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Golf Québec Pays Tribute to a Great Lady of Golf

Montréal, November 9, 2026 – Golf Québec is proud to announce the induction of Diane Barabé into the Québec Golf Hall of Fame in the Builder category. A dedicated volunteer for nearly 35 years, an internationally renowned referee and the first woman to chair the Golf Canada Rules Committee, she becomes the 49th member of the Hall of Fame.

It is, however, with a heavy heart that we share this news. Diane passed away on November 8, at the age of 77, surrounded by her loved ones. The Golf Québec Board of Directors was determined to announce this honour to her during her lifetime: a few days before her passing, she learned that she would be joining the great names of Québec golf.

The entire Golf Québec family extends its deepest condolences to her spouse, Ted Eland; her children, Julie and Daniel Courtemanche, and Joel Barabé-Eland; her eight grandchildren; and her entire family, including her sister Denise Trépanier, who was a great source of support to her in her final days, as well as her many loved ones. Our thoughts are also with the community of rules officials in Québec and across Canada, for whom Diane was much more than a colleague: she was a mentor, a confidante, and a friend.

“For nearly 35 years, Diane devoted her rigour and passion to golf. What I will remember most is her infectious joie de vivre and her radiant smile. She paved the way for women and francophones, and Québec golf owes her a great deal. Her induction into the Québec Golf Hall of Fame is richly deserved. We have lost a great lady and a friend.” - Jean-Pierre Beaulieu, outgoing Executive Director, Golf Québec

A Passion Born in Granby

Born in La Tuque, Diane discovered golf at Club de golf Les Cèdres in Granby before making the Miner Golf Club her second home for more than 45 years. “A 9-hole course,” she would often point out with pride. It was there that she began volunteering in the early 1990s, first as ladies’ captain, then with the Canadian Ladies’ Golf Association – Québec Branch in the Eastern Townships region.

Yet nothing hinted at the career that lay ahead. At her first Rules of Golf seminars, where she accompanied her lifelong friend Claire Beaubien, Diane doubted she could ever take in so much material. Her colleagues still remember her memorable entrance at one of these sessions, in a wheelchair following a leg injury. Over the years, this uncertain student would become a true authority on the Rules of Golf and the go-to reference for an entire generation of referees.

A Builder in Québec

Diane chaired the Rules Committee of the Canadian Ladies’ Golf Association – Québec Branch from 2002 to 2004. She then sat on the Golf Québec Rules Committee from 2004 to 2015, serving as its Chair from 2008 to 2011, following the merger of the women’s and men’s associations. A sought-after instructor, she led Level 4 Rules of Golf seminars in both French and English and took part in numerous referee schools in Québec and across Canada. On the course, she officiated at countless Golf Québec and Golf Canada tournaments, from amateur, junior, and senior championships to the Canadian Women’s Tour, as well as the 2013 Canada Games.

Diane also led a less visible but equally important battle: that of the French language. At a time when one had to read and speak English to train as a referee, she spearheaded, with Jacques Nols and Jean-Claude Gagné, the French translation of the Rules of Golf book and the Official Guide, as Chair of Golf Canada’s Translation Subcommittee. This colossal undertaking, carried out on a volunteer basis over countless hours, opened the door to refereeing for hundreds of Quebecers.

A Pioneer on the International Stage

A member of the Golf Canada Rules Committee from 2011 and of its Board of Governors from 2015, Diane became, in 2017, the first woman to chair the Golf Canada Rules Committee, a position she held until 2020. She was also the first woman to represent Canada on the Joint Rules of Golf Committee, alongside the R&A and the USGA, and played a key role in the modernization of the Rules of Golf that came into effect in 2019.

One of the very first women to referee a men’s national championship, she officiated at the RBC Canadian Open and the 2015 Pan American Games and, beginning in 2013, at some of the biggest events in world golf, including the Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open, The Open Championship, The Players Championship, the U.S. Women’s Open, and the World Amateur Team Championship. At a time when women were still underrepresented in golf officiating and governance, she paved the way for many female officials.

The Woman Behind the Referee

Those who knew her speak first of her pride. Pride in herself: Diane would never have taken the garbage out to the curb without her lipstick on. Above all, pride in her family: you only had to ask about her children and grandchildren to see her eyes light up. A deeply devoted mother, she even gave up the St. Andrews referee school to keep a promise she had made to her daughter.

Rigorous and of absolute integrity on the course, Diane was also funny, playful, and tremendously generous. With her friends Claire Beaubien, Diane MacKay, and Raymonde Michaud, she formed what the golf community affectionately called “the Four Musketeers.” From Ottawa to Calgary, not to mention Winnipeg, people were still asking about her at tournaments until recently: Diane touched a great many people.

A Lasting Legacy

Her commitment was recognized many times over: Golf Québec Volunteer of the Year in 2011 and Golf Canada Volunteer of the Year in 2015, the Égale Action Recognition Award at the Femmes d’influence Gala in 2015, the Pierre-Nadon prize in 2017, and induction into Miner Golf Club’s Les Bâtisseurs group in 2021 and into the Mauricie Sports Hall of Fame in 2026. In 2025, Golf Canada named her an Honorary Life Governor, the highest honour bestowed on a golf volunteer in the country. Her induction into the Québec Golf Hall of Fame crowns this exceptional journey.

True to her roots, she returned in 2023 to where it all began, accepting the role of President of the Eastern Townships Regional Golf Association. But her greatest legacy is undoubtedly the hundreds of rules officials she trained, encouraged, and inspired, and all the women who, thanks to her, dared to believe they belonged in this world.

Funeral arrangements will be announced by the family at a later date. Details of the induction ceremony will be confirmed in a future announcement.

Thank you, Diane. Your legacy will live on at every course where the Rules of Golf are applied with fairness, rigour, and kindness.

About the Québec Golf Hall of Fame
The Québec Golf Hall of Fame was established by three former Presidents of the AGQ: Larry Boyle, Maurice Dagenais and Roger Legault. They wished to honour Québec players and builders who had distinguished themselves on the provincial, national or international stage. A nomination process was set up to identify individuals eligible for such an honour. A Selection Committee was then formed with a mandate to evaluate the candidates and select the inductees for the inauguration of the Hall of Fame in 1996.

The 2026 Selection Committee is made up of five (5) individuals appointed by the Golf Québec Board of Directors, namely Marcel Paul Raymond (Committee Chair and President of Golf Québec from 2014 to 2016), Marie-Thérèse Torti (inducted in 2021), Lisa Meldrum (inducted in 2023), Charlie Beaulieu (President of the Fédération québécoise de golf from 2007 to 2011), and Michel St-Laurent (President of Golf Québec in 2001), as well as one (1) representative of the PGA of Canada – Québec Zone, Guy Faucher, and one (1) member selected by the Committee itself, Steven Brosseau.

About Golf Québec – Initiate passions, build dreams
Founded in 1920, Golf Québec is the provincial sports federation whose mission is to increase participation in golf, foster excellence in the sport, and promote and govern the practice of golf. Golf Québec offers programs for beginners, recreational players, and competitive athletes, as well as programs designed to develop high-level players. For more information, visit www.golfquebec.org.

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Source:

Jean-Pierre Beaulieu, outgoing Executive Director 
514 252-3345, ext. 3732 – golfquebec@golfquebec.org