The Annual General Meeting of the Nova Scotia Golf Association (Golf Nova Scotia) was held last evening with great success. Thank you to the many voting members and guests who took the time to join us. 

Recording of the Meeting

Annual Report

Golf Nova Scotia is preparing for a busy and successful 2024 season. Thank you to all members, clubs, and industry partners for their cooperation and shared commitment. Golf Nova Scotia is dedicated to the success, growth, and future of golf in Nova Scotia

It is National Volunteer Week!

We would like to give a big thanks to our past, present, and future volunteers. A special thank you to our Referees and Course Raters who work closely with Golf Nova Scotia during the season. Your work does not go unnoticed.

Craig Faulkner – Bio

Where are you from?

Born and raised in beautiful Nova Scotia and currently reside in Middle Sackville.

How Long have you been coaching golf?

I approached the Oakfield Golf and Country Club in 2016 about the idea of starting a golf program for the Special Olympics Sackville-Bedford region. The general manager discussed the program with the membership, and they wholeheartedly embraced the program and have given me their full support.

Today I have twelve golfers and four additional coaches to support the golf program.

What do you coach?

I started in 2016 as a Special Olympics Assistant Coach for Soccer & Athletics and currently, I’m the Head Coach for Golf and Floor Hockey.

Why do you love to coach?

Coaching Special Olympics is a very rewarding experience and a great opportunity to share my love of sport.  I’m proud to be a voice for inclusion and an advocate for the many golfers in the community who have an intellectual disability. 

The most important lesson I have learned as a coach is being aware of individual differences in golfers.  Every golfer is different, and has different ways of receiving information, dealing with stress, anxiety, and the rate at which they improve.

Building trust between the golfer and coach is of paramount importance. It is essential that the golfers know you care about them as a golfer and a person.

I always focus on the being is positive, enthusiastic, and supportive cheerleader for every golfer. The bottom line is simple; it must be fun for everyone involved.

Everyone has similar goals and dreams, regardless of your situation in life and the Special Olympics golfers demonstrate the importance of having a positive attitude when presented with new and seemingly insurmountable challenges. 

I enjoy watching the golfers develop problem solving skills that will help them throughout their personal lives.

To break down golf into its simplest terms, you have a bag of sticks with a wedge attached and a golf ball.

How do you best use those sticks to get that ball in a hole that’s far away.

If that’s not already difficult enough, you need to consider sand traps; water hazards; rain; deep grass; wind; trees; hills; plus, many more obstacle that golf throws at you every time you play.

Even if you hit the perfect shot, it may land in a spot that makes your next shot almost impossible.

Each shot presents a problem to solve, and golfers need to use critical thinking skills that gives them the best opportunity to hit the next ball where they want it to land.

Golf has a way of emulating life. Accept your situation, and then strategize and solve any problems you encounter to give yourself the best chance for success.

Craig Faulkner, Special Olympics Sackville Bedford – Program Coordinator, Head Coach Golf, Head Coach Floor Hockey

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – A furious push over the final two rounds by the Jacksonville State men’s golf team propelled the Gamecocks to their first win of the season at the Irish Creek Collegiate.
 
In its final regular-season tournament, Jax State overtook Radford in the final round on Tuesday to win the 15-team field. The Gamecocks were fifth after the first round of the 54-hole event and moved into second, just one shot behind the Highlanders, before the final round.
 
After an opening round 285 on the par-70, 7,038-yard layout at the Irish Creek Golf Club Monday morning, the Gamecocks fired the best round in the field in each of the final two rounds. A second-round 273 on Monday afternoon pulled them into second and just one shot behind Radford, and then a final-round 279 capped their 839 that beat the Highlanders by a shot.
 
“We have been working extremely hard with course management and doing the little things,” Brice said. We turned the corner (Monday) and finished it off in rain and cold weather today. I am excited to continue this progression and take it into conference in a couple of weeks.
 
The win was the first by the Gamecocks since the 2022-23 season opener at the Golfweek Fall Challenge and is the first for Jax State under Brice, who took over midseason last year. He was pleased with how far his team has come in the past few weeks.
 
“The course management was a lot of new stuff for some of the guys, and getting over that hill was a big learning curve the last two weeks,” Brice said. “It paid off and will keep paying off. This was a total team effort and everyone contributed to this win.”
 
Four Gamecocks finished in the Top 20 of the 96-player field, working together to hold off the competition for the first win of the year. Senior Isaac MacNaughton claimed a top-five finish with a 1-under 209 that was just one shot off of the lead. 
 
The native of Truro, Nova Scotia, rallied after a 4-over 74 in Monday’s first round, carding a 4-under 66 in the afternoon round. He used an early hot streak in Tuesday’s final round, birdying four-straight holes in his first six holes and made the turn at 3-under. MacNaughton played Irish Creek’s par-5 holes at 5-under for the tournament.
 
Junior Santiago Bailleres joined MacNaughton in the Top 10, tying for ninth with an even-par 210 in the event. The Chascomus, Argentina, native was the most consistent player in Brice’s lineup over the event, opening with a 1-over 71 before closing with a second-round 69 and a final-round 70.
 
Just three shots behind him in a tie for 16^th was redshirt sophomore Ricardo Matho, who finished the 54-hole tournament with a 3-over 213. Also an Argentina native, he led the Gamecocks with 11 birdies in the tournament, shooting rounds of 70-74-69.
 
Senior Erik Jansson also claimed a Top-20 finish, tying for 19^th with a 4-over 214. The native of Vasteras, Sweden, sandwiched a second-round 69 between an opening 73 and a final-round 72 on Tuesday.
 
Junior Ryley Heath shot a 217 to tie for 32^nd, using rounds of 71-69-77, while redshirt junior Gabriel Restrepo tied for 50^th after a 54-hole score of 221 (77-73-71.
 
Redshirt sophomore David Melichar competed for the Gamecocks as an individual and finished in a tie for 55^thwith a total score of 222 (73-72-77).
 
The Gamecocks now turn their focus to the Conference USA Championship, which will be held from April 22-25 at the Texarkana Country Club in Texarkana, Ark.