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Golf professional from Powell River receives award and scholarship from PGA of BC

Jared Siminoff contributes to the sport in many ways, from training to statistics
Jared Siminoff Powell River
GOLF AWARD: Jared Siminoff, who grew up in Powell River and learned to play golf at Myrtle Point Golf Club, was awarded the Professional Golfers’ Association of British Columbia’s Fred Wood Class “A” Professional of the Year award for 2019. Siminoff is currently associate professional at the Point Grey Golf and Country Club in Vancouver. Contributed photo

From learning to golf at Myrtle Point Golf Club to his current role as associate professional at Point Grey Golf and Country Club in Vancouver, Jared Siminoff has known for a long time that he wanted to golf as a career. On October 16, he was recognized for his contributions by the Professional Golfers’ Association of British Columbia (PGA of BC) at its annual awards dinner.

“I have this incredible sense of accomplishment,” said Siminoff from his home in Vancouver. “It gives me a chance to reflect on all the choices I’ve made that have brought me to where I am today.”

Siminoff was awarded the 2019 Fred Wood Class “A” Professional of the Year Award, which is presented to a working golf professional with outstanding leadership qualities, a substantial record of service to the PGA and the sport, and is considered a role model.

“Fred Wood worked at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club, which is where I first worked when I moved to Vancouver in 2014,” said Siminoff. “I have great respect for him. To have my name associated with his is a great honour.”

Siminoff was also awarded the $1,000 Jim Gibson Scholarship, which goes to a golf professional who exemplifies volunteerism and has a passion for furthering their education to benefit the golf community.

“I was recently elected by my peers to serve on the PGA of BC’s board of directors,” said Siminoff, “but most of my volunteerism has centred around statistics.”

A self-proclaimed nerd when it comes to golf statistics, Siminoff began working on different performance metrics as commissioner of the G&G Tour, a series of tournaments in the Lower Mainland and Sea to Sky regions.

“I started to track statistics on all our players, going back several years,” he said. “Once I had built a model, I expanded it to the whole tour, and added some new metrics to show players different ways of judging performance.”

Siminoff plans to use the scholarship to attend the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston next March.

“It’s known as the Superbowl of Dorks,” he said with a laugh, “but it’s the biggest and best conference about sports statistics in the world. I’ve wanted to go for many years, and this scholarship will make it possible. I can’t wait to learn more and be able to apply it to my work here.”

Siminoff was born and raised in Powell River. He started golf lessons at age six, and was a member at Myrtle Point Golf Club until he graduated from Brooks Secondary School.

“I come back to visit my mom and stepdad at least once a year, and I have a much greater appreciation for Powell River now that I live in Vancouver,” he said. “It almost forces you to slow down, reset and relax.”

He said he is looking forward to playing a round at Myrtle Point soon, something he hasn’t had time to do recently.

“I played thousands of rounds there growing up, but I’d love to go back now that I am at this stage of my life, to be able to see it through a different lens,” said Siminoff. “My journey isn’t over, but I do feel like this is the end of a chapter, and I can’t wait to see what the next one will bring.”