#GolfBeattieStrong signs on to sponsor men’s senior championship

Halifax, NS – The Nova Scotia Golf Association’s senior men’s championship has a new sponsor with a deep connection to the sport in this province.

Garry Beattie has stepped forward to support the tournament for the next four years under the #GolfBeattieStrong banner. The event for male players 55 years of age and older is now called the #GolfBeattieStrong Men’s Senior Championship.

Beattie has represented the province at national championships, been a familiar face playing tournaments around Nova Scotia for years and is serving as the NSGA’s president for a second one-year term.

He’s also a shining example of how to turn a dire diagnosis into something good.

A little over three years ago, Beattie was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive type of Glioblastoma. It is the same type of tumour that took The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie.

A little over two months after his diagnosis in 2015 – and after more than a week in an induced coma – Beattie was on the course competing again. This darned thing will not keep him down.

The impetus to sponsor the men’s senior came from his dad, Don, who passed away last year at 82.

“He was never a great golfer, but always enthusiastic and obviously he was a huge influence in my life when it comes to golfing,” Garry says of his dad, growing up in Woodstock, N.B., and playing on the par-33 nine-hole course there.

“A big part of me – I am my father. There’s no question in my mind.”

Beattie’s connection to the NSGA began in 2006 when he earned a spot on the provincial Mid-Amateur team after being away from competitive golf for more than a decade.

On the administrative side of the sport Beattie also excelled, eventually leading to his being named the association’s president in 2017.

Along the way he has supported the sport’s governing body financially and when his father passed away, he saw how the pieces of his life puzzle could come together.

“I’m in a position now where I have to start tracking the days and thinking what my legacy is going to be,” he says matter-of-factly. “Ultimately, it’s not me, it’s the Beattie name and what my dad gave to me.”

So with Beattie turning 55 this year and eligible to play in his first senior, sponsoring the event seemed natural. He’s using half of his inheritance from his father to sponsor the tournament and the other is going to the QE2 Foundation for brain cancer research. His wife, Lori Duggan, is also fundraising for the QE2 Foundation under the name #LiveBeattieStrong.

“After my second brain surgery and my father dying, I realized there’s limited time to make a difference,” he says.

Beattie has set ambitious goals for the #GolfBeattieStrong Men’s Senior Championship. He wants it to become so popular there’s a waiting list or even the need for a qualifying tournament. Beside the competition, Beattie wants the tournament to become a gathering of the golf community, where stories are told and friendships forged and strengthened.

To that goal, a reception will be held at the club following the second round. For the inaugural #GolfBeattieStrong Men’s Senior Championship former NSGA historian Allan (Bunny) Dunlop will be remembered. The beloved Dunlop passed away in 2015. In future years, Beattie envisions honouring legendary Nova Scotia players and those who have given to golf, both departed and still playing.

“The #GolfBeattleStrong event should be like an ‘Old Home Week’ for golfers,” he says.

The tournament also hopes to raise much-needed funds for Glioblastoma research.

The Beattie Foundation and Dormie Workshop have collaborated on a special cover based on Garry’s input to make this an original concept which Dormie is renowned for in the golfing community. This cover will only be sold on Dormie’s website and will culminate with a check presentaion to the QEII with net proceeds given on behalf of the Beattie Foundation and Dormie Workshop.

 

The #GolfBeattieStrong logo was designed by Annemarie Nordman, principal of Rainmaker Digital Marketing, a graphic design and website development company in Vancouver that has worked with Beattie’s business, HBM Integrated and later BAASS Business Solutions, for over two decades.

Nordman picked colours to complement the NSGA logo but a key design element was right there for her.

“When I was playing around with the text, the ‘Beat’ from Beattie just jumped out at me so I opted to highlight that,” she says. “It plays into the competitiveness of golf, and of course the battle to beat cancer.”

This year’s event will be played at Avon Valley Golf and Country Club in Falmouth, from Aug. 8-10. Besides a Nova Scotia title, players will be trying to earn one of the province’s five exemptions into the Canadian Men’s Senior at Gowan Brae Golf and Country Club in Bathurst, N.B., in early September.

The top 60 and ties at Avon Valley, along with the top 15 in each of the four divisions, will be exempt into the 2019 #GolfBeattieStrong Men’s Senior Championship at Bell Bay Golf Club in Baddeck.