Dr. Chris Bertram is the head coach of the men’s and women’s golf teams at the University of the Fraser Valley.
In Bertram’s 12 years with the program, the Cascades have never missed the podium in the PacWest conference. The men’s team won back-to-back PacWest championships in 2008 and 2009, and topped that by winning three in a row from 2012 to 2014. The women’s team has also excelled in conference play, winning championships in 2013, 2014 and 2016.
At the national level, the Cascades’ crowing achievement came in 2013, when the men’s and women’s teams swept the gold medals at the CCAA national championship. Both teams climbed the CCAA podium again in 2014, with the women winning silver and the men taking bronze. In 2015, UFV hosted the national tournament for the first time at Chilliwack Golf Club, and the men’s team earned the bronze medal. The Cascades have now recorded podium finishes at the seven of the past nine CCAA national championships.
Bertram’s passion for golf goes beyond the course, as he also served for 13 years as Director of the Human Performance Centre and as an Associate Professor of Kinesiology at UFV. His research and teaching focus is in the area of motor skill acquisition with an emphasis on the nature of expertise and elite performance in athletes. Bertram has published numerous scientific articles on the game of golf, and recently published a chapter in Science and Golf V. Bertram also meets regularly with golf teaching professionals to discuss how the science of golf applies directly to the teaching and learning of the game. He currently sits on the editorial board for the Annual Review of Golf Coaching and has been featured on the Golf Channel and in the New York Times.
Bertram has a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and a Ph.D. from Simon Fraser University. He was named PacWest golf coach of the year 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016, and was honoured as the CCAA golf coach of the year in 2013, 2014 and 2016.
