Dear Shaughnessy members,

It was years in the making, but after two false starts due to Covid, we finally hosted the LPGA’s CPKC Canadian Women’s Open at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club. Nearly all of the top players in the world, including 14 of the top 15 on the current money list, came to test their skill against our course. It produced a thrilling finish and a first-time champion in Megan Khang, who bested Jin-Young Ko in a playoff.

I am extremely proud of the event on so many different levels.

First, I am proud of the partnership we formed with the Musqueam in putting together this event. From the outset, we wanted this event to be a true partnership, with both Shaughnessy and the Musqueam hosting. We showed we could work together as partners, and the mutual respect was evident. I would like to thank Chief Wayne Sparrow and Council as well as the Musqueam as a whole for their support throughout.

Second, I am proud of the massive charitable contributions that were made to our local community. This year alone, $3.5 million was raised through CPKC for the Canadian Open, with $2.9 million donated to the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation and $580,000 to the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation. This is on top of the $3.5 million that was raised for these charities during the postponement of the 2020 and 2021 editions of the Open. These funds would not have come to B.C. without bringing the Open to Vancouver and Shaughnessy providing the platform.

Third, I am proud of our volunteers who came together and worked tirelessly to put on such a successful event. The feedback I received indicates that significant bonds and friendships were built over the experience. The sense of community that is formed through these events is something I had not anticipated but truly felt.

Fourth, I am proud of the course itself. We, as members, know how the course is special and challenging. It was a pleasure watching some of the world’s greatest athletes play (and, I may add, struggle) on our magnificent championship course. Listening to the players and the broadcasters rave about Shaughnessy was a treat. Special kudos to our course superintendent, Andrew Hart, who, we might say, won the battle between course and players. Perhaps now the ranking publications will take note and finally rank Shaughnessy where it truly deserves to be: within the top 5 in Canada.

Since becoming your President, I have also come to learn that the golfing community is greater than just within our Club. By lending a course at the caliber of Shaughnessy to the LPGA and Golf Canada, we are truly supporting women’s golf. We have a responsibility to support the golfing community, and we should feel proud of the impact we have made.

Finally, when all is said and done, we expect a positive net result from the event that will add to our cash reserves. This will help with continuing to maintain our assets to a standard in line with our mission.

Any one of these reasons would be grounds enough to host the event. Together, these make the event a resounding success beyond what many of us had expected. I hope all of the members were able to experience at least some of what the event had to offer and hope all of the members are proud.

While there are too many to thank, and I risk missing some key individuals, I would like to acknowledge Gordon Chan for his devotion over the years working with Golf Canada to bring this event back home. I would also like to acknowledge the Chairs of this event, Diana Maughan, Ian McLean, and Ken Woods, who worked tirelessly throughout the event to ensure its success. Special thanks go to Brian Mossop, our GM and COO, who oversaw everything and has put countless hours into the Club, ensuring every element met the Club’s high standards. Kudos also go to our superintendent, Andrew Hart, and his course and grounds crew, Chef James Choi, Kerry Enzie and Piril Erbakan and their staff, Ashley Zibrik and her team, and of course, the hundreds of volunteers and the committee chairs. Last and most importantly, I’d like to thank the members of the Club. Whether you volunteered for the event in some capacity or had your regular use of the Club affected by the event, everyone made important sacrifices. These allowed for the Club to add to our legacy of being one of the homes of Championship golf in Canada, improving our community relations, celebrating women’s golf, and raising funds for important charities. In the end, we created many memories that I’m sure will last a lifetime.

Now let’s hope for a warm fall so that we can continue to enjoy our course and outdoor tennis facilities late into the year.

Respectfully submitted,

David Plunkett
Club President

Dear Shaughnessy members,

What a privilege and honour it was to have welcomed the LPGA’s best to Shaughnessy. Once again, the Club stood tall in the realm of professional golf at the highest level. The event featured virtually all of the best players on tour. It was no surprise that the leaderboard was filled with many former No. 1 ranked players, particularly the very best ball-strikers on tour, on a course that rewards that skill set. In the end, it was a dramatic finish from a worthy first-time champion. I will always remember Megan Khang bogeying the 17th and fighting back to hit her approach on the 18th green to 3 feet, making a birdie to force a playoff with Jin-Young Ko. It was one of only five birdies on the 18th on Sunday and was the definition of clutch. Upon reflection, I remember being in the driveway about an hour prior and seeing players, some of whom had even missed the cut, return to Shaughnessy for the finish. After she tapped in for victory in the playoff, she was swarmed by dozens of her peers. I can only imagine the sense of excitement and relief she felt in that moment.

