2024 Seymour Golf & Country Club Golfathon for ALS Thank You Letter

Golfathon Letter from Dale Schienbein, PGA of Canada Head Professional, Seymour Golf & CC

Good Afternoon,

Please accept this thank you as my appreciation for your donation to the ALS Golf-A-Thon that we participated in last week. To date, we have received over 234 pledges from Members and Staff of Seymour G&CC, friends and fellow golf industry associates. Thank you!!!

My day started with the dreaded 3:30 alarm call, and I teed it up Tuesday morning at 4:50am with one of my Associate Professionals, Lenny Cyr. We were later joined by Seymour Professionals, Roy Abbenbroek, Lindy Miyashiro and my son Sam throughout the day.  Additionally, we had the great pleasure of playing with Jerome Rak, who has been an amazing long time and generous supporter of our Golf-A-Thon.  In addition to showing up with fresh muffins, JR demonstrated superb shotmaking and set the bar a bit higher for us to keep up with him!

I arrived at the Club early to hit balls as I frequently insist others do, as you always play better and enjoy the early part of your game when you are warmed up.  Those of you who know me, know I am not a morning person, so this part of the day is always the hardest part.  Bleary-eyed, I was hitting balls, not really following the ball flight (I was awake enough to know it was still dark and I wouldn’t see them J). Leaving the range, I saw a car pull into the parking lot, and I thought that it was pretty early for anyone to show up.  It turned out to be one of our Members, George Brack who was there to see us off.  George has been another consistent and generous supporter of our Golf-A-Thon.  This year was an especially impactful year for George as he recently learned a long time friend of his, Phil, in Ontario was diagnosed with ALS.   George took our photo and rode with us for the first couple of holes.

Each year, before I tee it up, I reflect back on all those I know and have known with ALS.  Unfortunately, after 19 years that list has continued to grow.  I am always interested and truly humbled by those who share with me their and their family’s connection with this disease.  It seems as though this disease has no more than one degree of separation from all of us.  With all these people in mind, my full day on the golf began.  With those thoughts in mind, bogeys (and a few double bogeys) don’t seem to matter!

Our day started at 4:50am, and we rolled in the last putts in at 10:15 at night with another of our Members, Shawn Clarkin, who followed us for our final 18 holes, lighting the hole with his phone so we knew where the cup was!

When the day ended, we had played 5 rounds or 90 holes!  There were no injuries, strains or pulls!  Advil was a very welcome help throughout the day though! There were lots of crumby shots but in balance, more good ones.  All our playing partners were amazing and hit a lot of great shots.

Most importantly, I am very proud to report that through your support we were able to raise a new record $73,526  (and pledges are still coming in) for the ALS Society of BC.  Over the past 19 years, Seymour continues to lead the Province raising over $540,526 for the ALS Society!!   Over half a million dollars -Wow this is very humbling – Thank you so much!!!!!  Please know that you are making a difference both for ALS patients and in the lives of their family members!!

How was the golf you are wondering?

Years ago, when I first started doing this Golf-A-Thon, it seemed to make sense to report the scores.  As I have more grey hair, play less golf and have more scar tissue, I think that was likely a bad decision.  Be that as it may, here were my scores, 78-80-79-80-76, for a 5-round average of 78.6.  With all the busyness associated with this year, I have only played one round prior, so I was pleased with the scores.    Next year I need to get out and play a few times before the Golf-A-Thon!  While the scores always matter to some degree, I certainly enjoyed being out on the course playing.

Some additional fun facts:

