Nipissing First Nation golfer takes home bronze at the Masters Indigenous Games

By Kelly Anne Smith

NIPISSING FIRST NATION—Karen Commanda, the champion golfer from Nipissing First Nation, gingerly laid out her souvenirs from the Masters Indigenous Games.

“This is what was given to me. This is my medal.” Her voice is upbeat holding up her bronze medal.

Commanda won bronze in the Ladies 55 + older category played at The Club at Bond Head. It is a very challenging golf course with a number of upward greens during the course play.

The golfer then points to her earring. She smiles big.

“I have my lucky earrings on. I call him Bennet Bear, for my little grandson. He is the youngest. He’s three-years-old now.  I wear them when I play golf. They help me play well.”

Commanda started golfing as a young woman while attending Fanshawe College in London, ON.

“One course was gym with an introduction to golf. That’s where I got the basics,” recalled Commanda. “Then later, my husband and his four brothers were always golfing. I was following them and then decided I was going to try this game. So, I got hooked.”

“With my first child, I was seven months pregnant and I was still playing,” added Commanda. “My husband had to cut down a putter because of my tummy. When I was pregnant, I was making better contact because I couldn’t swing as wide. I was really hitting the ball nice. I thought, that’s how. I just have to slow down the swing.”

Commanda took some time away from the fairways once she became a mother.

“When I moved back to Garden Village from London, the kids got involved in their sports like soccer and hockey. Then I decided to go back to the game. I started out with ladies’ night. I’d go to Sturgeon. I’d go to Verner, Monetville, Clear Springs and Highview in Powassan. Then we got a membership at the North Bay Golf and Country Club. I think it’s been 23 years there for me.”

Commanda geared up her training in 2007.

“I was really working at my game. I’d be out there practicing and the pro would always say, ‘Way to go Karen. I see you out here almost every day, in the bunkers and working at your game.’ It paid off. Because in 2008 I went to Vancouver and I came in first. I was leading actually, the first day, by seven strokes. And I beat out two people from the Seminole Tribe in Florida.”

That gold medal got Commanda inducted into the West Nipissing Hall of Fame.

“I competed in the [North American Indigenous] games four times. In 2008, I won a gold in Vancouver. That was exciting. So now I got a bronze so I just have to work on a silver.”

She is still going strong and still walking the golf course, despite a knee replacement.

“Now it’s Tuesday nights and the weekend.”

Commanda also had frozen shoulder that may have been caused by a flu shot. She is pain free now, taking almost two years to work out leaving her with a swing that is not as full as it used to be.

Commanda was encouraged to go to the Masters Indigenous Games by her uncle from Dokis First Nation, who called the games the summer Olympics. Five men from Nipissing First Nation went as well as Commanda ‘s cousin who competed in the ladies golf as well.

“I didn’t have to qualify at the Masters. You pay your price and you’re in. The previous Indigenous games I had to qualify to represent Ontario. I always came in either first or second. They only send two players. It’s your own way out there, but my band really supported me and paid for my tickets. I went to Vancouver, Winnepeg, Colorado, and then Vancouver again.”

At the Masters, the first day Commanda played on the north side. The course is described as having dramatic elevation changes with small, contoured greens with a yardage of 4631. The women play off the burgundy tees.

Commanda found the north side challenging but kept practising with swings during the long waits.

“You always had to hit up because the greens were up high. It was so hot at 32 degrees. I had a cold cloth around my neck and was drinking lots of water.”

The next day she felt she played better on the south side course with a yardage of 5291.

“We had 12 ladies participating. This golf was tough. It had lots of bunkers and played very long.”

Karen has trained to be the best on the podium while her dad, Edward Commanda, may have passed her love of the game to her.

“Apparently my dad was a golfer. My sister was going over old photos he had never shared with us. In one, it’s him with golf clubs. It turns out he used to caddy at the French River Golf Course. Then when they had time off, the caddies would go play.”

Commanda commends the motel across from The Bond Head for providing practice by way of a driving range, bunkers and a green for putting. Karen was confident when it was her tee off.

“I know how I swing and I felt relaxed. Just the one hole I had trouble with but I was able to recover, telling myself, ‘one shot at a time’. I just played my own game. I enjoyed myself. I’m grateful I had the opportunity to play in the Masters and if they have another, I’d like to try again and see what happens.”