Alberta Golf (Edmonton) – After round one of the 2024 Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship it’s a tightly packed leaderboard with 8 players leading or within 1 shot of the lead on an overcast but mostly calm day at The Derrick Golf and Winter Club. Brett Jones, Graedon Woodward, Devin Kucy and Kieran Standen all shot 2-under 68 to share the lead while Cole Bergheim, Brandon Markiw, Guillermo Salazar Jr and Mike Mezei all shot rounds of 1-under 69 to sit one shot back.  

FULL LEADERBOARD HERE

2ND ROUND TEE TIMES HERE

This is the first Alberta Golf Provincial Championship held at The Derrick Golf and Winter Club since the 2019 Alberta Senior Men’s Championship won by Ken Griffith.

WATCH INTERVIEW WITH THE DERRICK HEAD PROFESSIONAL TREVOR GOPLIN 

AERIAL VIEW OF THE DERRICK GOLF AND WINTER CLUB

Round 2 starts at 8am on Wednesday and the low 60 + ties will make the cut for Thursday’s final round. 

Alberta Golf (Entwistle) –  Calm sunny day in Entwistle for the final round of the 2024 Alberta Men’s Mid-Master Championship at Trestle Creek Golf Resort. Chris Thayer, from Denver, in Alberta on a work trip settled in very nicely at Trestle Creek and navigated the course with rounds of 69, 70 and a final round 72 for 5-under par and a 6 stroke victory.

WATCH INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS THAYER

Brian Laubman from Highlands Golf Club in Edmonton tied for 2nd with Tom McKinlay Jr. from Lacombe. Laubman jugged an eagle from the back bunker on the par 5 17th hole, the shot of the championship!

WATCH BRIAN LAUBMAN’S EAGLE 

Thanks to Alvin Clark, Mike Lewis, Art New, Kevin Douglas and all of the volunteers at Trestle Creek for a fantastic week.

RESULTS IN ALL CATEGORIES HERE

Alberta Golf (Entwistle) – A sunny calm day at Trestle Creek Golf Resort for the 2nd round of the 2024 Alberta Men’s Mid-Master Championship. Christopher Thayer started slow but went 6-under par in an 8 hole stretch and posted a 2-under par 70 for 5-under par for the championship and a 2 stroke lead over Tom McKinlay Jr. who carded 4 birdies and 3 bogeys for a 1-under par round of 71.

Chasing Thayer and McKinlay Jr. are Brian Laubman and Grant Oh. Laubman was runner-up at the 2019 Alberta Men’s Senior Championship while Oh won the 2020 Alberta Men’s Senior Championship.

  Click here for the complete leaderboard, including the leaders in the 40-49, the 50-59, and the 60+ divisions.

 Click here for Final Round Tee Times.

Entwistle, AB – The day started with a frost delay, but that didn’t stop the players from heating up on the golf course as the first round of the 2024 Men’s Mid-Master Championship got underway today at Trestle Creek Golf Resort.

Chris Thayer, who came up from the United States for the championship, is tied after Day 1 for the lead with an impressive score of 3 under 69 complete with 6 birdies. Tied with Thayer at the top is Grant Oh, who won both the 2020 Men’s Mid-Master Championship and the 2020 Men’s Senior Championship.

Looking down the leaderboard to the top 10, plenty of contenders are within shouting distance of the leaders. Tom McKinlay Jr, the 2017 Men’s Mid-Master Champion sits in solo third. The defending Men’s Senior Champion, James Varnam, sits alone in 4^th with solid 1 under 71. Three players sit tied in 5^th at 72, including Brian Laubman who helped the Men’s Senior Interprovincial team defend their title at the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship this past fall.

  Click here for the complete leaderboard, including the leaders in the 40-49, the 50-59, and the 60+ divisions.

 Round 2 gets underway tomorrow at 8am with another double crossover at Trestle Creek Golf Resort. After play, the field will be cut to the top 60 players + ties.

 Click here for Round 2 Tee Times.

