30 courses in 30 days: Looking Back

After 30 days of chasing a little white ball around large pieces of land, I have finished a trip that involved myself golfing 30 courses in 30 consecutive days around Manitoba. So like I did in my intro piece, I will answer 10 questions about the trip that you may have.

1.You have to be sick of golfing, right?


Uhh..nope. Honestly, the golfing itself was the only thing keeping me determined to finish the trip. The process of getting up at the crack of dawn, and driving all over the place was getting a little hard to take, but I would think about getting onto the course and that would get me rejuvenated again. It’s amazing how addicting golf is when you hit a good shot. I would think of those good shots that I was sure I was going to hit and I was ready to go.

2. How good are you at golf after this trip?


Yeah..about that… I always had hoped in the back of my mind that by the end of this trip, I would be 10 times better than I was when I started. Unfortunately, as of this moment, I’d be lying if I said I was even 2 times better than I was when I started. I do have some theories as to why this is.. but the basic answer to the question "Why didn't I improve" is because that's just how golf works.

3. How was the weather?


I don’t think I could have been any luckier with the weather than I was on this 30 day stretch. I golfed all my rounds in the morning/afternoon, and it only rained 4 times. 3 of the times, it was a light drizzle and could easily be played through, while just once was it pouring so hard that my shoes were filled with water. More on that later. But the craziest span was the week of August 16, where on the Monday I was golfing in a 41 degree humidex and by the 22nd, I was golfing in 9 degree weather and clearly seeing my breath.n

4. How much money did it cost?


Believe it or not, I golfed for free 3 times and was given a half-off discount once. So there’s 100-plus dollars saved right there. Add to the fact that green fees at some small town places (Morris, Elm Creek) were ridiculously cheap and the trip didn’t end up costing as much as I originally thought. The final tally has not been added up yet but I’d estimate that with all the green fees, food, gas, hotel,..we’re looking at around $1500.

5. Best Course?


I know it’s kinda biased because a) I have a cottage out there and b) I’ve played there 5-6 times before but the Granite Hills Golf Course in Lac Du Bonnet was the best course I played on the trip. Every hole is different and with the presence of Lake Lac Du Bonnet plus the walls of granite around some fairways, it makes for a gorgeous setting. Even if you have no golfing experience at all, I suggest you walk or ride this course just for the scenery. Just an all-around fun experience.

6. Any crazy stories?


Well I golfed with a whole bunch of funny and unique people, which I will feature in the book, but the craziest story actually didn’t even happen on a golf course. It happened on Highway 8 and involved myself and a police officer. And to save some time, here is the story in less than 20 words…


Pulled over Speeding, officer writes ticket, officer comes back, dramatically yells “Fuck it” and rips up ticket, walks away.


If you still don’t understand what happened, just ask me. The story is better told in person anyways.

7. Best/Worst round?


My best round was an 82 in Deloraine. Now it was kind of a shorter course than most I played, , but in the words of the police officer from the question above ..“Fuck it”. An 82 is an 82 and I’m pretty proud of it.


Now for my worst rounds. There were 2 times that I didn’t break 100 but I have legitimate excuses as to why I screwed up so hard.


Beaches Golf Course in Grand Beach was not even a golf course. I mean, yeah, there were some tee boxes and some flags waving around, but it was like I was playing in my backyard or at the park right beside my house. The greens were like fairways, the fairways were like the rough, and the rough was like a god damn jungle. But being the honest man that I am, I kept my score and it came out to like a 113. I’d like to see anybody break 100 on that course. There’s a story behind why it’s in such poor shape though, so I hate lambasting them. It will be back to a normal golf course in a few years.


Another weird occurrence. On Day 19 in Morden, I came within 2 inches of a hole-in-one. And right as I tapped in for the birdie, the skies opened up and the next stretch of holes from 12 through 18 was a bloody downpour. Needless to say, my round went down the tube. Again, I challenge anyone to hit good shots in one of these downpours onto greens that were quickly turning into giant puddles. But as stated earlier, honest Kevin kept his score and it turned into a 105.

There’s good rounds, there’s bad rounds and then there’s atrocious rounds, and these 2 were really the only atrocious rounds I had.



8. Any freakouts?

By freakouts, do you mean tossing my club like a javelin into the bush? That was probably my worst one in La Broquerie on Day 25. That freakout was a culmination of golfing for so long and realizing that I wasn’t getting any better. Give me credit though, the freakouts used to be a lot worse 2-3 years ago. I guess I'm finally starting to mature a bit....

9. Would you do it again?

If somebody else wanted to drive me around and then wake me up when we got there then by all means I would do this again. Like I said, all the travelling killed me but the golfing kept me going.

10. What’s next?

For the next 4 months, I will be gathering all the information that I got and will be placing it into a book that will be a documentation of the trip for my Independent Professional Project at Red River College.

