(Halifax, NS) June 12, 2009
- Gordie Smith is among a group of well known sports figures who will be
inducted into the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame this fall. Smith,
arguably the most successful golfer in Nova Scotia history, has enjoyed
great success both as an amateur and professional. He has won eleven
provincial titles and numerous open and invitational victories. A major
highlight of his playing career came in the 1988 Canadian Open when he
shot 67 in the final round to finish in seventh place.
Others to be inducted to the hall this fall are:
Bruce Beaton, Port Hood – athlete, football
Mickey Fox, New York - athlete basketball
Brian Heaney, New York – athlete, basketball
Jody Hennigar, Halifax – athlete, softball
Roy Clements, Halifax – builder, soccer, posthumous
Greg Fahey, Westville – builder, multisport
1976-77 Acadia Axemen – team, basketball
Born in Dartmouth, N.S. in 1963, Gordie went to school
in his hometown, graduating from Prince Andrew in 1981. He attended the
University of South Florida in Tampa on a golf scholarship and graduated
with a business degree four years later. He was introduced to the golf
by his father Lorne, a very accomplished player and winner of the Nova
Scotia Amateur Championship in 1951 and 1954.
“Both my mom and dad played golf and it was certainly
in our blood,” recalls Gordie. “I have an older and younger brother and
we all loved to play, mainly because dad didn’t push the game on us. He
just introduced us to golf and let us enjoy it. There were four or five
families on our street, with lots of kids, who all played at Brightwood.
We virtually grew up around the golf course and, in the summer, we were
up there everyday.”
Smith was a pretty good athlete and improved quickly.
Starting to play competitive golf when he was thirteen, he soon won the
Nova Scotia Midget and Juvenile Championships. He won the Nova Scotia
Junior when he was seventeen and repeated the following season as well
as capturing the first of three Nova Scotia Amateur Championships -
1981, 1982, and 1985.
“I always felt that amateur golf in Nova Scotia was
great. The NSGA did a great job with the tournaments. I enjoyed that
time growing up.”
At university in Florida it was a little more
challenging. He found it harder to play decent golf twelve months of the
year and realized his game would get a little stale in the summers. At
this time he was trying to decide on whether or not to turn
professional.
I really had to do a lot of soul searching in my final
two years of university,” said Smith, “but, at the same time, I
concentrated on completing my degree.”
Eventually he was influenced to turn professional by
his father and Bruce Walker, an avid golfer, who had been a high school
teacher of his. Gordie acknowledged that golf was a huge part of his
life and decided he wanted to give professional golf a try.
Turning professional in the fall of 1986, Gordie
started playing on an American tour that would be similar to the present
Nationwide Tour. Although not affiliated with the PGA Tour, at the time,
it still consisted of the top 200 players who were not regulars on the
PGA Tour. He traveled to events across the U.S., starting down around
Florida and working west. In his first summer he decided to play the
Canadian Tour and he won.
“I had success early, which was a big surprise,”
laughs Smith, “because I hadn’t excelled in golf the last couple of
years at university. I won my very first tournament on the Canadian
Tour, the Labatt’s Light Ontario Open. All of sudden I had some cash in
my pocket and an exemption to the Canadian Open. It was the very first
event on the schedule and I had to qualify for it. It was quite a
thrill. Dave Barr and Dan Halldorson were in the field. It was quite an
amazing thing to win that trophy and the $10,000 prize, which for a 23
year old at the time, seemed like a million. In my first Canadian Open,
I made the cut. I didn’t play well on Sunday, but it was an amazing
experience. Who would have thought a kid growing up in Dartmouth, N.S.
would play in the Canadian Open, let alone make the cut. Things were
going really well.”
The next year on U.S. tour, Gordie won the first
event, the Orlando Open. He had been playing the CPGA mini tour events
at Royal Oak in Titusville, Florida.. After winning one of these he went
to Orlando at the end of the same week, shot a 16 under par total and
won again. Back in Canada by summer, he successfully defended his title
at the Ontario Open.
“It looked as though graduating to the PGA tour was
within my sights” recalls Smith, “all my focus was on tour school in the
fall. There I made it to the finals, but finished a few shots out of
qualifying. In my third year I continued with a lot of success,
including a seventh place finish at the Canadian Open.”
Gordie continued his pursuit in qualifying for the PGA
Tour.
“I sure wanted to do it,” he recounts, “but, in the
end, it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe the early success spoiled me; maybe I
didn’t work hard enough; perhaps I could have done things differently,
but, looking back, I certainly don’t have any regrets. I got to compete
at a high level in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the Bahamas and I
feel comfortable knowing that I was good enough to play out there. My
support back home was great and the press always treated me well. It was
the most exciting time in my golf career. Now, when I talk to young
kids, who have this dream, I tell them to work hard and do the things
they need to do, because they will only get one chance.”
With his playing career behind him he is now very happy to be working on
the business side of golf.
“I’m still in the sport and industry I love, and now I
can enjoy the best of both worlds. I have a wonderful family life and a
great job,” reflects Smith. “I still get to enjoy the game, although I
am not nearly as competitive as I once was, and I get to stay at home. I
am very settled and happy where I am now.”
Gordie is currently the Executive Professional at
Ashburn Golf Club in Halifax, N.S.
