Gary Brandon passed away in 2009 after a battle with cancer. (Submitted photo/Golf Saskatchewan)

By Mat Barrett

Golf Saskatchewan Hall of Fame

‘He would be very honoured’: Local sports legend inducted into Golf Saskatchewan Hall of Fame

Aug 28, 2019 | 5:18 PM

A local sports legend is being inducted into the Golf Saskatchewan Hall of Fame as a Builder.

Gary Brandon, who grew up in Prince Albert, was the pro at the Melfort Golf and Country Club for 18 years and is part of the 2019 inductee class. Gary’s daughter, Bobbi Brandon said their family was happy to see this come to fruition.

“We actually had kind of started this process last year,” she said. “So, we are very happy to see that it’s gone through, and I know that he’d be very proud.”

Gary Brandon passed away in 2009 after his battle with cancer, but through his years in Melfort, Prince Albert, and all of Saskatchewan he had a big impact on many sporting communities. Gary was a very talented baseball player, and was also a successful curler. Some of his big baseball accomplishments included a Canadian Championship with the Unity Cardinals in 1972, for which his is in the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame as well. In curling, Gary competed in many high-end men’s and senior men’s events including the Canadian Seniors Championships in 1999. He was also inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

Gary was also a successful golfer, winning the Senior Player of the Year in 1998 and 1999 from the PGA of Saskatchewan, and in 2001, he was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement award. He even helped design Mark’s Nine Golf and Country Club in the Prince Albert area.

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Ron Orr was one of the President’s and an Executive during Gary Brandon’s time in Melfort and Orr said Gary left a great mark on the Club.

“He took our club from being a little country club, to being well known across Saskatchewan,” Orr told northeastNOW. “And he was highly regarded by all the other pros that were in Saskatchewan.”

One of the marks that Gary left in Melfort was the Left Right Tournament that now bears his name. It was a tournament that he started in the mid-80’s as a team, match play event with one player being a left-handed golfer, and the other being right-handed.

“It carried on, and every year it’s been very successful,” Orr said. “It’s a format that you didn’t see in too many other places and it really caught on. So we’re really glad that we’re able to keep his name on that tournament.”

Not only did Gary bring that tournament to Melfort, he was a big reason why the Summer Games came to Melfort, and the Canadian Junior Women’s Championships were held there in 1996.

“He was very efficient,” Orr said. “It wasn’t hard to be a President when he was here, because everything worked well.”

Not only did Gary bring tournaments of all sorts to Melfort, he also mentored many other golfers who became pros at other clubs, and Melfort.

Gary’s interaction with multiple sports really showed his passion for bringing people together to have a good time.

“He was always a huge supporter just in sport in general I think,” Bobbi told northeastNOW. “And he always wanted to bring together people, whether it was a golf tournament or a curling bonspiel or whatever, so he seemed to really take to that.”

Bobbi is now the head professional at the Moon Lake Golf and Country Club in Saskatoon, following in her father’s footsteps. She said there was a lot of time spent at the golf course as a kid, and it was something she knew, leading her into the golf career path. She added that it’s nice to see his work recognized.

“Happy to see him be acknowledged,” Bobbi said. “It’s always a little bittersweet when it’s after somebody has passed, but he would be very honoured.”

Gary Brandon also spent a few years in Manitoba and was a pro at the Dauphin Lake Golf Club for seven years.

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6