Matt has been a member of BCC for an astounding two thirds of his 39 year old jumbo sized life.   He caddied and worked in the back shop when he was only 12 and joined the Junior program in 1988 at age 13.
 
He was good enough to earn an invitation to the National Golf Club’s coaching program for elite Junior golfers that was started by Canadian Golf Hall of Famers George Knudson and Ben Kern.  Matt has been in love with the game ever since.

Matt continued to grow taller and keener as a teenager and played in every local, national and international Junior tournament that his parents could transport him to.  He achieved better than average results, but no one back then would have guessed that this big, gangly kid with the size 13 sneakers would represent BCC in the 2014 Canadian Mid-Am Championship.

Matt is competing not only as a past BCC Pepsi Junior Interclub team member; a past BCC Junior Champion (1992); a past Arkansas State University golf scholarship athlete (1995 – 1996); a past Sun Belt Conference player of the week  (1995); a past University of Eastern Michigan golf scholarship athlete and business graduate (1998); but also as a Barrie CC Past President and Board member (2014).
 
Matt comes from a long line of exceptional athletes.  Three generations of Oldershaws have competed for Canada in Canoe and Kayak events at the Olympic Games and in World Championships.  Matt’s second cousin Mark Oldershaw competed in his second consecutive Olympic Games in London and captured bronze in the 1,000 metre C-1 event.

If you Google “Oldershaw paddling” you can learn more about where Matt inherited the genes that contributed to his physical stature and athletic ability.

If you Google “Matt Oldershaw . . . One of Life’s Greatest Mysteries” you may find out why Matt elected to concentrate on golf instead of following his family into paddling.  What was he thinking?  Let’s try to imagine what his 3 step thought process was:
 
1.     Hmmmm, Golf.  A low key, social game involving smashing a little white ball around beautiful park-like terrain in warm weather that rewards top juniors with scholarships to big U.S. universities, or

2.     Hmmmm, Paddling, a grueling endurance sport requiring fanatical year round strength training in smelly gyms, countless hours of repetitive practice on bone chilling rivers and lakes, no scholarships to universities except maybe a few in Communist Bulgaria, Hungary or the USSR.

3.     Hmmmm, I think I’ll stick to golf.  You get to wear spiffier clothes.
 
After graduating from Eastern Michigan U in 1998, Matt leveraged his business degree and his experience adding up 18 hole scores to nail down a job with Xerox Canada’s finance department.  He remained a member of BCC while he lived in Toronto and worked for Xerox, but was content to play recreational golf as he continued his professional career.
 
Matt reignited his competitive spark after BCC was awarded the Mid-Am by Golf Canada.  He used the championship as motivation to sharpen his game and lower his handicap.  It worked.  He was the medalist at the qualifier for the Ontario Mid-Am in May at Blue Mountain GC.
 
In 2003 Matt married Meaghan, whose Shanty Bay family roots date back to the 19th century.  They have two young daughters, Elsa, 7 and Sadie, 5.  They are the fifth generation of Meaghan’s family to attend Shanty Bay Public School.
 
Several sales and marketing opportunities resulted in Matt moving back to Barrie, where he could spend more time with his family and a significant chunk of his time at BCC, not only playing at the game he loves, but contributing to the betterment of the Barrie Country Club membership experience.
 
Your tireless correspondent asked Matt what he thought about Barrie’s “Magnificent Seven’s” chances of doing well in the championship.  He replied, “Our guys’ chances are extremely good because of our home course knowledge and the slopes of our greens.  A lot of competitors will be scratching their heads and talking to themselves as their putts roll by the hole and keep on rolling, because they won’t see the subtle breaks.”
 
Matt commented that he is “pumped about the once in a lifetime opportunity to compete in the Mid-Am Championship at my home club, at a time when my kids can appreciate the significance of the occasion.  Hopefully this will kick start a more successful amateur career.”