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Pursuing dreams at the Canadian university and collegiate level a viable option for Canadian juniors
By Dan Plouffe
Dan.plouffe@cjga.com
 For many of the golfers playing with the Canadian Junior Golf Association, one of their long-term goals is to play NCAA golf at an American college, although many don't realize the growing opportunities available to them back home at the Canadian university level.
The majority of schools in Canada now have golf teams, and although it is not one of the few sports recognized by Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), a national golf championship for teams from colleges and universities from coast-to-coast is conducted each year.
University of Victoria Vikes coach, Bryan Carbery, is the defending national champion at the Canadian post-secondary level. His men's team won the national championship last year, and his five-man team had an average score of even-par 72 over the course of the four-round national championships.
"That's a sign of growth in the game, says Humber College Hawks golf team co-coach and Athletic Director Doug Fox. The golf I saw this year was the best I've ever seen. There are tremendous golfers at every institution."
Humber and the University of Victoria (UVic) have proven themselves to be two of the elite programs at the Canadian university/college level, Humber having won the men's championship the year before UVic.
"It's getting out there that Canada is a pretty good place to play golf and go to school at the same time," says Fox. "And you're guaranteed a good education. You're never sure when you're being recruited to the United States if they're going to provide you with a really good education as well, or just put you into the basket-weaving courses and things like that."
That was a point Carbery also emphasizes is a reason juniors might want to stay and study in Canada.
"At the end of the day, your degree has a little more weight and I'm not criticizing all universities in the United States, there are lots of great ones, but a lot of them don't offer great academic credentials when you leave."
He also warns that the scholarships to schools in the States may not be all they appear to be.
"A lot of kids go to the States and they have that full-ride idea in their brain and it ends up not being a full-ride, it ends up costing the parents a lot of money."
Costs like flights home for Christmas, hidden expenses outside of tuition, books and room-and-board apply, not to mention that only the top echelon of juniors get all of their schooling costs covered completely.
 Both Humber and UVic do have money available for at least partial scholarships for their golfers. Carbery has secured scholarship money through private foundations, and all the players on his starting team receive at least $1,000 a year, while his top player from two years ago was awarded $8,000.
Canadian juniors who go south will lose the opportunity to represent their country at the FISU (World University) Games, since only players studying in Canada are now selected to play in the competition second to only the Olympics in terms of its amateur importance.
A big attraction for Fox's players at Humber is the golf management program offered by the college which carries a price tag of about $4,000 a year for those without bursaries. The 3-year program trains its students to be golf professionals, or assistant professionals, or related jobs at golf courses, and its graduates receive a business diploma in golf management.
Fox also notes that Humber has the most recognized golf management program in the country, and has connections with major courses like Angus Glen for students to work at for their summer placements.
For Carbery at UVic, a big attraction for his golfers is the city of Victoria itself, and the opportunity to play golf year-round with its mild weather conditions, as well as their home course, Uplands Golf Club, one of the top-rated courses in Canada that is also about a Par-5 away from campus.
Carbery notes that many of his team members come from the east, from Toronto or St. John, N.B. On top of the Canadian competitions entered, the UVic golfers also compete in the NAIA in the United States, an organization that offers high level college competition.
Humber and UVic are far from alone as schools with solid golf programs in the country. The University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, along with Camosun College, a school with a golf management program out west, are the elite crew of western Canadian golf programs, while the University of Alberta and the University of Manitoba are pushing hard to join them.
The University of Western Ontario women's golf team are the defending national champions, while every other major Ontario school competes at the provincial championships held jointly by the Golf Association of Ontario (GAO) and Ontario University Athletics (OUA). The University of Windsor, University of Toronto, University of Ottawa and McMaster University are some of the best teams in Ontario, while the University of Laval and Mount Royal College provide respectable programs in Quebec.
Going to school in Canada also doesn't mean that juniors have to give up their dreams of playing pro golf. Carbery notes that his top-3 players still plan on playing pro golf, while Fox says that his graduates either have that option, or they can settle into a position as club pro.
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