SURREY — A pair of golf instructors at Surrey’s Northview Golf Academy are among the best in the province, according to the PGA of B.C.
Matthew Palsenbarg was named Jack Westover Coach of the Year at the organization’s recent awards event, and Chris Lutes earned the Jack McLaughlin Junior Golf Leader of the Year award.
Eighteen awards were presented at the golf celebration, held on Oct. 12 at River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond.
Palsenbarg called his award “a huge honour” – one he’ll cherish.
“It was great to win the award, for sure, due to the fact it’s voted on by your peers and you can only get nominated by your peers,” he told the Now.
“(Over) the past six years with (Northview’s) Tour Performance Lab, I have really focused on coaching and moving away from teaching small lesson packages. Working with elite players, it’s a longterm process from Grades eight to 12. Also, serious adult players and pros I work with understand the ‘longterm building blocks’ approach and not bandaids.”
Lutes works for Palsenbarg at the facility.
“He runs our massive kids program (and is) regarded as one of the top kids coaches in the country,” Palsenbarg noted.
A full list of the award winners can be found at Pgabc.org.