In the history of competitive golf in Manitoba, few have dominated the amateur scene as did R.J. “Bobby” Reith from 1930-50. Reith came to Canada from England in 1928 at the age of 13. His golfing prowess was developed by both his grandfather and father Charlie.

Bobby Reith began his golfing career at the Assiniboine Golf Club where his father was the professional. By the time he was 15 he had captured the Manitoba Junior Golf Championship and was a member of the Willingdon Trophy team. In all, he made six appearances on the prestigious Willingdon foursome.

Two years later in 1932, at the age of 17, Bobby Reith was already known as “the Boy Wonder” of Manitoba golf and won his first of five provincial amateur titles (1932-33-35-36-37). That same year he captured the Manitoba Open title as well, his first of four. He won the coveted championship again in 1934, defended his crown in 1935 and remarkably won it again at the close of his amateur career in 1950. Bobby Reith was also a medalist in the 1933 Canadian Amateur and reached the final of the national championship in 1936, losing out to the famous Freddie Haas, Jr. of New Orleans (later successful on the U.S. PGA tour).

In 1950 Reith followed in his father's footsteps as pro at Assiniboine for two years. He served as an assistant pro in Detroit and Minneapolis (the latter of which he took over as head pro in 1959 until his retirement a few years ago). A brief stint on the PGA tour was enough to convince Reith that it was not his style of living.

Highly regarded by the Minnesota section of the PGA, Reith was named both “pro of the month” and “pro of the year” in that state.