One Family, Four Generations, A Potential World Record
“It’s tough to hit your second shot when you’re wiping away the tears”
That’s how a soon-to-be 82-year-old golfer described the feeling heading down 18th fairway listening to the haunting sounds of a lone piper belting out “Scotland the Brave”.
Can you think of that one moment in childhood when the door creaked open and let the future in?
For young Jimmy, his moment happened when he first picked up a hickory golf club and hit the links at the age of 7 at The Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland. Never in his wildest dreams did this Scottish schoolboy champion imagine that he would leave his homeland at age 17, become a top Canadian professional, win over 100 tournaments and complete the circle of life by competing in a four-generational foursome for the third straight year.
Born September 10, 1939, his birth certificate reads James Gair Maxwell.
Jimmy is my father.
He is the reason I write about legends.
Last week, the story of Dad’s unlikely journey captured the attention of sportswriter Sean Hatchard from the Times-Transcript in Moncton, N.B. As a family, we appreciate this guest post from Sean who took the time to make the phone calls, listen to the stories and put this piece together. Grab a pint at the metaphorical 19th hole and enjoy the article Sean composed about One Family. Four Generations. A Potential World Record. on Leaders & Legends.
ARTICLE: Written by Sean Hatchard - August 25, 2021
It began with a phone call.
Gair Maxwell wanted to know if his father, Jim, was up for a round of golf, a four-generation outing with his son, grandson and great-grandson.
It turned out, on the other end of the phone, that Jim, a longtime Metro Moncton CPGA golf professional, was thinking the exact same thing.
So, back in August 2019, the family foursome – Jim, now 81, Gair, 59, Ryan, 37 and Cayden, 13 – hit the links at Country Meadows Golf Club.
"Before we did, it was honestly so simple. We thought we should have our own shirts and hats, and our own logo, the MGA (Maxwell Golf Association) Tour," said Gair, a former Moncton radio broadcaster who now lives in London, Ont., and usually only gets back home for a visit once a year.
"When dad showed up at Country Meadows and he saw there were four shirts that all matched, all with our birthdates and names, that really hit him in the old ticker. He thought that was just the coolest thing."
That day at the golf course was just the start.
It's called the Four Generational Invitational, and it's now a full-fledged golf tournament. The lone event on the MGA Tour schedule each year.
A sold-out field of family and friends, a commissioner (Sportsnet anchor Ken Reid, a native of Pictou, N.S.), a championship trophy (the Commissioner's Cup) and MGA Tour apparel.
The third edition of what is now an annual tournament was held on Monday at Lakeside Golf and Country Club. The four Maxwells donned traditional Scottish golf knickers in the family tartan to pay homage to Jim, who grew up seven minutes from the first tee at famed St. Andrews in Scotland, before coming to Canada as a 17-year-old to work as a golf pro.
These are what family memories are made of.
“The tournament became a way for our family and friends to honour dad for his many athletic accomplishments and thank him for the countless sacrifices he made putting family ahead of his career," Gair said.
"Like so many other club pros across the country he taught the game he loved to thousands of boys and girls, encouraging them to see the inherent beauty of this game."
The event moved to Lakeside last year, and grew from four players to about 20.
"We got swag for everyone, and we didn't tell dad. When he showed up last year, he thought it was just the four of us again," Gair said.
"He turned the corner out of the parking lot, and there is 20 or so people all wearing matching MGA shirts and caps giving him a standing ovation. I think in that moment we all realized we were on to something much bigger than golf.
"It's a chance, on one day, to really stop and focus on what really matters. Make those connections, so you're not just seeing people at funerals that you don't see for years. It's making it happen in the moment while people are here that you care about."
Gair said it's extremely rare to have four generations of a family playing competitive golf together, let alone one of them being a former pro and doing it in three straight years.
He's done extensive research and hasn't heard of it happening before.
The family is submitting Jim for submission into the Guinness World Records, with the goal of enshrining him as the only former pro golfer in history to have played in a legitimate athletic competition with four generations of golfers over three straight years.
And make no mistake, it's a competitive event.
Cayden, the youngest of the Maxwell golfers at 13, has game.
"He's going to be a player," said Jim. "He's outdriving me now."
And, Jim, who had over 100 victories as an amateur and pro, is a two-time New Brunswick senior men's champion who made multiple national appearances in the Willingdon Cup competition, and worked as a pro at Lakeside, Petitcodiac Valley Golf and Country Club and the then-called Burro Hills Golf Club in Hillsborough, still has game, too.
He topped the Maxwell foursome with an individual stroke play score of 88 on Monday.
Ryan, who has two sons, Cayden and two-year-old Calder, and one daughter, three-year-old Lauren, said the significance of the tournament has grown on him since Year 1.
"The only reason we're here is because of golf. Jim came over from Scotland to be a golf pro all by himself. If it wasn't for the game of golf and him choosing Canada, none of us are here. The older I get, I see that now," he said.
"To be able to see my son have my grandfather pick him up and take him to his golf lessons and play the game with him, he's getting the same experience that I did and it's so exciting. It's not a story that I have to tell him about his great-grandfather. We have this tournament and we have this legacy. He'll have this forever."
It's not only the Maxwell men that put the tournament together. Gair credits his sister, Karen, for handling much of the behind-the-scenes work.
This week's tournament at Lakeside saw two titles up for grabs.
Moncton hockey legend Oscar Gaudet and his son, Rick, emerged the winners of a 22-team best ball division to claim the Commissioner's Cup.
The Maxwell main event featured a version of match play: Jim and Cayden vs. Gair and Ryan.
Down by five points after 10-holes, 81-year-old Jim and 13-year-old Cayden rallied late in dramatic fashion to win by a single point and take the Four Generational Invitational for the third straight year.
The foursome walked down the 18th hole accompanied by a piper filling the Lakeside air with "Scotland the Brave".
At an after-party, Cape Breton band Hauler performed a song it wrote about Jim. The song will be on its next album.
Jim, the father, grandfather and great-grandfather who turns 82 in a few weeks, was asked what the family legacy tournament means to him.
"That is very hard to put into words," he said. "There's a lot of needling going on, a lot of heckling going on in that foursome, but it's a lot of fun. It's just a great feeling having the four of us out together on the golf course."
“It’s about living in the moment and never looking back” STEVEN MACDOUGALL
p.s… As Sean alluded to, there was plenty of good-natured ribbing and smack talk before this 3rd annual tournament. After expanding the tournament to include a number of other friends and family members who compete for “The Commissioner’s Cup”. In the weeks leading up to the event, Rick Gaudet played his part perfectly along with Ken Reid from Rogers Sportsnet as they set the tone for what became an unforgettable day.
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