2024 Newsletter: The Summer Swing

THE 2024 GOLF SEASON IS WELL UNDERWAY

Alberta Golf qualifiers have all wrapped up and competitions are set to begin. Our youth initiatives and recreational events are well underway across Alberta. From our Championships, High Performance program, Youth on Course, UpSwing brand, all ages and levels of ability are golfing more than ever. Please enjoy the following content on all that Alberta Golf has been working on leading up to a full summer of events across the province in 2024.

ALBERTA GOLF 2024 OPERATING COUNCIL MEETING

Alberta Golf held it’s Spring Operating Council Meeting at Earl Grey Golf Club which is hosting this year’s CPKC Canadian Women’s Open on the LPGA Tour. The meeting brought together leaders from all segments of the golf industry as well as sharp minds from other industries to talk about the state of the game. The GEO Foundation for sustainable golf also joined in via video call from Scotland.

ALBERTA GOLF 2024 CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Alberta Golf started the season with our Best Ball Championship at Sundre Golf Club with Carter and Logan Graf taking the title. Please take a look at the 2024 Alberta Golf Championship Schedule.

Alberta Golf 2024 Championship Schedule

ALBERTA GOLF 2024 MCLENNAN ROSS ALBERTA JUNIOR TOUR SCHEDULE

The McLennan Ross Alberta Junior Tour has 26 events this season including 2 new events in Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie.

Find out more about the 26 events on this learn to compete junior tour below.

2024 McLennan Ross Alberta Junior Tour Schedule

THIRD ANNUAL TOM BYERS JUNIOR GOLF DAY

On Sunday May 17, Inglewood Golf & Curling Club hosted the third annual Tom Byers Junior Golf Day. 80 kids aged 6-15 discovered the game of golf, got 90 minutes of instruction from PGA of Alberta professionals and then a fun BBQ. Alberta Golf & UpSwing partnered with Kids Up Front and The Calgary Flames Alumni Association to support junior golf all in the name of Lanny McDonald’s brother-in-law who passed away in 2020. Nothing made Tom Byers happier than seeing junior golfers enjoy the game and the event was a great tribute to the former Inglewood member. Calgary Flames Alumni Lanny McDonald, Colin Patterson, Perry Berezan and Tim Hunter were on hand to support the amazing day.

UPSWING BY ALBERTA GOLF

UpSwing by Alberta Golf had a great start to the season with initial events in Banff, Stewart Creek, and Crowsnest Pass.

The UpSwing platform is growing as we welcome new players and events each week.

Check out the UpSwing website and find your fun!

UpSwing website here

24 COURSES INVOLVED IN 2024 YOUTH ON COURSE PROGRAM. ALBERTA GOLF / YOUTH ON COURSE NAMED CHARITY PARTNER OF ATB CLASSIC

Youth on Course is breaking down barriers and getting kids on golf courses across the province for $5 or less. We had 8,500 rounds last season in the province with 1,400 unique participants and Alberta Golf / Youth on Course has once again been named the beneficiary of the ATB Classic on PGA Tour Americas June 27-30 at Northern Bear Golf Club in Sherwood Park. Find out more about Youth on Course below.

2024 Alberta Golf Youth on Course program

COURSE RATING IN ALBERTA

Alberta Golf has a team of course raters busy rating courses across the province each season. Your golf course can be re-rated once a decade.

Learn more about course rating here

2024 ALBERTA GOLF BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTED.

2023 ANNUAL REPORT RELEASED

The 2024 Annual General Meeting of the Voting Members of the Alberta Golf Association was held virtually on Wednesday March 27. Subsequent to the AGM, the Board of Directors met and the officers were named.

READ HERE: 2024 ALBERTA GOLF BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTED

ALBERTA GOLF SUPPORTS 103 ATHLETES IN THE 2024 HIGH PERFORMANCE PROGRAM

The Athlete Development Program is designed to support athletes across the province by providing programs and services that ultimately help them reach their competitive goals in the sport. Support is provided to athletes, coaches, and facilities who are committed to developing the game of golf in the province of Alberta. Alberta Golf has 2 athletes in the Tier 4 program, 28 in Tier 3 and 73 in the Tier 2 program.

