When Canada comes calling
Stoney Creek’s Johnny Travale selected for elite national development team
He’s young enough and new enough at being a rising star that he’s still capable of being excited by cool stuff. So, when two giant boxes arrived at the front door of his home earlier this month, it was Christmas in October.
In one was a personalized Golf Canada golf bag. That was awesome. The other was jammed with golf shirts, a rain jacket, pants, shorts, sweaters, hats and more. All free. All for him.
“It’s great,” Johnny Travale says, unable to fully contain his teenage enthusiasm.
You start receiving care packages like this when you get plucked out of the vast numbers of teenagers playing golf across this country and are chosen to be part of Canada’s national development squad, an elite program designed to take five really good young male players and five exceptional young female players and turn them into stars.
The 16-year-old from Stoney Creek with the 300-yard drives — 330 when he really leans into one — had been gunning for this for a while.
He’d learned about it playing for Team Ontario last summer. To assure himself a spot he knew he simply had to finish as the top junior-aged Canadian on the world amateur rankings.
It was certainly doable according to his coach.
“He’s doing well,” Scott Cowx says. “He’s probably as good if not better than Mackenzie was at the same age.”
Mackenzie is, of course, Mackenzie Hughes, the Dundas native who’s now playing on the PGA Tour and won a tournament in his rookie season. Which makes this comparison some rather lofty praise.
A second-place finish at the Investors Group Junior Spring Classic helped boost Travale’s confidence and his ranking. As did a fourth at the Ontario Junior Boys Championship midway through the summer and a sixth at the Investor’s Group Ontario Men’s Amateur.
As he approached the end of the season, he found himself where he needed to be on the list. Then he waited. Even though he’d been told how the team selection process works and done everything he could to ensure his position, a guy
can just never know if it’s really enough. Until they offer you a spot, nothing’s guaranteed.
It was late in September as he was heading out the door to go practice at Hamilton Golf and Country Club that the phone finally rang. The coach of the development squad simply asked the Grade 12 student if he’d like to be part of it.
“Oh, I said yes right away,” Travale says. “I don’t think anyone has said no to that team.”
In January, the Bishop Ryan Catholic High School student will move to British Columbia where he’ll live in Victoria with the team for four months and finish his studies at a new high school. His golf will be paid for along with his training, coaching, food, board, tournament entry fees and practice.
“There’s really no excuse why your game shouldn’t be at the next level after that,” he says.
It’s worked before. Back in 2008, Hughes was part of this program
before heading to Kent State University and eventually launching himself onto the PGA Tour.
Travale’s plan? Learn everything he can from this program then go to Kent State University and eventually work toward a spot on the PGA Tour.
In the meantime, there’s just one small issue to deal with: His two younger sisters.
Those boxes of free stuff were great. He loved getting them. Even better, there’s more to come he’s been told. Workout gear and golf shoes plus some other accessories are still en route. But so far it’s only been for him.
“They’re always watching me open stuff,” he laughs. “(And asking) Do I get a sweater?”