Barrie McWha, general manager of Blue Ocean Golf and Country Club in Sechelt, recently found out that he is going to be inducted into the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame on Sept. 28. He wasn’t expecting it.
“I got a phone call from a fellow I know in Winnipeg, that I haven’t seen in better than 25 years,” McWha said. “I assumed he was probably in the area and wanted to play golf. Turns out he was calling to let me know that I would be inducted into the hall of fame. It was quite a surprise.”
The call came from Al Macatavish, one of the members of the Hall of Fame committee in Manitoba. McWha is being recognized in the builder category.
McWha started his career in the Canadian PGA in 1967 as an apprentice under Bill Thomson, the head professional at Southwood Golf and Country Club in Winnipeg.
From there he moved up to assistant and then head professional at Southwood and set a course record of 64 that lasted for almost a decade.
McWha said that much of his career was on the administrative end of the golf business. He ran the Manitoba Open – a Canadian tour event – for seven years and built it up from a $12,000 purse to $125,000 purse.
In 1981, McWha was recognized as the head professional of the year in Manitoba. In 1983 he was elected as president of the Canadian PGA. McWha was previously the president of the Manitoba PGA in 1977.
“In this, the 100th year of Golf Manitoba, we are pleased to be able to recognize the outstanding accomplishments and contributions to the game over many decades by this year’s honoured members,” president of the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame Don MacDonald said. “Their inclusion in the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame is a very deserving recognition of all that they have done to advance the game of golf in the province.”
These days McWha is busy building up the industry of the Blue Ocean Golf Club and teaching athletically challenged individuals how to golf.
“I’m enjoying it. I’ve been able to really put together a good team of people,” McWha said. “Watching that all come together and improving the business here has really been edifying. I look forward to doing it until I get tired of doing it.”
After nearly 50 years in the golf business, McWha said that his love of golf comes from the people.
“Golf is a very social game and it’s a good common denominator in relationships,” McWha said. “I’ve met so many wonderful people over the years, across Canada and beyond, that it’s still what I find attractive.”