2024 Athlete Development Bios. Meet the Athletes here.

ALBERTA GOLF’S NEW FOCUS ON PACE OF PLAY

With pace of play being a common issue in golf, read about Alberta Golf’s focus and plans to tackle it in 2024.

About Alberta Golf’s Pace of Play Initiative

ALBERTA GOLF HAS A NEW HERITAGE AND HALL OF FAME WEBSITE

Alberta Golf has a new Heritage and Hall of Fame website to celebrate our past which dates back to 1912. Please check out the new website and it’s content below.

ALBERTAGOLFHERITAGE.ORG

2024 CHRISTA SPAHMANN MEMORIAL GOLF SCRAMBLE AND GAL PALS GIRL’S GOLF CLINIC

If you’re in the Lethbridge area make sure to check out the 2024 Gal Pals Girl’s Golf Clinic at the Lethbridge Country Club and the Christa Spahmann Memorial Golf Tournament at Henderson Lake Golf Club, both to honour the late Christa Spahmann and her Memorial Scholarship Fund.

2024 ALBERTA GOLF SAFE

SPORT POLICY

Alberta Golf is aligned with Golf Canada and Respect Group and is fully committed to fostering a Safe Sport environment for golf.

2024 Alberta Golf Safe Sport Policy

 ALBERTA GOLF FOUNDATION

The Alberta Golf Association Foundation was established in 1994 and is focused on supporting students on their path to pursue a post-secondary education. In 2022 the foundation awarded $70,500 to deserving scholarship applicants. The 2024 scholarship application is open now.

Scholarship Overview

FOLLOW ALBERTA GOLF ON SOCIAL MEDIA

You can follow us as always on Instagram and X/Twitter but we also have a brand new Facebook page you can check out as well.

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/people/Alberta-Golf/61556008408332/

INSTAGRAM: @Alberta_Golf https://www.instagram.com/alberta_golf/

X/TWITTER: @Alberta_Golf  https://twitter.com/Alberta_Golf

It’s only 155 yards to the pin. But, standing on the elevated tee with a gusty Chinook wind howling in my face, I’m contemplating hitting a four-iron. This is crazy, I think. I’ve never hit a four-iron from 155. Nonetheless, I grab it out of the bag, try to steady myself over the ball, and hit it crisp. I immediately say “get down!” But it’s the wrong command. My ball balloons in the wind and plunges into the front-right bunker, ten yards short of the green. The 12th at Paradise Canyon – one of Alberta’s great par-3s – has burned me again.

With its stunning badlands setting along the Old Man River, the Paradise Canyon Golf Resort in Lethbridge is, in terms of the overall golf experience, easily in Alberta’s upper class. The par-71, 6,810-yard course, which was designed by Alberta architect Bill Newis, isn’t long by contemporary standards. However, throw in deep bunkers, heavy mounding, tiered greens, ball-hungry badlands, the Oldman River – and, yes, plenty of that famous southern Alberta wind – and the average player is going to have their hands full at Paradise Canyon. Even the shortest hole on the course – the infamous 12th – can be a diabolical little test.

12th hole: Paradise Canyon Golf Resort

“In spring and fall, the winds here can easily get up to 80 or 90 km/hr,” says Superintendent, Kelly Thorson. “Although the green on the 12th is not small, choosing the right club and flighting the ball correctly is paramount. Club selection can be anywhere from a sand wedge to a four-iron.” Speaking from my experience playing the course (probably a couple dozen rounds, or so, over the years), some days it feels like a rocket launcher might be the only weapon that’ll get you to the green.

Similar to the previous hole – the drivable par-4 11th – a miss on the 12th can be disastrous. Two massive bunkers (a third bunker behind the green was damaged in the late 90s and was subsequently removed), a steep slope behind the green that funnels balls into the river, deep fescue grass to the left, and dry-as-a-bone badlands to the right can make your up-and-down a difficult – or next to impossible – proposition. And, of course, the 100-foot elevation change from tee to green always adds a degree of “doubt” in every golfer’s mind.