• Lenny played all 90 holes and once again played extremely well this year.  His scores were 74-72-73-71-74 with 13 birdies!  Very impressive indeed!!
• Lindy joined us for nearly 2 complete rounds and played exceptionally well.  Roy joined us for one round and was a great inspiration as one year ago, he was in the hospital battling cancer – an amazing recovery!
• This year, we played our first round without pins!  That was a first for me.  Since last November, we have been removing the pins at night and laying them down next to the greens as we have a resident bear who loves destroying them.  For the longest time, he would come through the night and pull/lean on the pins, eventually either breaking the pin or tearing the entire cup out of the green, which entails a lot of emergency repairs first thing in the morning before the Maintenance team can mow the greens!  Theoretically, not having pins should have made the game easier, as hitting to the middle of the greens is a pretty good strategy.  It sure felt strange, though, and coupled with the lack of light, added an extra challenge to that first round.
• I went through 6 water bottles and didn’t have one Coke until Shawn brought me one for the start of my final round.  That round was my best score for the day, so perhaps I may have to drink more Coke versus wasting my time with water (I am sure many of the Doctors I know who are reading this are shaking their heads).
• Throughout the day I used 7 sand/seed bottles.  Interestingly, once again, this year, I kept the same power cart for all 5 rounds.  Our power carts, complete with the new battery technology, are amazing!
• We packed food for the day and were able to keep the wildlife out of our coolers.  It seemed like there were always crows following us around.  I am sure they were always ready to attack any unguarded food!  This year, they were joined by a couple of confident squirrels as well.
• Total elapsed time of golf was just over 17 hours.
• We played our last round, teeing off at 7:45 in 2 hours and 30 mins for the three of us.  The sky had cleared, and we could see the moon rising with Mount Baker as a spectacular backdrop.
• I enjoyed all the rounds and especially enjoyed having George, JR and Shawn with us.  Of special enjoyment was playing 18 holes with my son, Sam!  Once again, the game taught me that it isn’t the score or how well you play that matters but who you are playing with.
• The next day, I had lots of Members ask me how I felt after playing all that golf.  My response this year was the same as last year: a smile, and with as straight a face as I could manage, I replied, “I feel fine; I am a Professional Athlete after all!”  A great laugh always ensues 😊!
• Aside from a few aches and pains, the next morning came a lot sooner than I thought and it was back to work.  We had a busy two week period with numerous events so no one was interested in extending any recovery sympathy to us!  Next year I will have to do a better job with scheduling!
• Similar to past years, I always hope to play more holes than e-mails received that day.  I finally had a year where I played more holes than emails received … by 3!  Yippee!

I recently received an email from one of our Members who is another consistent and generous supporter of our Golf-A-Thon, Bruce Chan who sent me a link on a recent ALS discovery.  It is a story that recently broke into the news in late May about an exciting breakthrough made by an ALS Research Team at Western University.  Dr. Michael Strong’s discovery is yet another step toward discovering a cure for this disease.  If you have a moment to review this story (from CTV Morning News) I am sure you will enjoy learning more about the progress being made. Click here for the Youtube link

In speaking with the new ALS Society of BC Executive Director Donald Miyazaki, he shared optimism about Dr. Strong’s discovery, but, similar to Dr. Strong’s comments, he reiterated that there is still a lengthy runway for any treatment.  All associated with the research are cautious in getting people’s hopes up, but it is certainly exciting to see that breakthroughs are occurring, though!  As a result of the donations from the ALS Golf-A-Thon, the ALS Society has been able to pledge its support in the creation and operations of Project Hope located at UBC.  Here is a brief overview on Project Hope:

“The ALS Society of British Columbia’s (ALS BC) PROJECT HOPE, in a powerful collaboration with the Government of British Columbia, the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, and Vancouver Coastal Health, proudly announces the opening of the new Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Related Disorders (ALSRD) Clinic.

This state-of-the-art facility, strategically located at the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, is a beacon of hope for ALS patients, their families, and caregivers. It promises a brighter future through comprehensive support and tailored care for individuals with ALS and related motor neuron diseases, including assessment, intervention, and consultation services.

Under the leadership of Dr. Erik Pioro, MD, Ph.D., FRCPC, FAAN, a distinguished neurologist and ALS researcher recently appointed to the Professorship in ALS Research at UBC, the clinic features a multidisciplinary team of specialists, including neurologists, nurses, therapists, pathologists, dieticians, and social workers. This initiative, a significant milestone in the Society’s journey, is set to transform the quality of life for ALS patients by offering cutting-edge clinical care and extending services to underserved regions across British Columbia through innovative telemedicine services and mobile clinics to ensure patients receive care, regardless of their location, instilling a sense of hope and optimism in the hearts of those affected.”

Each of you shares a part in the exciting breakthroughs that are occurring. Thank you for your generosity and support.  I am more confident than ever that we will see an end to ALS in our lifetimes!

The ALS Society of BC will be issuing tax receipts and sending them directly to each of you.

Kindest regards,

Dale Schienbein
PGA of Canada Director of Golf
Seymour Golf & CC

3723 Mt. Seymour Parkway
North Vancouver,  BC V7G 1C1
604-929-2611
[email protected]
www.seymourgolf.com