Two Get the Pierre-Nadon Prize

Contribution by Réal Labbé and Mario Brisebois

Montreal, December 5, 2025 - For the past 21 years, the Pierre Nadon Prize has been honouring individuals in golf who have served beyond their sport. They include Jocelyne Bourassa, Diane Dunlop-Hébert, Jacques Nols, Dave Ross, Adrien Bigras, and others, most of whom have since been inducted into the Québec Golf Hall of Fame.

This year's joint recipients are André Gingras and Fred Colgan, who are both teaching experts and are both driven by passion.

Sadly, André Gingras passed away in the fall at the age of 83. A good player who was provincial junior champion (1960), it was teaching that motivated him in his profession as a member of the PGA.

Fred Colgan remains the only coach to date to have taken two students from his Academy to the LPGA, Sara-Maude Juneau and Anne-Catherine Tanguay, not forgetting Étienne Papineau, who plays on the Korn Ferry Tour, the gateway to the PGA Tour. Recently, he announced changes in his involvement with his Academy, specifying that he would remain involved in serving in other ways.

Thanks to Réal Labbé, journalist emeritus at Le Soleil and honoured by Golf Canada, who tells us more about André Gingras and Fred Colgan.

André Gingras

If there was ever a golf enthusiast, it was André Gingras, who sadly passed away in October.

I met André when I was a young journalist in the early 1970s. At the time, he was a professional at the Orléans golf club and was already dreaming of an 18-hole course on the island of the same name.

More gifted at teaching than selling clubs, he decided to devote himself wholeheartedly to passing on his knowledge of golf.

He befriended American teacher Chuck Cook, himself a pupil of the eminent Harvey Pennick. Since then, André has never stopped learning, never stopped digging for more information, never stopped being at the cutting edge of knowledge in the world of golf. Last year, when I spoke to him to write a short report, he was watching videos on new golfing techniques.

So much for his passion.

Frédérick Colgan

From one enthusiast to another. Frédérick Colgan already had a passion for teaching, and he has added another layer to that passion by rubbing shoulders with André Gingras.

The young golf professional and teacher had plenty of projects in mind when he completed his physical education course, with one priority being to set up a golf academy so that young people could benefit from his knowledge and, if possible, allow them to hope, for some, to reach the highest levels in golf.

Whether we think of Sarah-Maude Juneau and Anne-Catherine Tanguay, who have reached the LPGA Tour, or Jean-Philippe Parr and Étienne Papineau, it is thanks to the efforts and excellence of the Académie de golf Fred Colgan (AGFC) team, in addition to their natural talent, that they have been able to succeed.

In its 32 years of existence, the AGFC has received recognition from Golf Canada and Golf Québec for its excellence in teaching, and it's not over yet.

This passion is not about to end.

About Pierre Nadon

Pierre Nadon was a golf journalist at La Presse. His involvement included the role of editor-in-chief of Golf Canada magazine. When he passed away, his former colleagues decided to pay tribute to him by creating a prize inspired by his passion.

The 2025 selection committee is made up of Réal Labbé, Michel Lacroix, Denis Messier, André Rousseau, Daniel Caza, Randy Phillips, and Mario Brisebois.