The weather on May 28 was sunny and beautiful, and the perfect day for golf — a happy coincidence since Lynbrook Golf Club was buzzing with high school golfers from all over for the annual Moose Jaw Invitational golf tournament.
Organized through the Moose Jaw High School Athletics Association, this particular tournament functions as a fun, non-competitive way to get the golf season rolling.
Tournament commissioner Vern Schafer has been organizing the invitational for a few years, but the tournament itself has been bringing golfers together from within the city and surrounding area for 18 years.
This year, around 50 high schoolers from Estevan, Swift Current, Wilcox, Whitewood, Kipling, Assiniboia, and Moose Jaw dedicated a day to running the full course at Lynbrook.
Schafer frames the tournament as a no-stress chance to enjoy the sport, or to even give it a try for the first time.
“There's some that are just starting golfing, some have been golfing for years,” said Schafer.
It’s also a chance to create connections, using an enjoyment of golf to create a community for the future.
“Some kids are kind of looking forward to it. . . they're so excited to see these kids that maybe they've seen before or somewhere else,” said Schafer. “It's kind of cool to actually get some of these kids mixed together, so that they're playing with other towns, other people that they don't know.”
The tournament is the only one held in Moose Jaw, and is entirely non-competitive; golfers are given the chance to warm up their skills for the more competitive events in the fall.
But most of all, Schafer hopes that the invitational just gives golfers a chance to enjoy the game.
“[Golf is] something that you can do for the rest of your life,” said Schafer. “It's just a nice, relaxing kind of a game, where it's just you against the course. You don't have to worry about what anybody else is shooting. You just go there and have fun.”
