Alberta Golf Supports National Off-Course Golf Strategy to Grow the Game Year-Round
Aligned with Golf Canada’s newly launched national off-course strategy, Alberta Golf is proud to champion and connect with the expanding off-course golf community across the province.
Alberta Golf & Golf Canada endorse and support all forms of golf and are encouraging Canadians to experience the game year-round through off-course golf experiences.
These experiences include golf simulators, driving ranges, short game areas, mini golf, virtual reality golf and golf-themed video games that all provide opportunities to engage with the sport year-round. Complementing traditional green grass golf, off-course golf provides a continuity of golf experiences that can welcome new individuals into the sport in ways that best fit their lifestyle.
For Golf Canada’s Chief Marketing Officer Tim McLaughlin, the campaign is about having a presence wherever and however golf is being enjoyed.
“There has been an explosion in off-course golf options in our country, most notably golf simulators, and Golf Canada is excited to officially launch our off-course strategy. This initiative is reflective of the reality that an increasing number of Canadians are now participating in golf activity year-round in non-traditional venues like simulator facilities. Off-course golf has the potential to be transformational for our sport, combining fun and realistic golf experiences with affordable options that are accessible 12 months a year,” said McLaughlin. “This strategy acknowledges the way that Canadians are engaging with the game is evolving, and our intention is to create a greater connection between these new off-course formats and the broader golf landscape.”
As part of this strategy, Alberta Golf and Golf Canada are introducing a new Facility Membership Program designed specifically for off-course operators. Through this program off-course facilities will now be able to become official members of Golf Canada and have the ability to promote their operations to Canada’s largest and most engaged golf audience. Through this membership, facility owners gain new opportunities to boost participation, enhance engagement, and enjoy a range of valuable, year-round benefits.
It will also be easier for Canadians to find places to play off course. A comprehensive digital program promoting off-course golf will connect Canadians to Official Member Facilities of Golf Canada. Golfers will soon be able to log and track their off-course activity at simulators in the Golf Canada app beginning in early December. For more information or to download Canada’s number one golf app, click here.
The Just Swing campaign will support Golf Canada’s complete off-course strategy to have a presence wherever golf is being played. The campaign encourages Canadians to discover golf, anywhere, anytime and Just Swing, highlighting the many benefits the game can provide. This campaign is designed to re-frame perceptions of the sport by driving understanding that whether you pick up a club on a golf course or a simulator its all golf. The hope is to position the sport in a new way, particularly for new audiences who aren’t currently active golfers.
For more information on the Just Swing campaign, the benefits of off-course golf or to find a location near you, please visit golfcanada.ca/justswing.
Helpful Links
Long-Term Player Development Guides
One of Alberta Golf’s key objectives with the High Performance Program is to identify and support players reach their developmental and competitive goals, while providing guidance in securing a post-secondary golf scholarship. The Program aims to achieve this through supporting athletes, coaches, parents, and facilities through a tiered identification program that provides developmental training opportunities, appropriate competition, parent support, and funding for players who qualify.
As part of this objective, Alberta Golf has worked to create two important documents to help young players understand their growth within competitive golf, and help provide a roadmap for players or parents to follow when looking at performance standards and key development principles. These documents have been created using Golf Canada’s Long-Term Player Development Guide (LTPD) and has been structured to focus primarily on what Alberta’s competitive landscape has to offer. To see Golf Canada’s LTPD and all the resources available, head to the Player Development page.
Junior Golf Developmental Roadmap
The Junior Golf Developmental Roadmap helps guide young golfers in finding the right playing opportunities based on their experience and skill level, while also providing a pathway for future growth in the game. The Junior Golf Developmental Roadmap comes complete with age ranges, objectives of each stage, key concepts, and resources for parents and players to understand where they are and the next steps.
Junior Golf Developmental Roadmap
High Performance Competitive Roadmap
The High Performance Competitive Roadmap provides junior players with a guide from club-level events to competing and excelling at the national level, helping players navigate development opportunities and reach their full potential. This document has each LTPD stage referenced allowing parents or players to understand which stage they are in based on the Junior Golf Developmental Roadmap and what events they should be playing in.
High Performance Competitive Roadmap
Alberta Golf is committed to helping juniors across the province achieve their competitive goals. These documents will help provide clarity for players and parents across the province on where they are now, what they need to do to improve, and where the next opportunity for growth is.
2025 Alberta Golf Board of Directors elected. 2024 Annual Report released.
Alberta Golf (Calgary) The 2025 Annual General Meeting of the Voting Members of the Alberta Golf Association was held virtually on Thursday March 20.
2024 saw a strong year for golf in the province where Alberta Golf eclipsed 60,000 members, 30 High Performance athletes and 14 coaches received $55,000 in funding, while 2,200 golfers competed in Alberta Golf championships. 1,500 juniors played in our affordable McLennan Ross Alberta Junior Tour while we also cemented our relationship with title sponsor McLennan Ross LLP through the 2027 season. Participation in our grassroots Youth on Course program soared from 1,500 kids in 2023 to 3,000 in 2024, with subsidized rounds of $5 golf also doubling from 8,000 in 2023 to over 16,000 in 2024. We had more activations than ever in our recreational UpSwing brand that now has 4,000 golfers and 14 courses took advantage of our Upswing grant program. Our Hall of Fame and Volunteer initiatives also grew in 2024. Entry points in the game of golf for everyone has never been greater as we head into the 2025 season and beyond.
Subsequent to the AGM, the Board of Directors met and the following officers were named:
OFFICERS
President: Brent Bailey
Vice President: Kendra Koss
Treasurer: Ross Nesbitt
Secretary: Chris Leach
Brent Bailey starts his third year as President after taking over from Mark Bamford in 2023 who provided Alberta Golf with two successful years of leadership, where a continued emphasis was placed on diversifying the Association’s many relationships and enhancing its governance structure.
Brent Bailey, a retired Scotia McLeod Investment Advisor, is well known in most provincial golf circles as a result of his strong competitive play spanning several decades. The past president of the Windermere G&CC has won multiple Club Championships, won the 1971 Alberta Junior Championship, was a member of 3 Alberta junior teams and represented Alberta nationally as a member of the Willingdon Cup Team in 1973.
FULL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Brent Bailey: Windermere Golf & Country Club (Edmonton)
Mark Bamford: Glendale Golf & Country Club (Edmonton)
Jennifer Biernaskie: Public Players Club (Calgary)
Kim Carrington: Cottonwood Golf & Country Club (De Winton)
Ken Knowles: Windermere Golf & Country Club (Edmonton)
Kendra Koss: Earl Grey Golf Club (Calgary)
Chris Leach: Valley Ridge Golf Club (Calgary)
Lorraine Moster: Public Players Club (Edmonton)
Ross Nesbitt: Public Players Club (Okotoks)