Revelstoke’s reputation as a golf town is growing every season, and next week, the best golfers in British Columbia will be in the community to tee off in a provincial championship.
The 2023 PGA of BC Championship will be played at the Revelstoke Golf Club on Aug. 14 and 15. The tournament will see 99 of B.C.’s best golfers face off in a two-day, 36-hole stroke play event.
“We’re pretty honoured and fortunate to be able to host a tournament of this magnitude,” said Dean Jackson, General Manager of the Revelstoke Golf Club. Jackson, alongside Revelstoke Golf Club Head Professional Charles Beneteau, will be competing in the event.
Jackson said he and everybody at the club are excited to host the province’s best and to showcase the club, and that the event is set to be the first professional event of this magnitude to be hosted in the community. He added that for many of the competitors, especially the golfers from the Lower Mainland, this will be their first time playing on the Revelstoke course.
Mark Strong, Executive Director for the PGA of BC, grew up in Revelstoke and spent the first couple of years of his career at the Revelstoke Golf Club.
“I used to have the course record,” said Strong about his time in Revelstoke. “When I lived there in the summertime, my routine was I would play once a day on days that I worked and twice a day on days that I had off.”
The PGA of BC represents all the working golf professionals in the province at clubs and facilities, which includes their nearly 700 members across the more than 300 golf facilities in B.C.
Members, both men and women, range from as young as in their twenties to seasoned pros over 60 years old, and Strong says the level of competition at their flagship events improves every year.
Strong said that the Interior, including Revelstoke, is seeing growth in the sport of golf, both in the number of facilities and courses and in the number of rounds being played.
Additionally, Strong said that he sees indoor golf facilities as the next step of growth for golf in the region. “The technology behind launch monitors and simulators is way better than it was even 10 years ago,” said Strong. Indoor facilities offer golfers a chance to practice and even simulate full rounds at a fraction of the cost of a membership without ever leaving a single room.
“We welcome the community to come out and watch,” said Jackson about the upcoming event. “They’re going to see some great golf.”
The 99 professionals competing in the event are playing for a total prize purse of $40,000. Forecasts are calling for warm, sunny conditions and a high of 31C.
The event is sponsored locally by RE/MAX Revelstoke Realty, Skookum Bike & Ski, Artisan Drywall Contracting Ltd., Ramada Inn Revelstoke, Fairfield Inn Revelstoke, Super 8 Revelstoke, Days Inn & Suites Revelstoke, and Cedar Spruce Consulting.
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