That said, the 12th, when it’s calm, is definitely a birdie hole. With just a wedge in your hand and a relatively spacious target, it’s a “green light” special when “the fan” is in the off position. But, regardless of the wind conditions, it’s certainly a hole that you’ll be looking forward to at the start of every round.

“People often ask me which is the favourite of all the courses I have designed,” says architect Bill Newis, who was recently inducted into the Alberta Golf Hall of Fame. “However, my answer is always the same. I don’t have a favourite course. But I do have favourite holes. And the 12th at Paradise Canyon is definitely one of them.”

(Throughout his 50-year career, Newis has designed or renovated over 60 golf courses, most of which are in Alberta. Cottonwood, Bearspaw, Priddis Greens, and Redwood Meadows are a few of his other notable designs.)

WATCH VIDEO: BILL NEWIS INDUCTED INTO ALBERTA GOLF HALL OF FAME

“I’ve always enjoyed designing par-3 holes,” says Newis. “Elevated tees, which allow you to have a birds-eye view of all the elements in play, are always a welcome feature. Bold bunkering, water hazards, and interesting natural features, like badlands, are other things I like to incorporate, if possible. The 12th at Paradise Canyon has all of these. And the view from the tee, looking west down the Old Man River Valley, is outstanding. It’s a special hole.”

Without a doubt, it is the captivating beauty of this unique southern Alberta setting that will leave the most lasting impression. The beautiful river, the broad water-carved valley, the badlands, it’s just a beautiful location for golf. And, of course, for heavy Chinook winds coming off the mountains to the west!

“During our first winter in the early 90s, all of the sand blew out of the bunkers on 12,” remembers Thorson. “Ever since then we’ve tarped the bunkers there to keep the sand from blowing away. Sometimes you just have to learn lessons the hard way, I guess.”

Most likely, the first time you play this hole in the wind, you’ll have to learn a lesson the hard way as well.

Alberta Golf (Kananaskis) – Kananaskis Country Golf Course once again will play host to the finale of the Alberta Golf competitive schedule, the Alberta Interclub Championship on September 3. Kananaskis is one of the top golf courses in Canada often finding itself in the Score Golf Magazine top 100 courses. It boasts two beautiful championship courses named after the mountains surrounding it, Mt Kidd and Mt Lorette.

3rd hole: Mount Lorette Course

The course was opened in 1983 and was originally an Alberta Golf intiative led by Hall of Fame player and former president Keith Alexander. Keith lobbied the support of the government and was able to secure Robert Trent Jones Sr as the architect.

Read more about this story here in the Alberta Golfer Centennial Magazine.

The course was heavily damaged by flood in 2013 which led to a 5-year restoration project led by renowned course designer Gary Browning, the current courses and layout re-opened to the public in May of 2018. 

Since 1983, Kananaskis has been the host of the Interclub, which saw the Highlands secure the inaugural victory. The Women’s interclub was added more recently in 2018 with Inglewood winning. The Interclub acts as a fun event to finish the season for the players, while the clubs are battling for provincial bragging rights. The Men’s side has only a gross competition while the Women’s championship offers both a gross and a net competition. In 2023, Willow Park Golf & Country Club swept the gross competition on both sides, while Mickelson National Golf Club won the Women’s Net portion of the event.

Willow Park Golf & Country Club: Men’s and Women’s team sweep 2023 Interclub

Alberta Golf (Sundre) – The 2024 Alberta Golf championship season is off a running after the completion of the one day Alberta Best Ball Championship on a cold wet day at Sundre Golf Club. 

In the championship gross competition Red Deer brothers Logan and Carter Graf finished at 5-under-par in a tie with Lacombe’s Brady McKinlay and his uncle Tom McKinlay Jr. Playing the 18th hole (The first playoff hole) Carter Graf drove just short of the green and got up and down for birdie and the victory.  

2024 Alberta Best Ball Champions Carter Graf (L) & Logan Graf (R)

WATCH VIDEO WITH THE CHAMPIONS:

FULL SCORING HERE 

Ken Griffith keeping warm

If you are a long-time golfer you may not realize how unique the sport is. It’s tough to take a step back and objectively look at the game you have adopted as part of your lifestyle. But committing 4 hours to walk around 100+ acres of land trying to put a tiny white ball in a hole while wearing a collared shirt isn’t exactly “normal”.

