The biggest international coaching assignment of Jeff Chambers’ career is now in the books after the Swift Current golf professional helped guide Team Canada at the British Amateur Championship from June 15-20.
Chambers, an assistant coach with Team Canada, helped prepare three golfers representing the Maple Leaf at the tournament, which featured 287 participants competing for the coveted championship.
The head teaching professional at Elmwood Golf Club said the trip across the Atlantic was special to be part of once he acclimatized to life in the United Kingdom.
“It was magical to say the least,” he said. “I knew it would be awesome getting over there. When we got there it was a little stressful, with driving on the other side of the road and, of course, when we got there it was a rainstorm … the stress level went up. Instantly, as soon as we got back to the hotel, we got to go for supper with the players, I realized really quick that it was going to be a pretty awesome week. The players were outstanding to work with and we connected right from the beginning. It was a great experience.”
Teaching a different style of golf
Chambers drew on previous links golf experience gained while travelling through Scotland with junior golfers decades ago to help prepare Ethan Wilson, Cooper Humphreys and Matthew Javier for the unique challenges of the British game.
He said the players learned more about the style of golf required on English links courses with every shot, and he enjoyed helping teach a version of the game that differs greatly from what Canadian golfers typically encounter.
“For four days, we never once fixed a ball mark on the greens because you couldn’t make one because it was so hard,” he said. “Hitting from the fairway was so important because if you were hitting from the rough, you’d get flyer lies, spin comes off and you’d watch your ball hit the green and bounce over. You’d have to aim 20 yards short of some greens to roll them up, and that’s just not how we play golf here.”
Wilson posted the best result among the Canadian trio, finishing at 1-over par through two rounds to tie for 113th place after shooting 73 at Royal Liverpool and 72 at West Lancashire.
Javier finished at 3-over, tying for 159th after carding a 69 at Royal Liverpool and a 78 at West Lancashire. Humphreys ended the tournament at 9-over, tying for 247th.
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A bucket-list moment at Royal Liverpool
Stepping onto the grounds of Royal Liverpool Golf Club, which has hosted The Open Championship 13 times, most recently in 2023, was a bucket-list experience for Chambers, who still remembers Tiger Woods winning there in 2006.
“There’s only one other time in my life that I’ve felt the same energy,” he said. “That’s when I was with the Canadian team in Scotland and we got to go down and play the Old Course. When I walked down there, I explain to people, like there’s just electricity in the air … it’s a different feeling until you have it. When I went onto Royal Liverpool and I saw the buildings, setup and looked at the starters, everything was just immaculate there. I just stood there and took it all in. There was no other place I wanted to be. The feeling out there, I can’t describe it.”
Hoping for more opportunities with Team Canada
Chambers hopes the experience leads to more opportunities with the national program as he continues to build an already impressive coaching résumé.
The Swift Current product is a four-time reigning Saskatchewan Coach of the Year and was named the 2018 PGA of Canada Ben Kern Coach of the Year.
“This one was a little bit special, now that I’ve learned a lot more,” he said. “Back then, in Scotland, I was still learning everything. Now I’ve been around for a while, it was pretty neat to be able to instantly help them out. The other coach that went had never played links golf, so I fit in right away because I could give them strategies right from the beginning. They definitely saw value there.”