Last year, River Spirit Golf Club played host to Alberta Golf for the first time since the Alberta Match Play in 2019. The course saw the best female golfers in the province competing for one of the oldest and most prestigious trophies in amateur golf. In 2025, River Spirit will play host again for one of the oldest and one of the newest trophies at Alberta Golf, as it hosts the 89^th Alberta Open Championship on August 11-13.

 River Spirit Golf Club underwent a rebrand in recent years, trying to put a new spin on the game of golf. Their focus was to separate themselves from the traditional game and focus on creating community, uniqueness, integrity, and most importantly growth within the game of golf. Their 27-hole facility, paired with the scenery at the course, and their charming clubhouse allows everyday patrons to relax and unwind at this one of a kind facility. The course is no cakewalk, and will challenge the best golfers in the province with tight tee shots, a course yardage close to 7,000 yards, and a course rating of over 73.0 from the tips. While the course difficulty is one of the reasons to go back to River Spirit, their focus on growth within the game makes it the perfect host for the 89^th Alberta Open Championship.

 The Alberta Open Championship has been around since 1912 but has had plenty of cancellations throughout its history including sponsorship issues, World War 2, and low registration numbers. Despite this ‘The Open’ has remained a staple for the best male professional and amateur golfers to prove themselves, with the likes of Stan Leonard, Moe Norman, Kirk Triplett, and Wes Heffernan all competing for the trophy. With its storied history, 2025 marks the start of a new chapter with the addition of a professional and amateur women’s division, along with the women’s open component. Females with a Handicap Index of 10.0 or lower will now be able to compete without qualifying, with 40 spots being reserved for the best female golfers in the province. The professionals will be competing for a yet to be announced purse, while amateurs will be competing for a chance to play in the PNGA Women’s Amateur in 2026.

 With River Spirit as the host and the new additions to the Alberta Open, the 89^th playing of this prestigious event will be a new chapter as Alberta Golf and River Spirit continue to focus on growing the game of golf, while preserving the important traditions that lay as foundations for the sport.

Just east of Calgary, lies the stunning Chestermere Lake and the town of Chestermere. The lake draws plenty of visitors every year for a variety of summer activities including waterskiing, kayaking, and paddleboarding. This August however, the last weekend before school starts will have a new focus, the Alberta U13 & U15 Championship, hosted by Lakeside Golf Club.

The U13 & U15 Championship, previously part of the U17, U15, & U13 Championship, is for the youngest generation of golfers in the province looking to compete. Open to both male and female players, the championship is open to players who will be under the age of either 13 or 15 by August 1, 2025. This championship is the first choice for most players to experience golf at the provincial level. The separation of this age group from the U17’s allows for a less pressure filled environment for the kids, a more appropriate yardage range to play, and a clearer path for the younger generation to try their hand in competitive golf as they graduate from club programming and the McLennan Ross Alberta Junior Tour. This move will help build community amongst these young aspiring juniors as they continue to age through the system and begin playing outside tournaments together. In 2024, Camilla Ruesga-Rojas and Sela Ogada won the female U13 and U15 divisions, and Oscar Gosgnach and Bennett Love won the male U13 and U15 divisions.

Lakeside Golf Club is familiar territory for Alberta Golf, last hosting the 2020 Women’s Amateur won by Yeji Kwon, with a multitude of young Albertans finishing just behind her. The course sets up impeccably well to a variety of golfers with large greens, stunning yet difficult water features, and eight different options to tee off from, making it the perfect place to host the young but hungry juniors. The course’s full pro shop will boast plenty of options for the kids to spend their winnings and its proximity to the lake will surely offer a great post-round escape for the youth to enjoy before heading back to school on Monday.

We are excited to be hosting the new U13 & U15 Championship for 2025. We know of one of our junior members for sure will be playing in the event. I’m sure we will have a few more play, but it will depend on the cut off for their date of births. We feel like the U13 and U15’s are going to have a lot of fun playing Lakeside, and we feel that the golf course sets up well, so we are expecting some great scores. The eventual winners will probably have to have a good couple of days with the putter and over the course of two days will have to limit the amount of penalty strokes, as the water penalty areas can come into play quite often at Lakeside, especially on holes 9 & 18.

Tyler Willner, Head Professional

While August is still months away, the youngsters are surely anxious for the snow to melt to get back on the course, to the lake, and out of school. All juniors are welcome to register for this championship, with registration opening on April 1 at 9am. For players looking to try competitive golf before this event, the McLennan Ross Alberta Junior Tour offers one day events throughout the province offering a stress-free environment focused on education and fun for the kids, with top players getting an invite to compete in the newly minted Alberta U13 & U15 Championship.

