Manitoba Score Magazine :: SWEET SIXTEEN TRAIN FOR TEAM 'TOBA

Sixteen of Manitoba's best junior golfers are vying for the chance to represent their province at the 2009 Canada Summer Games.

It's a cloud-covered, wind-swept afternoon in mid-June, but Garth Goodbrandson can't help smiling.

The Director of Player Development for Golf Manitoba, Goodbrandson is running back-to-back practices for his Canada Games training squad—16 of the province's best junior golfers who will compete for six spots (three men and three women) and the chance to represent Manitoba at the prestigious national competition next June.

Garth Goodbrandson (blue shirt) provides instruction to junior golfers during a practice at Meadows Golf Course. "We really want to make sure they have fun," he says.

"The problem with practicing golf is that players get into a bad habit of just beating golf balls without much of a purpose" says Goodbrandson. "You don't want players working on their technique all the time. So we introduce a bit of variety."

Variety today takes the form of a mini match play tournament for the athletes in attendance. Utilizing two practice greens, a bunker, and the driving range, the players compete for bragging rights in the areas of putting, pitching, sand saves, and accuracy off the tee.

"Most of our work is from 100 yards and in" says the coach, named in 2005 as one of the top 50 Golf Instructors in Canada by the National Post. "We call it the scoring distance."

The premium on the short game is evident. Of the 18 "holes" Goodbrandson has created for this session, only four require a 3-wood or driver. The pressure shots, he maintains, are in and around the green, and test the mental game as much as the physical.

The boys thrive in the competitive situation they're faced with. Guys love to keep score—no secret there—and match play is the ultimate as far as golf is concerned. In fact, there is only one exception to general match play rules here: nothing is conceded. Every ball surrounding the hole—whether it be two or ten feet away—has to be putted out.

Clearly the boys are enjoying it. Between shots the competitors are easygoing, smiling, chatting amongst themselves. But come their turn to hit, competitive juices take over. Portage's Myles Sullivan is on one of the practice greens, after a chip and run to within 3 feet. He hovers over the ball, concentrating, before sinking the putt, and Goodbrandson nods approvingly. "See him take his time there? It's important to him."

Rossmere's Ryan Pitzel sinks a putt on the practice green.

At 15, Sullivan is the youngest on the boys' squad, and he's holding his own. To his right, two of the group's 17-year-olds, Southwood's Adrian Kibsey and Rossmere/Elmhurst's Ryan Pitzel are engaged in a battle of their own. They've just finished hammering 3-woods into a stiff wind, have moved on to one of the chipping holes, and are now on the green. Pitzel sinks a 15-footer and raises his arms in quiet celebration. He's 1 up.

"I've never had the experience to play on a team in golf," says Pitzel. "I think (the Canada Games) would be really exciting. It motivated me to keep going to the gym and working out."

A 2-handicap, Pitzel worked at Safeway all winter to save up for an Elmhurst membership. He managed to squeeze that part-time job into his otherwise busy academic and athletic schedule. The 5'8" lefthander also played hockey and ran both cross-country and track for Maples Collegiate.

Add to that golf lessons and a conditioning program that Goodbrandson has set up through the Titleist Performance Institute, Pitzel is lean and fit, and so are his teammates.

"Barry Mitchell (of Darcy Bain Physiotherapy) assessed each team member and through the TPI, each player was given a specific program designed to improve their fitness" says Goodbrandson. Following an initial 6-week training period, the players were all reassessed and given a new in-season program.

"It's a great workout, especially in developing flexibility and a stronger core," says Pitzel. The result is golfers who look like athletes (the days of the out-of shape, John Daly-type golfers succeeding at the elite level, asserts Goodbrandson, are over). And hopefully, these athletes will not only survive but flourish in mid-summer tournament play on the biggest stage for amateur athletics in Canada.

Manitoba juniors have not fared well over the years at the national level, and the coaches are looking to turn that around. The Games will take place next August in P.E.I., and Goodbrandson, along with fellow provincial team coach Derek Ingram, wants to ensure that Manitoba's teams are mentally and physically prepared.

When the girls arrive, Goodbrandson puts extra effort into keeping the session both competitive and fun. He is well aware of the fact that the numbers of junior golfers (at least those that played competitively in the Manitoba Junior Championships) have declined significantly over a 10-year span, and are only now starting to rebound.

In addition to offering elementary school clinics for beginners, Golf Manitoba has partnered with the RCGA to bring the Future Links Girls' Club and Girls' Club Awareness Day to Winnipeg, and is hoping for 50-60 girls to participate in the August event. It would stand to reason that the more young girls introduced to golf in a fun, non-competitive environment, the better the chances of keeping them involved in the game.

Glendale's Jenna Roadley, only 14, is quickly establishing herself as one of the province's best.

Only 14, Roadley is quickly establishing herself as one of the province's best young female golfers. She's won two of the five events she's played this year and continues to improve. A country club kid who was raised in the clubhouse? Hardly.

"I started playing at 11, and I wasn't very good—I was shooting in the 100's" says Roadley. "But after you practice a lot, you get better. I've really worked on my putting and chipping a lot more and I've gotten stronger and taller." She pauses, and then laughs. "Well a little bit taller."

