Randall Mackus didn’t let his handicap stop him from taking up golf — it’s the reason why he plays. The 62 year old could be found wrapping up his final round on the 18th tee — missing a birdie putt by mere inches — at the fifth Canadian All Abilities Championship at The Dunes Golf Course on Thursday. Mackus golfs with just one arm — the result of a bout with nerve cancer in 90s from which his left arm had to be amputated up to his collar bone. The Prince George resident said he decided to take up golfing for therapeutic reasons decades ago. He noted that, as a former junior hockey player and father of four who had always been in good shape, losing his arm was especially difficult. “It [golfing] helped with the process, so you don't lay down and die, right? You just got to keep going, so here I am, 29 years later, I'm golfing,” Mackus said. Mackus said he began playing with friends at par three courses, and his skills progressed to the point he could could play one-handed on full-sized courses about 10 years ago. Despite now accumulating years of practice, Mackus noted golfing one-handed isn’t easy. “It's really hard. I’m playing with a right hand [but] I’m playing left handed, so I'm playing backwards,” Mackus said. “Short irons, I'm okay, but, longer clubs, I feel like I'm all tied up, like I got my shoulders in my way.” The 2025 Canadian All Abilities Championship, presented by BDO was held in Kamloops from Aug. 4 to 7 at The Dunes. Tournament expanded The national championship featured a field of 50 players with neurological, intellectual, sensory and physical impairments, competing over a three round, 54-hole affair — up from last year’s 36. Players competed in four different divisions regardless of their disability classification — Women’s Gross Stroke Play, Women’s Net Stableford, Men’s Gross Stroke Play, and Men’s Net Stableford. The Stableford scoring format of the championship awarded set points based off a golfer’s net score for the hole. The points were awarded as follows: Albatross (5 points), Eagle (4 points), Birdie (3 points), Par (2 points), Bogey (1 point), Double Bogey or higher (0 points). The golfers with the highest total of accumulated points over 54-holes wins their respective divisions. Mackus said the 2025 event was his third All Abilities tournament — second in Kamloops — and he felt good about his play, saying he finished third in the Stableford rankings following his round, having scored points on all but one hole on Thursday. Top competition The field of competitors in this year’s Tournament included four-time Women’s Gross Stroke Play defending champion Natasha Stasiuk of Oakville, Ont., three-time Women’s Net Stableford winner, Tess Trojan of St. Catharines, Ont. and defending Women’s Stableford champion, Emma Bittorf of Strathmore, Alta. Golf Canada Tournament Director Rogan Doyle said the new format provides equitability for the field competing in for the national championship. “We appreciate the work of the staff and volunteers at The Dunes as we work to collectively deliver a memorable experience for those competing in Kamloops,” Doyle said in a press release. The first Canadian All Abilities Championship was conducted in 2021 at Humber Valley Golf Course in Toronto, Ont. In 2022 the Tournament was held in Windsor, Ont., at Kamloops Golf and Country Club in 2023 and in Brighton, Ont. last year.