Nestled in central Alberta just outside of Red Deer is one of the top public golf courses in Alberta, Alberta Springs Golf Resort. Alberta Springs is a course that requires no introduction to the junior golfers in the province, as it has played host to the Alberta U17, U15, & U13 Championship for many years, but in 2025 the course will host the first ever Alberta U17 Championship.

The Alberta U17 Championship is the stand-alone championship for the best juvenile golfers in the province under the age of 17 as of August 1. The event will be open to both male and female golfers, like years previous. It was decided to separate the event after a plethora of feedback was received from players and parents supporting the change to help with competitive development. This new change will include a lengthened yardage to better reflect the ability of Alberta’s top U17 players and serve as a more appropriate step toward the U19 Championship. An additional day will be added allowing the event to become WAGR ranked which helps with college recruiting. The U17 Championship has several well-known winners including Dustin Risdon and Heather Lee in the 90’s, and more recently Katy Rutherford and Ryan Hodgins winning their respective U17 Championships before turning pro. In 2024, it was Patrick McLarty that won the boys division with an impressive 68-66, while Saylar May continued her dominant play on the junior golf scene edging her competition by one stroke.

Alberta Springs has received numerous awards since opening in 1996. With plenty of tee boxes to choose from, superb amenities, and a stunning aquatic driving range, this course offers golfers of every level an enjoyable experience. The membership has proven to be an avid supporter of Alberta Golf with the same host club volunteers consistently offering their support in previous years, with no reason to expect different for 2025.

While the young juniors get ready for a new chance to compete for provincial golfing glory, the course will be anxiously waiting for its chance to show its teeth to the new crop of golfers, and the membership will be ready for the players with a smile and words of encouragement.

For the younger generation in Alberta, summer usually means no school, time with friends, better weather, and trips with family. For the up-and-coming golfers in the province, summer means competition season and this year one of their travel destinations is Water Valley Golf Club, the host of the 2025 U19 Championship.

 The U19 Championship combines the best 140 male and female junior golfers in the province, as they compete for their respective titles. Players must be under the age of 19 as of August 1^st that year. The event has undergone plenty of name and format changes over its history, but what has never changed is the number of great players who have ‘cut their teeth’ at this event. The likes of Jaclyn Lee, Katy Rutherford, Max Sekulic, and Hunter Thomson all won their respective U19 Championships which helped propel them to where they are today including the LPGA Tour, The PGA of Canada, PGA Tour America’s and Michigan University standout. The U19 Championship is no stranger to fireworks and 2024 was much of the same, with a female course record and a hole-in-one on Day 1, and an albatross on Day 2. Ultimately, Ryan Gillis and Sarah Armstrong won the U19 Championships in their divisions. In 2025, two new champions will be crowned as the best young stars descend on Water Valley.

 Water Valley Golf Club has been around since 1994 but has truly cemented themselves as a hidden gem of Alberta in recent years. Only 30 minutes north of Calgary, Water Valley offers a tough layout with tight tree-lined fairways that will make it hard for the juniors to “bomb and gouge” the course. The course’s newly redesigned clubhouse and community of members help the course live up to the ‘Alberta’s Jewel’ tagline. In recent years, Water Valley has played host to a variety of Alberta Golf events, including the last iteration of the Alberta Match Play in 2022 and the 2023 Women’s Amateur won by Jieming Yang. At both previous championships, the membership came out in droves to support the players, help as volunteers, and showed off the welcoming community at the club.

 As the membership anxiously awaits the snow to melt and the arrival of the golf season, the juniors will continue their off-season preparation with their sights set firmly on Water Valley and a chance to propel their golf careers.

In 2025, there are plenty of courses celebrating milestones, but none are bigger than the 100-year anniversary being celebrated by Lacombe Golf & Country Club. As part of this celebration, Alberta Golf is pleased to announce them as the host of the 2025 Men’s Mid-Master Championship.

The Men’s Mid-Master Championship started in 2015 but separated into its own event in 2020 and has become one of Alberta Golf’s most popular events. In 2023, the event format was changed from a two-day to a three-day competition. Last year, Trestle Creek Golf Resort played host to the event, which saw Chris Thayer win the event, beating Brian Laubman by 6 strokes. The Men’s Mid-Master Championship is open to male players aged 40 and above, as of the first day of the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship.

