Tucked away in the most western stretch of land in Richmond is a pipeline that continues to feed the national golf program in remarkable numbers.
The Quilchena Golf and Country Club is the unofficial hub for the junior girls game in B.C.
At last fall’s World Championships, the six member Canadian team included homegrown players Kathrine Chan and Alisha Lau.
Chan went on to be top Canadian at the event and was later named to the Golf Canada’s national development team — following the same path Lau took a year earlier. The pair represent only part of Quilchena’s success in the past decade.
Christine Wong established herself as one of the top amateur players in the country, despite not taking the game seriously until she was 14.
Along the way she earned a full-ride scholarship to San Diego State University where her decorated run included making the cut at the 2010 U.S. Open at Oakmont in her freshman season. Her younger sister Stephanie enjoyed an outstanding stint with the UBC Thunderbirds where she concluded her career as a NAIA First Team All-American.
The latest name to watch at Quilchena is Karen Zhang who captured the B.C. Bantam Girls Championship last summer and is following her sister Janet who was also a top junior girls player.
What has the private club on Granville Avenue producing such talent is a membership keen on providing the best opportunity for youngsters to not only succeed, but more importantly, enjoy the game.
“We try to do a lot for juniors in terms from early April until the end of August,” explained Quilchena head professional Victor Vianzon.
“Becoming a junior member here is reasonable ($792.49 including GST). It’s not cheap, it’s not expensive, it’s reasonable. With that membership fee it’s unlimited (year-round) golf and free clinics. Any in-house tournament, they don’t have to pay an entry fee either.”
The key component to the program is the free instruction clinics offered every Thursday throughout the season. There are three tiers to the one hour sessions — Advanced, Intermediate and Beginners — running from 4-6 p.m. and overseen by CPGA Teaching Professionals.
“We always make sure the kids are within their age and talent group,” continued Vianzon. “We also realize they have other (activities) as well. If a beginner can’t make their session then they can come at the advanced time instead. We cater the instruction to them.”
As an incentive to be active on the course and beyond, there is a Participation Points Program where juniors are recognized for everything from partaking in junior tournaments to volunteering around the club. Bonus points are also rewarded for outside competitions at the district, provincial and national levels. At the end of the season, scholarships are presented to the order of merit winners.
There is also a clinic on Tuesday nights where volunteer club members take players out on the course to familiarize themselves with the game’s proper etiquette. Longtime member Yonnie Yonemoto spent endless hours overseeing this program until she lost her battle to cancer in February.
“She basically mentored a lot of the junior girls,” said Vianzon. “It’s grown to a scale that it’s not only junior girls on Tuesdays. It’s girls and boys now. Most of them are novices because we encourage them to come out then since they don’t have on course experience. They go over everything from pace of play to course maintenance.”
Vianzon added last year’s junior program attracted roughly 120 players and the growing reputation is drawing players from outside of Richmond too. He maintains the program’s structure is designed for all levels and the players follow whatever path they choose.
“We don’t push the intensity,” he added. “Some kids are dedicated and we know that. Some kids have dedicated parents and we know that too. In terms of practising we make sure they are always in pairs or threesomes. They might be chatting but at least they are having fun doing it.”
For more information on the Quilchena Junior Program visit qgolfclub.ca or email [email protected]