All guests to the CPKC Women’s Open, including players, caddies, Golf Canada, CPKC, Musqueam, partners, and television commentators, raved about the conditions of the course and its difficulty. We, of course, know that the course, A.V. Macan’s last championship design of his career, is a major championship-type test, and it produced another professional champion who couldn’t quite make it to double digits under par.

We received overwhelmingly positive feedback from everyone who visited Shaughnessy for the Open which included over 63,000 spectators, with appreciation for the picturesque Musqueam lands on which the clubhouse and course are situated. It was an important week for Shaughnessy in many ways, as President Mr. David Plunkett mentioned in his report.

We can also all be proud of the charitable contributions that were made to children’s heart health as a result of Shaughnessy and Musqueam providing a platform for the event. When all was said and done, nearly $7 millon was donated through CPKC to B.C. Children’s Hospital and Royal Inland Hospital helped by our continuous commitment to hosting the event.

We had an excellent trio of tournament co-chairs composed of proven leaders at our Club. With a combination of extensive knowledge and experience in running professional events, unflappable demeanors, and a knack for foreseeing challenges before they become challenges, Mrs. Diana Maughan, Mr. Ian (Mac) McLean, and Mr. Ken Woods, along with the help of Golf Canada, did an amazing job leading our group of over 20 committees and 1,100 volunteers. A big thank you to them, our committee chairs and vice-chairs composed of Shaughnessy members, and all of the volunteers in helping to ensure that all aspects of the event experience met Shaughnessy standards.

It has also been quite the journey for our team. I distinctly remember that within the first few days of my time here at the Club, led by Mr. Gord Chan and the Board, we finalized the agreement with Golf Canada to bring the Women’s Open to Shaughnessy—over four years ago now. After two false starts and tireless efforts from many team members at the Club in planning an event that didn’t happen, it is difficult to put into words what it has meant for our team to finally be able to host the event.

A big thank you to Andrew and the course and grounds team. The reality is that no one at the Club faced more sustained pressure than he did leading into and during the event. From managing and overseeing the infrastructure buildout to protect the course to ensuring that the course conditions and playability were to the highest standards on the world’s stage, Andrew and his team did a masterful job.

One of the most important pieces of the event was the dining experiences we provided for players, caddies, their families, and CPKC and VIP guests. The Club’s normal operations and infrastructure are built to support 200-300 meals a day. For the event, we needed to find a way to scale upwards of 10 times this amount on certain days. Led by Chef James and Piril, with support from Kerry and the rest of the team, an exceptional amount of time and effort was put into increasing our capacities through adjustments such as storage, developing and negotiating menu synergies, and optimizing inventory management prior to, during, and after the event to ensure its success.

It was also a special week for our Golf services team. Led by Ashley and our professional staff, we were able to provide an incredibly hospitable atmosphere for players, caddies, and guests. One of my favorite memories from the event was when Ashley presented Brooke Henderson with the Sandra Post Low Canadian Medal. Typically, the presentation is done by the CEO of Golf Canada, but it was only fitting to have one of the leaders in the golf industry at her home course present the award to the winningest Canadian golfer in history.

One of the most underrated aspects of hosting an event of this magnitude was the amount of work needed immediately prior to and after the event to reset our operations, particularly in our clubhouse and dining areas. We relied heavily on the clubhouse maintenance team and Rene and his experiences from the previous Men’s Opens held at Shaughnessy to help us overcome this unique challenge.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of our other departments. Our housekeeping and locker room teams worked around the clock to ensure high standards were met. And to all of our employees who made sacrifices to work in other departments in roles different than they are accustomed to with a special shout out to my Executive Assistant, Fatima, for plugging in holes all over the place and ensuring we didn’t miss anything. It was journey filled with many challenges and triumphs but in the end, it was a complete team effort and I am incredibly proud of everyone for their dedication and efforts that led to the overall success of the event.

I’ve spent considerable time thanking various teams and individuals in this report, but  I’d be remiss not to conclude with a heartfelt thank you to all the members of the Club. Your support and the sacrifices you’ve made were instrumental in creating memorable experiences that touched so many people.

Respectfully submitted,

Brian Mossop
General Manager and Chief Operating Officer

Dear Shaughnessy members, 

I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude to the membership for the overwhelming support we received throughout CPKC week. I want to extend this appreciation to our exceptional course and grounds team, whose outstanding efforts in the lead-up to this event have made me immensely proud. Their unwavering dedication to showcasing Shaughnessy at its best on the global stage has been nothing short of inspirational. I must recognize the leadership of Jeremy Atkins, Morgin Robins, and Shaun Honcoop, who serve as our course assistant superintendents, as well as the valuable support of Colin Atherton, our Fleet manager. Every member of the team invested countless hours to ensure Shaughnessy shone brilliantly.