Lacombe Golf & Country Club is one of the top courses in central Alberta, but has only hosted the U19 Girls Championship, first in 1989 won by Brenda Wigord, and then in 2004 which was won by Susan Nam. Lacombe’s storied history began in the early 1900’s with golfers bashing balls around sheep pastures. In 1914, these golfers moved to the McCauley sheep pasture, which is the current site of LGCC. After the First World War, a club was formed with a permanent nine-hole course established. In March 1925, Lacombe Golf & Country Club became a registered joint stock company. It wasn’t until 1958 when the second nine holes were approved and in 1960 the 18-hole track was officially opened. The next 65 years saw the course and clubhouse continually improve and is now set to host the 2025 Men’s Mid-Master Championship.

Weston Gillett, head professional at Lacombe Golf & Country Club, is excited to have Alberta Golf as part of their celebrations, and so are the members with many of them showing interest in playing in the event already. “The club’s history is one of great pride for our members with many of them being here a long time and making this place their second home” remarked Weston. In addition to the Mid-Master Championship, the course has lots planned at the course and within the community this summer to celebrate.

“We have plans to host a public only community day where we will be hosting a shotgun to outside players only with a green fee of $19.25 to showcase our facility to our great community of Lacombe and Central AB. We will also be hosting the following weekend a gala and golf day for our members to commemorate our anniversary. Last summer we participated in the Lacombe Days Parade to bring awareness of our 100-year anniversary and plan to participate this year as well. We have a committee that has been working very hard on all these projects as well as funding towards a centennial project that is still to be determined. Also, we are currently just starting an extensive renovation to our restaurant and lounge that will be completed towards the start of the golf season that is in line with our celebrations!” – Weston Gillett

 Registration for the 2025 Men’s Mid-Master opens on April 1^st and Lacombe Golf & Country Club patiently awaits to write another chapter in their history books with the 2025 Men’s Mid-Master Championship on the horizon.

Sundre Golf Club, a hidden gem in Central Alberta will once again play host to the Alberta Best Ball Championship in 2025. The Best Ball Championship will be played on May 19^th this year. With two successful years in the books, this event has become a fan favourite as a great way to open the season and get an early competitive round under players’ belts. In 2023, the field was only 100 players, and in 2024 registration grew to a full filed event of 120 with a great mix of players of different ages.

The format will remain the same to years previous, with players competing as a two-person team and each player playing their own ball. The team will then take the better score of the two balls played on each hole. The upside of this format early in the season allows for a partner to pick up their ball and not finish the hole if they don’t intend to use that ball on the scorecard. The two-person team can be any gender or any age, with males and females playing from different tees. Additionally, there is a net and gross division that teams are competing in.

In 2024, the gross division was decided by a sudden-death playoff in the rain between Team McKinlay and Team Graf, with Carter and Logan Graf of the Red Deer Golf & Country Club emerging victorious. The net division was won by Matt Clark and Tyler Kirk of the Leduc Golf & Country Club.

Sundre Golf Club is a great partner of Alberta Golf, and along with hosting the Best Ball recently hosted the rain shortened Alberta Open in 2022 which was won by Ethan Choi, and low professional honours going to Stefan Cox. The course offers a variety of unique challenges with exquisite water features, speedy greens, and tree-lined fairways. This, combined with their wide range yardages lends itself to nearly any championship Alberta Golf has to offer.

Scott Shouldice, Director of Golf at Sundre Golf Club, has hosted plenty of events in his time at Sundre including a U.S. Women’s Amateur Qualifier and in 2025 will have a Canadian Open qualifier. The reviews of the course are always positive, and he’s seen how versatile the course can be in terms of hosting with its central location, difficult tee shots, undulating greens, and the pace of play. The Best Ball is no different in his eyes.

“For hosting the best ball championship, I believe the reason our course is perfect for this event is the layout of the course.  As I said earlier, it is a very challenging course, and any mistakes punish you severely.  With a best ball format though, even if one player makes a mistake and is out of the hole, the other player can bail them out.  If both players don’t make a mistake on the same hole, then they will score well.” – Scott Shouldice

Registration opens for all 2025 events on April 1^st and Alberta Golf looks forward to another successful championship season.

Pictured from left to right: Jimmy Cowan, Rhys Royer, Eric Allard and Peter Slade (Earl Grey Golf Club).

Earl Grey Golf Club celebrates a historic 2016 Alberta Interclub Championship win, two strokes ahead of the competition

After a tiebreaker, Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club claimed the net title

Canmore, Alta. (Alberta Golf) – It was a well-earned win for Earl Grey Golf Club at the 2016 Alberta Interclub Championship. The team – comprised of Jimmy Cowan, Eric Allard, Peter Slade and Rhys Royer – carded a tournament total of -4, 209, two strokes ahead of Country Hills Golf Club. Each member of the team played well, with a total of 12 birdies between them.

