GRAND FALLS-WINDSOR, N.L.
It’s been an incredible golfing year for Jack Pelley-MacHardy, a Grade 8 student at Exploits Valley Intermediate School in Grand Falls-Windsor.
His mother, Kendra Pelley, says her son’s hard work really paid off in 2018.
“During this year, Jack played in the Tely Tour across Newfoundland. He won the West Coast Swing award which is given to the player who won all Tely Tour tournaments on the West Coast of Newfoundland.” Pelley said. “Jack also won the Junior Championship in Grand Falls-Windsor which qualified him to play in the Men's Championship.”
This came as no surprise to Mike Browne, executive director of the Grand Falls Golf Club, who says Pelley-MacHardy is one of the most dedicated junior golfers he has ever seen.
“As a result of his Grand Falls Golf Club Junior Championship, he was permitted to play in Men’s Championship and out of 48 participants, he finished 18th,” Browne said. “That’s unheard of.”
“There’s nobody more dedicated to the game than him,” Browne said. “He has a true love for the game of golf, he would play all day and all night if we’d let him,”
While the young golfer works very hard, Browne feels that Pelley-MacHardy’s parents, Kendra Pelley and Dave MacHardy, are also due a lot of credit for their son’s success.
“His Mom and Dad are responsible for where he is, they go all over the island with him, on weekends, in the middle of winter,” Browne said. “They deserve all kinds of credit for where he is with the game of golf.”
Pelley-MacHardy’s love for the game runs in his family and he had a very early introduction to golf.
“His father started taking Jack to the golf course in his stroller when he was nine months old,” Kendra Pelley said. “And his great aunt Anita Kelly is a wonderful golfer as well. She has won many golf tournaments.”
Pelley-MacHardy officially started playing golf at the Grand Falls Golf Club at age six. While he loves golfing, he says his enjoyment goes beyond the game itself.
“What I like most about playing golf is meeting new people and making new friends,” Pelley-MacHardy said. “People should try it because you get exercise and get to play outside.”
He does take time to celebrate his victories though, in both personal and tournament play.
“One of my happiest moments was when I won my first West Coast Swing Award for the Tely Tour last year,” Pelley-MacHardy said. “Also, I played Cabot Cliffs in Nova Scotia, which is rated one of the best 100 golf courses in the world, a couple of years ago and my score was 82. Par for that course is 72.”
In addition to his success as a player, this past summer Pelley-MacHardy joined the Junior coaching team at the Grand Falls Golf Club and coached young golfers in the novice program. When he’s not at the Golf Club, Pelley-MacHardy, an honours student, also plays hockey and basketball.
He would like to see more people playing golf and he has some advice for anyone interested in improving their golf game.
“Just play a lot and when you are out for a fun game with your friends, use clubs you normally don't use in a tournament.”
