Exactly three weeks from now, Elmwood Golf and Country Club head pro Jeff Chambers will officially receive his PGA of Canada honour as the Ben Kern 'Coach of the Year'.

"It was pretty nice - it was a big shocker for sure, and definitely a little surprised. It's a big category to be in for 'Coach of the Year,'" Chambers said.

It was announced in the days prior to Christmas that Chambers was selected as the recipient, and was to be presented the award at PGA of Canada Night on January 24 in Orlando, Fla.

The award comes in a season where, although still competing somewhat regularly in the PGA of Sask tournament circuit, Chambers says he's definitely spent the majority of his time wearing the metaphorical coaching hat.

"I've taken more of a coaching role just because I see the demand, and I definitely see the difference in the players as they're coming through," he explained. "It's kind of fun to take more of a coaching role on in the province. Since doing that, it's really been paying off, and changing the way I do by business and run a business now. It's exciting going forward for sure, and then this recognition just puts it over the top."

Chambers added that garnering national attention for the province is more than just an added bonus.

"Great things can come out of Saskatchewan. There's always a feeling that the only things that ever happen is if you're maybe in B.C., or if you're in Ontario - especially Toronto. Life revolves around those two places, just because of sheer size, obviously."

"But, I've always said Saskatchewan is on the map and we can do great things out here. When they recognize us out in the smaller provinces, it's just a really good feeling that they're willing to do that."

Bringing it full circle, the Elmwood Golf Club pro gets to receive the award in a familiar place - the PGA Merchandise Show.

"I used to attend the Orlando golf show every year, because it was one of the best learning environments," Chambers explained.

"To be honest, that's where I would definitely say I've got 80 per cent of my professional training, and that's where I've gotten all of my certifications. I've gone to just about everything you can down there. Things just don't happen overnight, it took me a lot of years of training, and that's where it mostly happened, so to get back there, I'm really looking forward to it."