After chalking up numerous Calgary Interclub Championships, Earl Grey Golf Club celebrated a ‘first’ as a team. The great play earned the club a historic victory, marking their first Alberta Interclub Champion title.

Country Hills Golf Club (a four-time champion of the Alberta Interclub Championship) came close to another title, but fell short two strokes to claim second place with -2, 211.

In the net division, Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club and Silver Springs Golf & Country Club were tied for first place. After the tiebreaking procedure, Priddis Greens was announced as the 2016 Alberta Interclub Net Champions. Bryan Shettler, Pat Deis, Ken Brown and Mike Lukawitski carded a team total of -2, 211 for the win.

Pictured: Bryan Shettler, Pat Deis, Ken Brown and Mike Lukawitski (Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club).

TOP 10 – GROSS LEADER BOARD

For the full leader board,

click here.

TOP 10 – NET LEADER BOARD

For the full leader board,

click here.

For photographs from the championship, click here.

Herb Fung/ Golf Canada

NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. – An unrelenting heat continued to envelop the Grand Niagara Golf Club during the second round of the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship. A trio of Albertans emerged victorious in the inter-provincial team competition, while John Gallacher claimed the Super Senior national title.

Camrose, Alta., native Frank Van Dornick began the day with a share of 19th, but vaulted up the leaderboard with six birdies on the day, including four across a bogey-free back nine, en route to a 4-under 68.

“My round was fairly steady,” said Van Dornick. “I haven’t been hitting it very well, so I was just trying to manage the golf course as best I could. Today, I hit a lot of decent irons, I actually made a lot of putts, and that was the difference.”

The performance propelled Team Alberta to a nine-stroke victory after entering the day two shots back of Manitoba. Teammates David Schultz of Calgary and Brian Brown from Nanton carded rounds of 1-under and 2-under, respectively. Team Manitoba claimed second, while the squad representing British Columbia came third.

“Historically, we’ve been in the hunt, but we don’t always win, of course,” reflected Van Dornick. “When we do, it’s always very special. This is Brian’s first year and David and I go back 25-30 years, so I’ve known David an awfully long time. I think it was really nice for Brian to not only be a part of this, but also play as well as he has to date. I think you’ll see a lot more of Brian in the future.”

Van Dornick was pensive when asked about his fellow competitors and the unique nature of this national championship.

“A lot of these guys, we’ve gone through illnesses together; we know what everyone’s had in the past. The ones that have survived and can continue to compete and still find joy in the competition, they’re the ones we still see. Our hats are off to the ones that are unable to do that for health reasons. We’ve made a lot of friends nationwide as a result of these competitions and all of these friendships are very special.”

At 2-under 142, Van Dornick holds a share of second alongside first-round leader Michael Mercier of Juno Beach, Fla., and Garth Collings of Matlock, Man. The trio trails Las Vegas native Brady Exber by a single stroke. The 60-year-old Exber is playing in his third consecutive Canadian Men’s Senior Championship with his best finish being a runner-up result in 2014.

Back-to-back 72s have earned Burnaby, B.C., product John Gallacher the Super Senior title. The 65-year-old closed the round with nine straight pars to win the 65-and-over division by six strokes. A trio of Albertans in Howard Broun (Calgary), Merv Dusyk (Sylvan Lake) and Ron Kelly (Calgary) tied for second.

A total of 77 players finished 155-or-better to advance to the final two rounds of the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship. The winner will receive an exemption into the 2016 U.S. Senior Amateur championship to be contested at Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis, Mo., from September 17-22.

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This article was originally published in the 2016 edition of The Alberta Golfer Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.

Are you an Alberta Golf member, male or female, aged 19 or over? Are you looking for a fun-filled, 36-hole tournament at one of Alberta’s most interesting golf courses? Are you perhaps a bit nervous about entering an Alberta Golf championship, but want to give competitive golf a try in a low-stress atmosphere?

Well, have we got a tournament for YOU! The inaugural Alberta Net Amateur Championship will be held August 30-31, 2016 at the sensational Dinosaur Trail Golf Club in Drumheller. The 36-hole event is open to both men and women and will be in a Stableford format, with full handicap allowances in the net scoring system. Many of the entrants for the Net Amateur are expected to be relatively inexperienced in competing in Alberta Golf championships, so the Stableford scoring format will eliminate the worry about having to complete every hole, regardless of the number of strokes you might take.