Day 28-30: The Final Stretch

The final three videos from the 30 day/30 course trip

Day 28: Steinbach Fly-Inn Golf Club (Right beside the runway)



Day 29: Granite Hills (Lac Du Bonnet) (One of the coolest holes in Manitoba)



And the 30th video from Falcon Lake will not upload, but it was a video of the 11th hole, which has about 5 fairway bunkers lining the right rough, and can be a brutal hole if you're not hitting straight.



Final thoughts from the trip to come within the next day or two...

Day 23-27: The Videos

Better late than never, the last 5 days of golf

Day 23: Miami (The worst video of all-time)




Day 24: Portage La Prairie (A scenic Par 3 and a demonstration of how to play it) (Warning..Swearing involved)




Day 25: La Broquerie ( A Par 6?????)




Day 26: Hecla (One of the nicest Par 3's in the province)

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Day 27: MacGregor (Drivable Par 4 with log bunker????)

Day 22: Gladstone and other thoughts..

Should Dustin Johnson be on suicide watch? Back in June, he led the US Open by 3 shots heading into the final round, only to shoot an 82 in one of the worst collapses ever. Then yesterday, he heads to the 18th at the PGA Championship, with a 1 shot lead and par to win...and he grounds his club in a bunker, which is against the rules, and therefore costs himself the tournament.

2 blown major championship opportunities in 3 months.

Yes, golf is a cruel game. And I have found that out time and time again as we are 22 days into the 30/30 trip.

I'll tell you right now, by the end of next Tuesday(Day 30), my golf game will not have improved at all.

How can that be?? You just played for 30 days in a row!!

I won't get into all the factors at this time (that's for the book), but the simple fact is that playing for 30 straight days is not the way to improve, as hard as that may seem to believe.

For now, here's another frustrating video of a frustrating hole that just makes no sense and makes me want to take a 5 iron and bash it over someone's head.

The Weekend From Hell: Day 20 and 21 Warren and Winkler

It took 19 days for a drop of rain to fall on my head during the 30/30 trip. And did the streak end with a bang. On Friday at the Minnewasta Golf Club in Morden, the last 7 holes of my round were played in a complete downpour. Then Saturday came and the rain, plus a steady dose of wind, was featured at the South Interlake Golf Club in Warren. Then earlier today, I played in a ridiculous wind at the Winkler Centennial Golf Club.

So, not surprisingly, I produced 3 garbage rounds and have absolutely no confidence in my golf game at the moment.

The videos you see below don't really feature any significant holes on the course, but rather, they show the weather conditions of the past 2 days, plus the reactions of a few players who really couldn't handle the wind and rain.

(P.S. To anyone with connections to the South Interlake Golf Club.. Don't worry, they went and picked the tee box up and fixed all their divots.. )

Day 19: Morden

This is how I looked after today's round...




Yep, for the first time on the golf trip, the rain came down on Kevin at the Minnewasta Golf Club in Morden, Manitoba. And it came hard. From the 12th hole on, it was just a downpour and I don't think I've finished a round faster in my life. Thank christ for the power cart.

Before it poured, I managed to snag a video of the 8th hole, a long 200 yard Par 3 with a massive downhill tee shot.

Day 18: Morris

The greatest golf shot of all-time...


Morris, Manitoba was the stop today. And I can't tell you how many times I have gotten Morris and Morden mixed up in the last few days. The big problem is that they both start with "Mor". The two "Mor"s get me all mixed up.

And dont forget about the other "Mor"s....


The Riverview Golf and Country Club features a brutal Par 3, measuring in at 215 yards. With a bunker to the left, and water to the right, this shot at the 3rd hole has to be straight, which is not easy to do with a hybrid/wood.

Day 17: Altona

This guy stops thinking for a few seconds...



Today I travelled to Altona, Manitoba, the Sunflower Capital of Canada. Despite that honour, they still don't let you take Spitz on the golf course.

The Oakview Golf & Country Club is yet another 9-hole hidden gem that few speak about when it comes to talking about great Manitoba courses.

Here's a look at their finishing hole, the Par 3 154-yard 9th hole, which requires a tee shot over the water and could ruin what had once been a great round.

Day 16: Carman

Am I the only one that gets a sickening feeling of enjoyment watching professionals four-putt in crucial tournaments?



Today, I visited the home of Eddie "The Eagle" Belfour in Carman, Manitoba, to play their 18-hole golf course, which is well-respected around Manitoba golf circles.



Here's footage from the 9th fairway at Carman, probably one of their most picturesque holes, although it's tough to tell from my camera.

Day 15: Elm Creek

We're halfway through the golf trip and I still haven't done this...



There's been close calls but I've controlled my temper on the golf course through 15 days. Although when you're golfing in 32 degree heat, and you're waiting for people in front of you, and there's no drink lady in sight...it's tough to keep cool.

