Prairie Scratch Tour earns rave reviews

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This article was published 14/06/2023 (1181 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Few opportunities for high-stakes golf left Manitoba amateurs in the rough for two decades, longing for the chance to tee it up competitively more often.

That changed Oct. 26, 2021, when the United States Golf Association — which Golf Canada largely follows — announced amateur golfers could accept cash prizes of up to US$1,000, effective in 2022.

Jordy Lutz holds that day close to his heart, much like a golfer does after recording their first ace. It’s when the half-baked idea of the province’s first amateur golf circuit since the Manitoba Amateur Tour — which fizzled in the early-2000s — crystallized into the Prairie Scratch Tour.

“Guys (had) been saying we really need to bring it back — there’s not enough competition,” said Lutz, the 32-year-old vice-president of the tour.

“When we saw that, it was like, ‘Boom, done. We have to do this. We have to do something — make a tournament, make a series of tournaments, something where guys can win money.’”

A challenging seven months ensued over the winter of 2021-2022 with Lutz and his chums (led by president Ben Bandura) connecting with courses, sponsors and prospective players in time to tee up the tour’s inaugural event last spring.

The most taxing part, Lutz explained, was selling prospective sponsors on a new tour in an economy that was beginning to recover from the pandemic, and corralling a dedicated group of golfers that was willing to give up weekends to play in golf tournaments.

“We took our experiences from Golf Manitoba, Golf Canada, and my experiences in college… we do this for the players, as players, right?” said Lutz, who played for Missouri Baptist University and the University of Manitoba men’s golf teams. “It was a long process, but it was just a lot of conversations and talking to the right people and figuring it out.”

After a successful inaugural 2022 season that drew 60 members, the PST is now 75-player, five-event circuit in 2023 with players travelling from the Westman, Interlake areas and even Northwestern Ontario to play. The season is capped by a member-exclusive tour championship, in which the winner receives the Art Johnston Trophy.

The tour is a welcome addition to a golf season that includes provincial competitions hosted by Golf Manitoba (which will put on 15 tournaments this summer).

While Golf Manitoba events are held in high regard by players, some tournaments have undergone changes in recent years that haven’t been well-received by those who clamour for more competition. This includes cutting the men’s amateur and junior championships from four to three-day events and the match-play qualifier to a single round.

“When I (play in Canadian national events), it’s my fourth tournament of the year,” said Lutz. “And I’m playing against kids that have played all year, all winter — they’ve played 10, 20 tournaments. So, the nerves that I feel on the first tee are a little bit different than theirs.

“The idea is Golf Manitoba (events are) the majors. (Prairie Scratch Tour) are the regular tour events. We’re where you’re going to come and cut your teeth and get ready for those big events because we know that the Prairie Scratch Tour Spring Classic will never hold as much weight as the Manitoba men’s amateur or the match play championship.”

Golf Manitoba won’t expand its competitive schedule anytime soon, as its plate is already full of events that cover men’s, women’s, juniors and senior players of all abilities. There isn’t much pressure to either, as both entities have co-existed without a hitch thus far.

“Anytime there’s a chance for additional competitive opportunities, it’s a good thing,” said Jared Ladobruk, executive director for Golf Manitoba. “They’re providing that, they’re having some of the better players in the province get together and compete in this tour-style of events.

“They’re providing a competitive opportunity on a more regular basis. We only have one men’s amateur annually. We don’t offer multiple events for the same category but what makes us a little different is that we conduct championships for a variety of different golfers.”

The reward for winning a Prairie Scratch Tour event is different, too. The first tournament of the season had a purse of $2,500, with the winner taking home a cool $1,000 — not bad for two days’ work.

Meanwhile, Golf Manitoba’s payouts come in the form of opportunity. While winners in select tournaments will receive gift cards, champions in major events are eligible to represent Manitoba in national championships with funding from the provincial organization.

The chance to play top-level competition more often has garnered glowing reviews from members of the Prairie Scratch Tour.

“More competition is always better,” said Ryan McMillan, the tour’s inaugural champion. “The fields are strong, you get pretty much all the same guys playing in Prairie Scratch events as your would in Golf Manitoba events so they’re good events to play in between the match play (championship), the (men’s) amateur — everyone’s goal in the year is to play in the Canadian amateur and play well in the Canadian amateur. So those are really good preparation.”

After a successful 2022 season with an all-encompassing men’s division, the Prairie Scratch Tour expanded its offering to seniors by creating a “legends” (50+) division.

Amid the 75 players stands a lone female representative in Jill Hardy, a four-time women’s amateur champion from Niakawa.

Hardy, 42, plays from the men’s tees during Prairie Scratch Tour events and uses the circuit as a way to warm up for some of the bigger events on her calendar, including the US women’s amateur championship and US women’s mid-amateur, both of which she’ll compete in later this year. Lutz said it was an easy decision to bring Hardy aboard and that he hopes she won’t be the last.

“I think it’s a no-brainer to get (women) involved, too,” said Lutz. “The reason (we started with senior men) is there are just a few more seniors than there are competitive girls in the province.

“So we wanted to start there and see if we could build a base there. And if we can, we’re going to expand it to women.”

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam