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Article_PhilHall_Layout 1 18-07-19 5:50 PM Page 1

Never count out

By Bruce Penton

crucial business decision in 1974 resulted in Phil Hall abandoning
an idea of becoming a golf course operator and instead becoming,
Aessentially, a trailer park boy.
It turned out to be a great decision for his golf game, because running a
golf course might have required hours and hours of sitting on mowers
cutting grass, applying fertilizer, dealing with suppliers and the public and
myriad other aspects of such a business.
Not that buying the Brentwood Village Mobile Home Park didn’t mean
long hours of work, but it gave Hall the flexibility to work on his golf game
and the results are in the record book to be examined: A stellar amateur
career and for many years a regular contender in the championship flight
at the Tamarack.
“Myself and a business partner came very close to buying Sunnyside Golf
Course from Cam Williamson,” said Hall. “We were only a few thousand
dollars apart on a couple of things, but one thing led to another, and the
deal fell apart. The next year, we bought Brentwood, and that turned out
to be a wise decision.”
In an era of young bombers winning the men’s title at the Tamarack —
long-hitters like Bruce North of Carman, Dwight Kearns and Grant
Coulter of Brandon and Jack McDiarmid of Calgary — the 43-year-old
Hall surprised more than a few people in 1984 by taking the
championship. It was a popular victory, for Hall not only struck a blow for
the older set, but he was one of Western Manitoba’s most well-liked
shotsmiths.
Hall and the Tamarack go back a long way. In 1968, Hall was a travelling
salesman whose territory took him to the Clear Lake golf course. “I was
talking to Johnnie Lawrence one day in August and he said, ‘you know,
we’ve got this match play tournament starting tomorrow and we’ve got
one spot left.’”
Hall took that one spot and it was the beginning of a beautiful lifelong
relationship.
He posted three appearances in the championship flight final, but
managed only that one victory, over the late Mike Jones, The Brandon Sun
sports editor, in 1984.
Thirty-four years later, details are a little hazy, but “I think I closed him
out on the 14th hole,” said Hall. “I was cheering for Mike all day to hit it
close,” said Hall, “because I was confident that I could get inside him.”
His first loss in the final came in 1971 against Winnipegger Barry
McKenzie. One of seven titles by Carman’s Bruce North came in a final
victory over Hall, too.
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