Roadley, now a member at Glendale, is listed at a generous 5'3", but she packs a mean punch, averaging 230-240 yards with her driver. Today she and playing partner Bri-Ann Tokariwski of Selkirk are pounding both driver and 3-wood into the wind. After taking a few shots to adjust to conditions, their tee shots begin sailing long and straight. The girls—both positive and friendly—have each found their groove.

This is bad news for the five grown men practicing next to them, casual golfers who've come to their local driving range to work on their swings. The guys promptly put their drivers away. They are, after all, being out-muscled by teenage girls.

Goodbrandson acknowledges that this group in particular has taken the ‘golfer-as-athlete' concept to a new level. "They've got the ability for sure. All eight girls are really good athletes. They not only play other sports (soccer, hockey, volleyball) they excel at them. And fortunately for us, they bring that athleticism to the golf course."

Roadley is a prime example of what athleticism coupled with the right attitude can accomplish. A volleyball player in the offseason, she too has benefited from a Titleist Performance Institute assessment and workout, which includes Swiss ball and resistance training, as well as several core strengthening exercises. "I'm not an overly big kid, obviously," she says, "so I really need to have a big turn in my torso to get power."

And alongside Tim Tabor, Glendale's assistant pro, Jenna's worked on fundamentals, with an emphasis on putting and short game work. "I definitely need to keep working on my consistency, my putting and chipping. You putt on every hole, and you only hit driver maybe 10 holes a round." In a 2-hour practice, Roadley says she putts for half, and chips the other half.

"She's very diligent" says Peter Roadley, Jenna's dad. "Jenna's developed a real love for the game. She wasn't great at first, but she stuck with it. And she doesn't mind going out to practice."

The practice is certainly paying off. Roadley's favorite golfer is Annika Sorenstam, and en route to her two victories this season, she's displayed Sorenstam-like consistency. She fired rounds of 84, 81 to win the Maple Leaf Tournament at South Interlake Golf Course, and 81, 82 to win the Junior Bantam Championship at Kildonan Park.

Jim Steep, Glendale's head professional, gives her a glowing review. "She is and has been a hard worker and practices or plays pretty much every day. She knows the work ethic required to be successful." And, adds Steep, "she has a terrific attitude."

Goodbrandson agrees. "Jenna has a lot of potential. She's committed to improving her game and is going about things the correct way. She's improved tremendously in the past few years and the main thing that will help her game is to gain some additional experience."

Additional experience is something these players are trying to develop quickly: they know full well that the 2009 Canada Summer Games is the only one for which they'll be eligible. Even the two 14-year-olds on the training squad—Roadley and Nicole McGlenen—will be too old to compete when the next Canada Games comes around in 2013.

But for today at least, the girls are enjoying the competition posed by the match play format. Unfortunately, they're running late. Goodbrandson improvises a final challenge, lining up the ladies in the pitching area, and having them simultaneously fire at pylons situated 100, 75, 50, and 25 yards away. First one to hit a pylon gets a slurpee, he says.

The two Selkirk representatives—Tokariwski and 17-year-old Lindsay Stewart—are all over the 50-yard marker, but can't quite seem to hit it. The drill is evidence that all of these girls have taken short game work seriously. "My angle's tough!" Roadley pretends to whine from down the line. Goodbrandson chuckles, and then responds "Yeah the pylon's much smaller from that angle."

Eventually, they've run out of range balls with no one declared an official winner, which saves Goodbrandson a trip to the nearest 7-Eleven.

"Golf really is a lifetime sport," says Peter Roadley, "and there are lots of opportunities, for girls especially." A Phys Ed. teacher at Sturgeon Heights Collegiate, Roadley has already seen one of his former students—Stacey Bieber—excel at the U.S. college level, earning Academic All-American honors 3 times while on a golf scholarship at Texas Christian University.

"Stacey was a real role model for Jenna. A few years ago she took Jenna under her wing and brought her out to practices at St. Charles. That was pretty special."

The mentoring has certainly made a lasting impression. And with seemingly every U.S. college and junior college offering men's and women's golf (with Canadian schools following suit), the solid post-secondary opportunities appear endless for those willing to put the work in.

Ryan Pitzel hopes to land a U.S. college scholarship ("maybe in Florida—somewhere it's nice," he laughs).

Jenna Roadley is a little more specific. "Stanford" she says, deferring to the school chosen by Tiger Woods and, most recently, Michelle Wie. Golf, however, isn't the only thing on Roadley's mind. "I love school!" she says.

She also knows not to get ahead of herself (she'll be a ninth grader in September). And with the help of her parents, she's keeping herself in—and enjoying—the present.

"We have two rules," says mom Joanne. "Make sure you're having fun and make sure you're learning something."

And on this day, Goodbrandson's practice session has fulfilled both requirements.

"It's a competitive situation, but we really want to make sure they have fun," says Goodbrandson. "If we can add to their passion for the game, then we've done our jobs."

And how will the Manitoba delegation stack up against the best in the country next year? Optimistic, Goodbrandson insists the real goal is to give Manitoba's juniors every opportunity to improve. "(We) want to focus on the process, and will let the results come as they may."

The clouds have all but disappeared by the end of the session and the province's best junior golfers head home. Some will be participating in the weekend's tournaments, while others will play practice rounds on their own. And all will likely have improved their games by the time they see Goodbrandson again.

Tonight they each drive off into a welcomed prairie sunset and a world of possibilities.