During his golf career, Prince Albert’s Martin Ring has competed in a variety of Golf Canada championships.
While he has taken part in the Canadian men’s amateur, men’s mid-amateur and club champions championships over the years, last week marked his first time taking part in the Canadian men’s senior golf championship, which was held at the Club de Golf Le Manoir Richelieu in La Malbaie, Que.
“It was a great experience, especially as I got to see a lot of the guys I first met when I started going to the Canadian amateur events,” Ring said.
“The camaraderie with the other players, some of which I haven’t seen in a few years, was fantastic. A good friend of ours from New Brunswick (Darren Ritchie) finished in first and it was pretty special to see him win in person.”
Ring, who qualified for the tournament with a top five finish at the Golf Saskatchewan senior men’s championship in Warman in July, ended up in a tie for 56th over the four-day event.
A total of eight players from the province competed at the nationals, with Weyburn’s Rick Hallberg leading the way with a 23rd place result.
“I wasn’t really happy with my start, but I was happy with how I grinded things out and moved up 25 spots on the second day to make the cut, which was very satisfying,” Ring said. “I thought I hit the ball relatively well during the week and I was able to settle in there after that tough start.”
“You have to keep things in perspective though when you are out there and you are playing against 150 of the best golfers in the country. There are a lot of good golfers out there for that tournament.”
While Ring said the course shares some similarities to Waskesiu Golf Course and Golf Kenosee, the Club de Golf Le Manoir Richelieu is a lot different from what golfers would see in Saskatchewan.
“It’s kind of its own different animal when you get to the east,” Ring said.
“The biggest difference is the elevation changes, which are severe. I think we figured out that from the first tee to the third green, there was a 1,300-foot drop. Once you are going down, you know that you will eventually have to come back up, so that made things challenging.”
Ring’s trip to the senior men’s amateur wrapped up a stellar 2021 season, which saw him win the Team Northern championship at Cooke with his son Trevor in Mary, share the Senior Men’s Lobstick title at Waskesiu with Cliff Selander and Roger Gilhespy in June and capture his second Senior Men’s Northern title at Cooke in August.
“I have to give credit to all of the guys that I play with around here,” Ring said. “We continue to push each other and it helps me out a lot.”