In my August article, I attempted to outline what you might expect leading up to the event. However, I would like to make a correction. In that article, I mentioned that the LPGA would be targeting slower greens speeds, but upon the LPGA team’s arrival on-site, we were given the green light to increase the greens speeds. In the mornings, our greens were stimping at mid to high 12’s, with speeds holding in the low 12’s during the evenings. The rough was initially cut inside the ropes to a length of 3 inches on Tuesday and allowed to grow throughout the week. By Sunday, some areas of the rough had grown significantly higher than 3 inches.

 Following the event, we promptly cut the rough down to 2 ½ inches before welcoming back play. As of the publication of this article, the rough has now been restored to its regular height of 1 ¾ inches. The fairways will remain in their current shape until aeration, when we will widen them back out to their usual widths.

 I’m happy with how the course handled the foot traffic from the thousands of spectators that attended, with efforts to relieve compaction already underway. Most of the damage we are observing is a result of footprints from the stands and other installations that were set up throughout the golf course. In select sections, we will be using sod to recover these areas, but for the majority of the damage, we will employ a combination of cultural practices to restore the health of the turf to our high standards. We anticipate this process continuing through aeration week, September 18th-22nd and into October.

 Thank you once again for your unwavering support, and I look forward to seeing Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club return to its pristine condition for all our members to enjoy.

 Respectfully submitted,

 Andrew Hart
Course Superintendent

Dear Shaughnessy members,

Introducing a new line to the Shaughnessy Golf Shop – Holderness & Bourne, Enduring Style for the Modern Golfer! Holderness & Bourne offers premium apparel and accessories inspired by the game of golf.  They blend classic style with modern fit and performance. H&B never cared much for the exhaustive branding and hyper-athletic looks associated with most modern golf apparel.  They firmly believe that quality speaks for itself and that branding should be subtle. This brand was scouted out when Ashley and I visited the PGA Show in Orlando Florida earlier this year and were ran through the brand by the founder himself John Bourne. One of my favorite pieces in the collection is called The Ward Sweater. Not only does it have a great name, but it is a classic crewneck sweater featuring a diamond jacquard pattern for elevated style. Constructed of Egyptian Cotton (spun and finished in Italy) for enhanced softness and durability.

Other new arrivals to look for in the shop from G/FORE, Bad Birdie, and our most popular ladies’ brand Daily Sport. We are also expecting new products from J. Lindeberg to arrive later this month. Lastly, we are introducing a new limited collection themed off the tree from our logo, I sought out a local artist to bring our tree to life and we have named it “Shaggy the Tree.” This character can be found on some new hats and ball markers in the shop. The trend of caricature logos has been growing rapidly in the golf space with brands like Polo (Teddy Bear), Malbon (Golf Ball), and Nike (Cartoon Character), starting the trend. Alongside the arrival of these new products, we will have some promotions set up outside the Golf Shop to move some older products at some heavily discounted prices. Be sure to keep your eyes open for our next sidewalk sale!

Respectfully submitted,

Chris Ward
Retail Manager/Associate Professional

Current Tennis Guest Policy

With the Outdoor and Indoor Courts now both open, tennis guest play is available during prime time hours now and through September 30th. The Tennis Committee will review the policy on a monthly basis, including prior to the Indoor Season. The same guest can only play at the Club once a month.

Tennis Opening Day

Tennis Pro Shop

• CLEARANCE SALE: 40% to 50% off on select items in the Tennis Pro Shop for a limited time.
• Select shoes are 30% to 50% off.
• Cases of Australian Open tennis balls are only $119.98
• New KSwiss shoes have arrived.

Quick Reminders

• The current ladders will run from July 1st to September 30th. Please contact Director of Tennis Jerome Fournier if you would like to join the next session beginning October 1st.
• The ball machine can be booked for use on the day-of.
• Members can book the Indoor and Outdoor Courts for singles and doubles play. The available booking times are between 6:45 AM and 8:30 PM on weekdays and 6:45 AM and 6:00 PM on weekends. You can book a court by calling the Tennis Centre at 604.266.9165 or by calling/texting the booking phone at 236.878.4320.
• Tuesday Men’s Night Tennis – 6:00 PM and 7:30 PM. Sign up weekly.
• Ladies Dogwood League – Fridays 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Compete against various clubs!

Lastly, Congratulations to Ms. Carol Lau for capturing the Ladies Over 55 Doubles title and reaching the Finals in Singles at Steve Stevens Nationals held in Montreal at the end of August.

Jerome Fournier
Director of Tennis