Rob Forshner, manager, rules and competitions for Alberta Golf, talked about the newest event on the Alberta Golf tournament schedule. “We think the Net Amateur has the potential to be one of our most popular events.” Forshner said. “We have thousands of Alberta Golf members who perhaps aren’t quite skilled or confident enough to enter the men’s or ladies amateur championships or even the seniors or mid-am events, but still want to feel part of the Alberta Golf community.

“We have added the Net Amateur Championship to our tournament schedule this year to help give these players an event in which they can feel comfortable. We fully expect that over time, the Net Amateur will become one of Alberta Golf’s most popular tournaments.”

There is no question that the host venue, Dinosaur Trail Golf Club, provides an outstanding site for the first Net Amateur Championship. The front nine is a parkland style, tree-lined fairway traditional course, but the back nine is where the course has earned its reputation as one of Alberta’s most scenic venues, as the holes twist and turn through spectacular hoodoos.

This article was originally published in the 2016 edition of The Alberta Golfer Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.

Written by Dunc Mills, Executive Director, The McLennan Ross Junior Golf Tour

Tour Talk

This article was originally published in the 2016 edition of The Alberta Golfer Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.

When the McLennan Ross Junior Golf Tour, Presented by Crowe MacKay, was founded twenty years ago, one of the main goals of the Tour was to help grow the game of golf in Alberta by providing a platform for aspiring young Albertans to start to get their feet wet in the world of tournament golf. As the Tour enters its 21st season this year, I think it is fair to say that the Tour has more than accomplished that goal as tens of thousands of juniors have entered tournaments over the last two decades and many of them are now introducing their own children to our wonderful sport.

One of the most unique and heart- warming ‘grow the game’ initiatives in Alberta golf circles came to light last summer after receiving a phone call from Jim Fraser, the CPGA Head Golf Professional at Eagle Point GC in Wabasca. Eagle Point is a terrific new nine-hole course located about a two- hour drive north of Athabasca and serves the hamlet of Wabasca/Desmarais and the entire Municipal District of Opportunity, Alberta’s third-largest M.D.

Fraser has been the head pro at the tree-lined Puddicombe Golf designed layout since the course opened in August, 2013. Fraser said in his call that he had some very enthusiastic, but inexperienced young juniors. All were from the aboriginal community of Wabasca/Desmarais and had been learning golf over the past couple of summers. He felt they were now ready to expand their horizons by entering a junior golf tournament.

“It has been very interesting and very rewarding working with these boys and girls the past couple of years,” said the personable Fraser, who had previously been the head pro at the Smoky Lake GC for five years. “In 2013 when the course opened, we started out from ground zero. We had a brand new golf course and a fabulous clubhouse, but no members and no juniors.”

Fraser tirelessly went about the task of building a membership base, both by recruiting kids from the school system in the community and introducing adults to golf as well. The club offered very affordable family passes designed to get youth and adults alike interested in taking up golf.

“We have a small, but very dedicated core of volunteers here in the community who were already golfers, and they helped tremendously in both getting these youngsters involved and encouraging adults to learn the game as well,” Fraser said. “It was a steep learning curve for these kids, and for some of the adults,
too. We had to coach them in everything from basic swing mechanics to things like keeping up a proper pace of play, course etiquette and even learning to play from the appropriate tees!”

Once the juniors started to improve, Fraser thought it was time for them to spread their wings, and last August, he and some volunteers accompanied ten budding stars to the McLennan Ross Tour event at Blackhawk GC in Edmonton. Talk about jumping into the deep end of the pool to get your golf careers started!

The kids were nervous of course and needed some help at first with things like how to use a tournament scorecard, which other more experienced juniors perhaps take for granted. But they behaved beautifully, competed hard, and made many new friends among the other competitors. Fraser said the kids and the entire community couldn’t stop talking about the experience afterwards.

“The kids had a great time,” he continued. “It was a fantastic experience for them and a nice reward for all the hard work they have put in learning to play.” This summer, Fraser hopes that the Eagle Point juniors will be competing in several McLennan Ross events over the summer.

We have a full slate of 25 Tour events on the 2016 schedule leading up to the 21st annual Tour Championship at Wolf Creek Golf Resort on August 29, 2016. Our corporate partners in the Tour, led by the law firm of McLennan Ross, our Presenting Sponsor Crowe MacKay, and the rest of our roster of partners, have been critically important to the ongoing success of the Tour. Thanks must also go to the clubs that host Tour events as well as the parents and families who support their kids’ participation. See you on Tour this summer!

Tour Talk

This article was originally published in the 2016 edition of The Alberta Golfer Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.