say the least. The guy was so on with his game the month and a bit that he made a 2000 Tiger Woods look like amateur...almost. The guy went through a lot of up’s and down’s over the last few years. He was involve in the alleged Stanford Financial Ponzi scheme in which he lost 5 million dollars, and in 2011 his World Golf Ranking plummeted to 230th. He was determined to turned that all around, and this year was by far the best of his career. I would consider it in the top 5 or PGA Tour seasons to date. His Fed Ex Cup win was something you read about in fictional books.

It was inspirational, emotional, and excitement all rolled into one. If you factor in all everything he experienced the the last couple of years, and couple that with desire, hard work, and his commitment to turn his game around he did something that most guy’s only dream of...Winning the Fed Ex by playing some of the best golf I’ve seen in a while. I hope that his amazing play continues into the future, and into next season. If it does, WATCH OUT!

In the theme of Fathers Day, I want to write something dedicated to my dad, the man who introduced me to the game at the age of six. I’m so grateful that my father introduced to me the game at such a young age because golf has been a big part of my life ever since. It has turned into a passion that’s so deeply rooted in me that, I will be playing the game until the day I die.

My father wasn’t a good golfer by any means, but he loved to play. He loved it for what the game was, and used it as an escape to get away from the daily grind. When the two us played golf, it was an opportunity to bond, to build our relationship, and talk about things that normally didn’t get talked about. The stories, the secrets that we kept; golf was a way for us to have deep conversations about everything. It was an opportunity to share what was on our mind. I value that the most from our time playing golf together. Maybe that’s why I’ve grown to love the game so much.

As I look back, I now notice that it was those days of playing golf with my father that have influenced who I am today. Not only was it the bond that formed between my dad and me, but it was the lessons of life that I learned along the way as well. I learned the value honesty, and that if you’re not honest with yourself then you’ll never be happy with who you are. I learned about achieving goals, pursing dreams, and not giving up on what you believe. He also taught me the value of integrity, and seeing the good in everyone. The biggest lesson of all though was about designing your own life. Design a life that fits within who you are. Do things that truly make you happy, and create your own opportunities. “You only have one life, so live it to be the best that you can,” is a quote he would tell me on a regular basis.

I guess when I look at it, it wasn’t me just playing golf with my dad, but in a way it was his way of teaching me how to get the most out of life. We don’t get to play as much golf together as we would like these day, but when we do we go back to the days when I was growing up. This time however, it’s me telling my dad what I’ve learned.

Another Times Colonist Island Savings Open has been played, and the inaugural PGA Tour Canada season has begun. Since the PGA Tour took over the Canadian Tour on November 1st, 2012 there have been a lot of changes that have been implemented. The Canadian Tour was a great tour through out the years, but with the PGA Tour on board it’s going to take it to the next level because of the resources it has.

When the first official tee shot was struck on Thursday morning, there was a feeling in the air that a new era in Canadian golf had begun. Every player I talked to through out the week were super excited about the changes and growth that this tour will experience. I was talking with the communications team from the PGA Tour, and they had mentioned the ultimate goal is to have 15 tournaments on the PGA Tour Canada schedule by the end of next year. It was tough to expand the schedule this year as a lot of the focus was on the transition. More or less the staff from the PGA Tour were saying that this year is a “feeling it out” year as they fine tune everything. Once next year rolls around they will be in a better position to start expanding to more markets across Canada.

PGA Tour Canada will have a bigger budget to work with than before, and they will be able to leverage the expertise of the PGA Tour. People know the PGA Tour brand, and when they see that they’re instantly excited. Not too mention the amount of talent that has been brought forth because of the transition. A perfect example is the PGA Tour Canada Q-School in April. Q-School sold out two weeks in advance with 312 players registered. In previous attempts Canadian Tour Q-School would only bring forth on average about 80 players.

The PGA Tour has made PGA Tour Canada an official stepping stone for getting to the big stage. That alone is what has attracted a wealth of talent to this tour thus far. It’s going to be an exciting season, and an exciting time for Canadian golf.

To be honest, I really don’t care about the new anchored putting ban. I’m not an anchored putter, but at the end of the day it doesn’t bother me if someone I’m playing with in a tournament, or otherwise is using the technique. I do see both sides of argument though, and my opinions sway on both sides of the fence, and I understand the pros and cons as it relates to keeping the integrity of the game.

At the end of the day, the ban isn’t as big as it’s talked up to be. It’s obviously only really a small tweak in how you place your hands on the putter, and anyone who has ever worked hard on grooving a golf swing will tell you that it’s all based on reprogramming your motor skills, and in graining that habit into the sub-conscious mind to the point where you don’t need to think about it. That’s really easy to change, all you have to do is put in the reps.

However, at the same time putting is such a personal thing. It comes down to how comfortable, and confident you feel over the ball. If the only way for you to do that is by anchoring your putting then by all means do what you have to do. As long as the ball goes into the hole, and it’s done in a way that preserves the game for what it is, then I’m all for it.

The rule comes into effect in 2016 so there is a lot of time to change your putting technique if need be. I think it will be interesting to see how it will affect players who have back issues, or issues using a traditional grip. I’ve talked to some players who have back issues, and pain with using a traditional putting style, and the only way for them to be able to still play golf is by using an anchored grip. I suspect most players in that category will still use it if it’s not a competitive round. It an anchored putting grip will extend your golf career, then by all means do it.

The bickering between Tiger Woods, and Sergio Garcia has to stop. It’s getting stupid, and to be honest it’s really unprofessional. I get it, Garcia was unhappy with Woods at The Players because when Garcia was getting ready to hit, Woods ended up hitting a shot on another hole which the crowd went nuts and that threw Garcia off of his concentration and ultimately he made a bad swing because of it. Maybe it was a bad break…But so what, shit happens!

The way Garcia handled the situation was childish in my opinion. He could have made it known that he was unhappy about the situation and just left it at that. For him to make the comments that he did was a little uncalled for, and I thought it tarnished his reputation. I don’t like how Sergio always has to make it seem like he was the victim. I remember a few years back at The Open Championship when Garcia was in position to win and made a few loose swings coming down the stretch which ended up costing him the tournament. I remember at the press conference afterwards, he talked about how the gods were against him, and that it seemed like they’ve always been against him.

His attitude about being the victim, is what has been costing him chances to win. I’m a big believer in the Law of Attraction and that what you think about comes into your life wether it’s good or bad. That attitude of being the victim I think is part of the reason that he has had some of the results he has had. I’m happy that he has realized that he was being child about it and apologized for his actions, but at the end of the day you have to deal with the bad situations and embrace them. With every bad situation comes an even great opportunity or situation.