Barclay, Walters in Canadian Golf Hall of Fame

A couple of hours ago it was made official — writer/historian Jim Barclay and LPGA winner Lisa Walters were inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.

For Walters, 48, it is recognition for an under-recognized player, one [photopress:Lisa_Walters.jpg,full,alignright]who took three wins on the LPGA Tour. Injuries derailed what could have been a more illustrious career, but she is still tied with Dawn Coe-Jones for wins by a Canadian female professional.

I find Barclay’s induction, in some ways, more compelling. Jim isn’t a pro golfer and many outside of the golf community wouldn’t recognize his name. He’s an engineer first and foremost, but one who crafted a second career as a first-rate golf historian. He’s been central to developing the archives for the Royal Canadian Golf Association and has put his typewriter to good use pounding out a number of fine (and heavily referenced) books on golf history in Canada.

[photopress:Jim_Barclay.jpg,full,alignleft]Jim has always been generous with his time where I’ve been concerned and have always appreciated his tremendous passion for golf history. The game of golf in Canada is better for his involvement, and in some ways his accomplishments are greater than almost any individual player.

Here’s the outtake from the press release announcing Barclay’s induction:

For over 25 years, Barclay has been researching and writing about the game of golf in Canada and around the world. Renowned as one of this countrys pre-eminent golf historians, Barclay is most famous for authoring Golf in Canada: A History “ a book often referred to as Canadas finest golf chronicle. Other notable works include Canadian Professional Golfers “ The Scottish Invasion of 1881-1933; The Toronto Terror “ The Life and Works of Stanley Thompson Golf Course Architect; and St. Georges Golf and Country Club, Celebrating 75 Years. Barclay has also contributed to several other publications including Golf Canada Magazine; Score Golf Magazine; The Golf Historical Society of Canada newsletter; Canadian Bankers Magazine; and Golfiana Magazine. He served as volunteer curator of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum for several years and was responsible for running the former Canadian Golf Foundation (now RCGA Foundation) from 1983-86. His indices to such publications as the Canadian Golfer and Canadian Sport Monthly have made it possible to successfully reference the history of golf clubs and tournaments throughout Canada. In 2006, Barclay was honoured for his contributions to the game of golf in Ontario with an induction into the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame.