Barrie man wins the Ontario Champion of Champions golf tournament

A Barrie man has played his way to the highest-level amateur golf tournament in the province.

A handyman by trade, Brad Greenside can now add provincial champion golfer to his resumé after beating out the best club winners from across Ontario at the Champion of Champions Tournament earlier this month, thanks to one change to his game.

"The mental side of it, to me, it's the biggest reason why I started to play better. Because I can let a bad shot go and just hit the next one without thinking about it," says Greenside.

Golf coach Murray St. Onge says Greenside's success results from a lot of time and hard work that could have a trickle-down effect on the local golf community.

"To have a champion come out of this region is incredible, and I think it definitely has an influence on other golfers knowing that they could possibly have a chance to do the same thing," says St. Onge.

Greenside says the game has done a lot for his life, and he's proud to bring such a big win back to the Tangle Creek Golf and Country Club in Thornton, which has become like a family to him.

"Since our group came here and purchased in 2011, Brad's been a staple member and won lots of club championships here, and it's great to see that he took that across the province and won the champion of champions," says Tangle Creek Golf & Country Club General Manager Richard Edmonds.

But Brad isn't the only one in his family collecting hardware at Tangle Creek. The reserved parking spots for club champions tell you his dad Jim also knows his way around the course.

"My dad is definitely a huge influence on why I started playing golf, and it's very special that we can play together and play competitively against each other," says Greenside.

Improving his golf game while running an indoor renovation business with his dad and fathering a young daughter is no easy balancing act.

"You know what. It is challenging at times, but you have to sacrifice other things to do what you want to do," says Greenside.

However, Brad is still looking for more than one provincial crown. He has his sights set on the Ontario match play championships, where his dad will also be competing at Tangle Creek in a couple of weeks.

He'll also be taking on the Ontario amateur championship later this summer.