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We were pleased to have Lyle Edwards and Tiffany Gordon from the Cottonwood Golf  & Country Club deliver the Opening Keynote Address focusing on client engagement before splitting up into breakout groups. We would like to thank Blair Armitage, of Golf Canada, for providing us an update on Golf Canada moving forward, as well as, NAGA – AB Board Members for their Panel Discussion Sunday morning.

The Conference finished up with the Closing Keynote Address from Kim Carrington and Carly McNaughton discussing their recent successes and their role as Alberta Golf ambassadors in the United States.

We would like to thank everyone for taking their time out of their busy lives to attend the conference, and we are very excited for an excellent upcoming season!

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Jesse joins the Alberta Golf team with an impressive background in golf. In 2011, Jesse won the Manitoba Women’s Amateur, and went on to lead Golf Manitoba’s interprovincial team at the 2011 Canadian Ladies Amateur later that summer. Golf has taken Jessie to Texas, where she was a member of the Varsity Women’s Golf Team at the Woodlands College Park High School, to the University of Iowa, and to Simon Fraser University where she is currently continuing studies in a Bachelor of Arts program, majoring in Geography. With such an extensive knowledge of the game, the transition from playing golf to working in golf should be seamless for Jessie.

As a three time National Champion in Canadian Women’s Basketball at the collegiate level, Matteke joins Alberta Golf with not only an athletic background, but with a passion for basketball and for winning in particular. After spending four seasons as a student athlete at Simon Fraser University, Matteke has taken her talents and passion for basketball overseas, competing professionally in both Portugal and Germany the last two seasons respectively.  Her outstanding interpersonal and communicative skills, combined with her ability to be successful in a team setting allow Matteke to thrive in a multitude of environments, including among others, the golf course.

Both Jessie and Matteke can be reached at the Alberta Golf office or by email at the following:

Jessie@albertagolf.org
Matteke@albertagolf.org

Please join us in welcoming Jessie and Matteke to the Alberta Golf team!

Rob Forshner
Coordinator, Rules & Competitions

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Upon arriving at the amazing Banff Centre Thursday afternoon, the Alberta Golf team checked in at the registration desk, received their lovely welcome packages, and made sure to get a good table for the Opening Plenary from Dr. J.P. Pawliw-Fry. Dr. Fry is an author, columnist, and performance coach to Olympic athletes and business leaders. He delivered a great speech entitled: Being Our Best When it Matters Most. After enjoying a wonderful supper at the Balkan restaurant, recommended by in-house Banff expert Rob Forshner, we participated in the Dessert Social and Networking event back at the Banff Centre.  During the event we had the privilege of listening to a Q & A with Olympic Gold Medalist Kallie Humphries where she shared her Olympic experiences and dreams, and the journey she took to get there. This event was also used to showcase the various partners of the summit in a tradeshow atmosphere.

Friday morning arrived very quickly as we filed into the Kinnear Centre again to listen to the Opening Keynote Speaker, Yvonne Camus. Any tired eyes were quickly woken up due to Yvonne’s passionate speech about High Performance Teamwork, which revolved around her completion of the grueling Eco-Challenge adventure race. Yvonne was followed by a second presentation from Dr. Fry discussing employee engagement, and how organizations can improve this element from within.  After an afternoon of workshops, the day ended with the Alberta Sport Recognition Awards Banquet, and Alberta Golf having the best-dressed table by far. These awards celebrated the careers of officials, coaches, volunteers, and leaders for their achievements in amateur athletics.  The Alberta Athlete of the year awards were also handed out, which recognized the achievements of several athletes in 2012.

The summit came to a close Saturday, with the final Keynote presented by Carl Honore. As we enjoyed an eclectic buffet lunch, Carl spoke about taking the time to slow down our lives, and why getting stuck in fast-forward has taken a toll on every aspect of our lives.

We would like to thank The Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks and Wildlife Foundation for putting together another great summit, and the Banff Centre for once again being tremendous hosts. We look forward to utilizing the many tools that we discovered over the weekend in our everyday lives.