Anyways, Scotswood Links in Elm Creek, Manitoba has their own version of an island green on the 118 yard Par 3 12th hole..Take a peek

Day 14: Treherne

A classic from Mad TV



Here's a quick clip from the "Corner of Death" at Delahunt Golf Club in Treherne, Manitoba. 7,8,9 at Delahunt has got to be the hardest finishing 3 holes I've seen so far on this trip.

7- Par 4 ,352 yards
8- Par 5, 435 yards ---crazy 90 degree dogleg to the right
9- Par 4, 430 yards


This clip is from the 7th green.

Day 13: Brandon

In honour of Tiger Woods turning into a garbage golfer at Akron this weekend..



Yesterday we had "The Wall" in Deloraine, a Pink Floyd classic by the way.

Today we have "The Trees" in Brandon, a Rush classic by the way.



Trees were the main story at Wheat City. Lines of trees at ever hole. Trees in the middle of the fairway. Trees by the green forcing you hit wedges over or bump and run it under, a shot which I cannot do and it makes me sick everytime I have to do it because of those stupid trees and their branches sticking out I just want to take a torch and light the fu-------------------

Sorry, I'm still a little hot under the collar after today's performance which saw me dealing with more trees than David Suzuki.


Let's forget about the "trees" and go on to the "fours". Wow..lame. I'm serious though, the 4th hole at Wheat City Golf Course in Brandon, Manitoba has got to be the shortest Par 3 in Manitoba. And for the record, I DON'T COUNT GARBAGE PAR 3 GOLF COURSES, THEY AREN'T REAL GOLF COURSES, I REPEAT, THEY AREN'T REAL GOLF COURSES.

The hole usually measures in at 369 yards but due to the water that the hole got hammered with this year, they shortened it to a 100-yard Par 3.

Day 12: Deloraine

Golf vid of the day... Stuart Appleby not happy...




12 straight days of golfing and I still haven't gone insane yet

Speaking of insane...



Sorry, I had to find a way to work that video into today's blog.

But seriously, the hole you are about to see may have you freaking out Charles Manson style by the end of it.

Introducing the 7th hole at Deloraine Golf and Country Club simply called...

"The Wall"

Day 11: Boissevain

Golf vid of the day






Quick question from the Boissevain Golf Course in Boissevain, Manitoba: What happens when you get a windy day at a golf course which is right next to fields filled with cows and horses? Think about it for a second.

If you said a strong odour of crap, you're correct. Now it didn't smell like crap the entire time, but when the wind gets going, the course starts to smell like my putting game(sh-t...)

Jim Lahey knows what I'm talking about...





Spekaing of sh-t... the tee shot at 7 pretty much defines the word.

Straight the f-ck uphill. No idea where the fairway is.


P.S. Can you tell I had a bad game today by all the swearing in this post?

Day 10: Souris

Next few days we're opening with Happy Gilmore clips.

A classic...



Just got back from Souris, where for the 2nd time in 3 days, I played a round of golf for free. But who's counting... Similar to Glenboro, Souris is full of hills and valleys and if I have to walk one more of these hilly courses, they're going to have to carry me off like they did Paul Pierce..





But you haven't seen bizarre until you've seen the first hole at Souris & Glenwood Golf Club. The scariest approach shot in all of Manitoba? Quite possibly.

Take a look....

Day 9: Killarney

Let's get another Caddyshack clip going...



Killarney Lakeside Golf Course....where you can get hit by a train and die.

I wonder if that came up when they were trying to think of a slogan for the course.(The Hidden Jewel of the South is the current slogan)

Yes, on the back 9 at Killarney, you walk across the railroad tracks a total of 4 times. And according to head pro Randy Brekke, trains indeed do come once in a while and force delays in golfers' rounds.

Here's the railway at 11...

Day 8: Glenboro

Golf Vid of the Day



The hamstrings are a little sore after walking up and down all the hills and valleys at Glenboro Golf Club in Glenboro, Manitoba. This course should only be walked on if you're training for a sport, such as hockey, or even training for a marathon. Other than that, take a cart.

Here's a hilly example at the Par 3 5th hole.

Day 6 & Day 7: Pinawa and Pine Falls

Did not have access to the internet the past few days, so we're combining Day 6 and Day 7 into one blog.

But before we get to that, it's the golf video of the day:





Saturday was another great day at Pinawa Golf & Country Club. One of the steepest shots you'll ever hit on a golf course comes at the Par 4 16th hole. At about 150 yards to the hole, the fairway takes an extreme downhill slope towards the green. Here's a drive down that fairway...



Sunday was Day 7 at Pine Falls and your tee shot at the Par 4-4th has a bit of obstruction in the way. A big line of trees. You're going to have no choice but to get high on this one...