Meadow Lake and the Meadow Lake Golf Club in particular are still getting rave reviews a week after the local course played host to some of the top blind golfers in the country. “Yesterday, Gerry received four more texts from the golfers who have since gone on to Moncton New Brunswick for the Canadian Open,” Chris Villeneuve said with regard to the Blind Golf Invitational held in Meadow Lake Aug. 17-19. “They’re still talking about Meadow Lake a week later.” Villeneuve serves as coach for Meadow Lake’s resident blind golfer Gerry Nelson who echoed his guide’s sentiments. “The current world champion even texted me four times just to say how much he enjoyed it,” Nelson said. 

Including Nelson, 21 blind athletes and their guides converged on Meadow Lake to take part in the first-ever blind golf tournament held at the local club. According to Villeneuve, the idea stemmed from a suggestion made by his better half. “Last year, while coming home from a blind golf tournament, my wife suggested we host one in Meadow Lake,” he said. “I knew of the challenges involved, so I was very hesitant. But, we wrote down some notes and had some ideas, then, the very next morning, my brother, Terry, came over for a visit. He was looking at the notes and offered to help out if we were going to go ahead with it. From there, I called the golf course and it just took on a life of its own. The support from the community and the surrounding area was unreal. People were eager to come because they’re friends of ours, so we invited 20 golfers to come down and it was a blast.” Nelson agreed. “When Chris and I travel for tournaments, we’re always promoting the community of Meadow Lake, the local golf course and just everybody,” he said. “It was really important to us to invite these people to Meadow Lake and allow them to see firsthand the support of the community and how everybody is totally engaged and involved with us. The community and the golfers from Meadow Lake are part of Team Nelson as much as anyone is, and we always strive very hard to involve the community.” 

Among the visiting golfers to compete in the tournament were: Josh Bailey and his guide Val Bailey of Regina; David Cooney and his guide Brenda Klassen of Calgary; Colton Cuvelier and his guide Lyle Cuvelier of Winnipeg; Darren Douma of Creston, B.C. and his guide Jim Currie of Mervin, SK; Kevin Frost and his guide Linda Frost of Ottawa; Darcy Furber and his guide Ron Oliver of Winnipeg; Joseph Furber and his guide Francis Oliver of Winnipeg; Robert Gentil-Perret and his guide Stella Gentil Perret of Prince Albert; Victor Goetz and his guide Mary Goetz of Winnipeg; Garth Hiltz and his guide Guy Hiltz of Moose Jaw; Rick Kush and his guide Lori Kush of Guelph, ON; Hugh Montgomery of Simcoe, ON and his guide Lori Smith of London, ON; Deanna Morgan and guide Brian Morgan of Kitchener, ON; Kathy Audrey and guide Roger Muskaluke of Saskatoon; Curtis Parenteau of Prince Albert and his guide Kevin Hubbard of Meadow Lake; John Sanderson and guide Mike Brickwood of Winnipeg Beach, MB; Mesh Singh and guide Rani Singh of Mill Bay, B.C.; Boyde Stewart and guide Jackie Stewart of Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia; David Welygan of Saskatoon and guide Tamara Gould of Allan, SK; and Carmen Wrolson and guide Kaye Montgomery of Coronach, SK. 

The eventual winner was Gentil-Perret with 113 points followed by Frost with 106 and Hiltz with105. Nelson finished 21st with 18 points. “A local golfer from Prince Albert finished first,” Villeneuve said. “He’s a very good golfer. He’s partially sighted and his wife coaches him. But, this tournament wasn’t really about how you placed but more so a gathering of friends and community. Every single one of the golfers made it a point to talk to me on the final day to say it was one of the best and most enjoyable tournaments they’ve ever been to with a beautiful golf course and the community support was evident.” Nelson concurred. “We wanted people to come see just how good we have it in Meadow Lake and how beautiful the course is,” he noted. “Brent Assman, manager at the pro shop, did such a phenomenal job getting us organized and onto the course, while groundskeeper Daryl Wood, well, people just ranted and raved about the condition of the golf course. It was absolutely beyond their wildest expectations. It could not have been in better shape and we have Woody to thank for that. We even had some bears join us on the third day. A mama bear and three cubs were out around the 16th, 17h and 18th holes. It was neat to be able to show people some bears too.” 

While the tournament itself took place Aug. 18 and 19, the first day of the event (Aug. 17) saw members of the local community take to the course to play with and against the blind golfers. “We’ve had quite a few people in the community over the years who have said ‘I would sure love to golf with you guys one day.’” Villeneuve said. “So, we knew there were people who would want to participate. What surprised me the most, however, was how much fun they had. The blind golfers and the community members alike were laughing from the moment they walked into the clubhouse. Everyone had a great day.”

 In spite of the tournament’s success, both Nelson and Villeneuve said they’re uncertain as to whether or not they will host another event of this nature in the future. “It takes a lot of volunteers and involvement,” Villeneuve said. Nelson echoed this. “Brent at the golf course suggested we make this an annual event, but, at this point, we just don’t know,” he said. “It’s such a big ask and, to come back to the community and ask them to do again for us what they did this year, is huge. We’re not closing the door on the idea, but we just can’t say for sure. One thing that’s very important, though, is we thank all the sponsors. The Bear’s Den and Ron’s Plumbing and Heating were presenting sponsors, the Meadow Lake and District Lions Club was a platinum sponsor and the whole community just bought in and supported us right to the nth degree. I have never seen a community get behind something as much as they got behind this tournament. It was absolutely amazing to me. I knew we lived in a great community made up of a great group of businesses, but it was just phenomenal.” 

As for what the future holds for Nelson’s golf career, the focus now has firmly been placed on the 2027 season. “We were supposed to go the Canadian Open in Moncton, but it didn’t work out for us,” Villeneuve said. “Gerry had an injury six weeks ago so we just weren’t in game shape and didn’t want to take up a spot at the Canadian Open. But, we’re looking forward to next year. We’re going to go out and begin practising as much as we can, and next year there will be the provincial, western and Canadian Open and the world championships will be in Spain.” Nelson said he’s not sure he will qualify for the latter. “But there’s also a provincial tournament in B.C. and in Ontario… I imagine we will compete at the Canadian ones, but we haven’t looked too far ahead yet,” he said. “After my injury, the primary thing for me is getting back into game shape. Hopefully by next spring I will be as good as new and ready to go.