2012 Alberta Athletes of the Year

Open Female: Kallie Humphries (Bobsleigh)
Open Male: Brady Leman (Ski Cross)
Junior Female: Amber Thomas (Paralympic Swimming)
Junior Male: Coby Iwaasa (Raquetball)
Team of the Year: Brendan Bottcher Rink (Curling)

Upon arriving in Vegas, Manager of Operations at Alberta Golf Jack Lane and Coordinator of Rules & Competitions Rob Forshner sought to dust off their clubs and bite their respective golf bugs at Paiute Golf Club Resort just north of Las Vegas. After successfully navigating Las Vegas Boulevard and the onramp to the Freeway, a success that would not repeat itself often,  the team was met with “hurricane” winds at Paiute that reverted their leisurely afternoon into a game of survival, and had both players wishing they had kept their clubs stored away at least for one more day.

Wednesday was a much different story as the wind subsided and the heat and sun returned to shimmer over Las Vegas. Summerlin proved to be a remarkable host as the various golf associations had a chance to play the world class golf course, sample the Chef’s fine cuisine; all while being treated graciously by Summerlin staff. Jack and Rob were joined by Trustee Tom Zariski, fresh off a visit to the hallowed grounds of Augusta National where he took in the practice rounds of the world’s greatest golfers. Despite his best efforts, Tom was unable to tame TPC at Summerlin the way the pro’s do, but nonetheless enjoyed swinging a golf club on grass after a long and seemingly endless winter in Drumheller. Other highlights of the day included Jack and Rob’s match against the formidable duo of Chris McGrath from British Columbia Golf and Derek Wideman from the Pacific Northwest Golf Association. Despite some erratic play to say the least from Rob, and some suspect putting from Jack, the guys were able to pull off a draw, and everyone went home happy.

After a lengthy sleep at the JW Marriott and a fabulous breakfast the following morning back at Summerlin, it was down to business as meetings commenced shortly after. Jack, Rob, and Tom, who will be on site to help administrate the 2013 Championship as a Trustee, represented Alberta Golf to provide support, and take part in discussion over ways to improve the event, and future planning. Executive Director of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Troy Andrew led discussion, and Kris Jonasson and the team at BC Golf provided an entertaining presentation on the venue and its surrounding amenities for the 2013 Championship that had the entire room in an uproar with laughter at times. Much of the talks were based on creating ways to recruit the best possible field for the invite only event, in order that the Championship stay in the class of top tiered events.  Afterwards, it was off to TPC Las Vegas, Tom and Rob’s favorite course of the trip, for another round in the sun. TPC Vegas was very much a desert course, but the greens and fairways were anything but brown as the course was in terrific condition and naturally, Jack was able to roll in a few putts.

It would be amiss not to mention the Las Vegas Premium Outlets North where Jack and Rob purchased quality garments at discount price, while Tom without room in his suitcase for anything more after he purchased half of Augusta National’s pro shop patiently waited for the guys to finish so they could all watch round 2 of the Masters at Caesar’s Palace, in Jack and Rob’s mind, the most impressive hotel on the Strip.

Notes about the event:

At last year’s event, Alberta Golf sent Dan Pow, Lewis Chong, and Neil Thomas to capture the team Championship that has alluded Alberta Golf since its inclusion. Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon played host as golfers were put to a formidable test against a very tough golf course aided by the elements associated with coastal links golf. In the end, the trio fell short of their quest to become the first team from Alberta to bring home the title. Alberta Golf has not been entirely shut out however as Mike Knight and Jordan Irwin delivered back to back individual titles for Alberta in 2007 & 2008.

2013 will see the 47^th playing of the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship. The Capilano Golf and Country Club and British Columbia Golf Association will host the prestigious event on July 23-26. Nestled on the North Shore of West Vancouver, Capilano is one of Canada’s finest venues having been consistently ranked in the top 10 for golf courses in Canada. Course architect Stanley Thompson combines his ability of crafting challenging and culminating holes, with the natural beauty of Capilano’s location, to produce a stunning venue and worthy host of the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship.