Donation boosts U of M golfers

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This article was published 18/07/2019 (2504 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tuition, books and housing are all things that rack up debt for students across the province. Factor in a sport that costs well over $1,000 a year to play competitively? Well, students could be finding themselves in some hot water.

Luckily, the cost to play golf is one less thing University of Manitoba golfers will have to worry about headed into the 2019 golf season. Same goes for competitive junior golfers across Manitoba, all thanks to the gift from one generous Manitoba Golf Hall of Famer.

Earlier this spring, 96-year-old Peggy Colonello donated $60,000 to support junior golf and University of Manitoba golfers across the province. The $60K is just a small sum of the of the $3 million endowment she pledged after creating the Alex & Peggy Colonello Foundation in 2018.

University of Manitoba men’s golf team member Bobby McNair said the Colonello Foundation funds will not only make a big difference for the players, but for the coaches as well.

“Our coaches are basically fundraisers, that’s half of their job. It’s not only just coaching us,” said McNair.

Both the men’s and women’s university golf teams are self-funded, relying on fundraisers and private donors to keep them afloat. If it wasn’t for the U of M golf team, McNair says he most likely would’ve quit his golf career years ago. This will not only be McNair’s fifth year on the golf team, but also his first year of medical school.

“Oh, it’s unreal. If it wasn’t for U of M Bisons, I would’ve had to just grind and try to play down south in the States and move away from home. Or likely I would’ve just given up golf, honestly. I would’ve played the odd tournament here or there, but to play at a university level and stay home and still see family on the weekends is pretty sweet. I’m super happy to have that,” said McNair.

It’s no secret that playing competitive golf can be extremely expensive, even for the junior players. Jared Ladobruk, executive director of Golf Manitoba, said a golf membership alone can be a big expense.

“Most kids who are competitive — not all, but most — have a membership at a golf club. It’s not free, let’s say that much,” Ladobruk said.

A quick Google search proved that yearly memberships for junior golfers can range anywhere from $400 to $800 a year, depending on the club. Add in a few multi-day tournaments a year with entry fees ranging from $100-$150 and the costs start to rack up.

“Young people tend to grow quickly, so the equipment they have doesn’t tend to last them for too many years, so they have to upgrade that,” Ladobruk said.

“Then, if they want to travel, that becomes a fee because they aren’t travelling by themselves, it’s with a parent or guardian, right? So you’re looking at thousands of dollars for sure in the summer, to be mildly competitive.”

Ladobruk said Colonello’s pledge will go a long way to supporting the dreams of young golfers in the province.

“Basically, Peggy wanted to make sure that if young Manitobans are playing top-level golf, there shouldn’t be any kind of financial constraints preventing them to do so.”

The 2019 Junior Men’s championship winner, 17-year-old Jacob Armstrong, is another one of the young golfers to benefit from Colonello’s generosity this year. This past week, he had the opportunity to sit down and chat with her.

“Oh, we talked about Arnold Palmer a little bit. Talked about how she’s in the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame. Most of the conversation was just talking about golfers in the past years; talking about Arnold Palmer, that was really good,” Armstrong said.

The teen visited Colonello in her care home with his mom, dad and sister. He says his family has always been supportive of his passion for golf and were more than happy to come along for the visit.

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“It’s really good to see someone who’s 96 and is still good for her age. I’ve never met anyone over the age of 90 before. It was really nice to visit with her, and meet someone that’s so important to junior golf in Manitoba.”

In the fall, Armstrong will head to the University of Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, B.C., for business administration and play on the university’s golf team. Before that, he’ll play in the Canadian Junior Boys Championship in New Brunswick. He says Colonello’s generosity made him even more excited about nationals than he was before.

“The trip for my family got a lot more affordable, and for families to come, it will be a lot more affordable. That makes juniors more motivated, more wanting to just get into a tournament, and I think that’s huge.”

devon.shewchuk@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @devonshewchuk