To get this objective look at golf, a good starting point is to compare it with other sports. Picture any other sport with various skill levels trying to compete in the same game. How do you make it fair? Maybe the tennis expert is forced to play with the wrong hand, the track star gives a head start, or the better hockey team needs to play with one less player on the ice.

If you turn your mind back to golf, you quickly realize that the difference of skill levels is baked right into the sport. The Handicap Index you carry as a golfer can (as of 2020) be taken around the world to compete on a fair and equitable basis with any other golfer.

Remember those 100+ acres of land you were wandering? They are split into 18 holes, and no 2 holes anywhere on the planet are the same. With such an overwhelming variety of golf courses, the keystone of the entire handicapping system becomes: Course Rating.

The average golfer will recognize 2 numbers when they are looking at a scorecard: the Course Rating and the Slope Rating. To reach these numbers, each hole will be measured for length, and inspected for up to 10 different obstacle factors that can impact the hole’s difficulty (water, sand, trees, green surface, etc.). Each hole will also be looked at from 4 different perspectives: a scratch male (0.0), a scratch female (0.0), a bogey male (20.0), and a bogey female (24.0). Time for our first question: Why is there a difference in Handicap Index between a male and female bogey player? Great question. There is a definite reason for this, but that won’t be the technical answer given here. The simplest answer (to almost any Course Rating question) is that although accuracy is very important, consistency is paramount. The overall goal of Course Rating is to provide a quantitative idea of how difficult a course is so it can be used to calculate a golfer’s Handicap Index. If the way we measure the difficulty of a golf course changes, all previously rated golf courses become outdated.

Once we have rated a golf course from our 4 different perspectives, we get two ratings. The “Course Rating” is the rating calculated using our scratch golfers. If a scratch golfer plays under normal course and weather conditions, this is what we have calculated they will shoot.

The other rating we get is the “Bogey Rating”, or what bogey golfers would shoot under those same normal conditions. The Bogey Rating is not published as it alone does not directly impact anything for the golfer. What it does is help to determine the slope of the golf course. Simply put, the Slope Rating measures the difficulty of the course for Bogey Golfers compared to Scratch Golfers. Generally speaking, the harder a golf course, the higher a Slope Rating would be, but this is not always the case. A Slope Rating doesn’t need to be high if the course has been designed to be accommodating to the Bogey Golfer (i.e. less forced carries, wider fairways where bogey golfers would hit it, etc.).

Next time you tee it up, try looking at a few holes from the 4 different perspectives. Maybe you will gain some perspective of your own on the intricacies of Course Rating.

Alberta Golf (Acheson) – The Ranch Golf & Country Club plays host to the second annual stand-alone Alberta Men’s Super Senior Championship on August 28 & 29. The Ranch Golf & Country Club is one of the premier public golf courses in Alberta and sits on the outskirts of Edmonton.

The Ranch has played host to a variety of Alberta Golf events including the 2022 Men’s Amateur Championship which was won by Brady McKinlay and the 2019 Women’s Amateur that saw Becky Martin emerge victorious.

Brady McKinlay, 2022 Alberta Men’s Amateur Champion at The Ranch Golf and Country Club

Becky Martin: 2019 Alberta Women’s Amateur Champion

The Men’s Super Senior Championship was separated into its own event starting in 2023 and was met with an impressive response, with 80 players playing in the event. The tournament is separated into two divisions, the Super Senior for players aged 65+, and the Diamond Division for players 75+. The first playing of the Super Senior championship was in 2002, and has had an impressive list of winners including Hall of Famers Bob Wylie and Frank Van Dornick both winning back to back championships.

In 2023, Howard Broun won the Diamond Division, with Alberta Golf Hall of Famer David Schultz edging Frank McKenzie on the first playoff hole at the Canal at Delacour Golf Club to claim the Super Senior title. 

David Schultz: 2023 Alberta Super Senior champion

Howard Broun: 2023 Diamond Division champion

WATCH VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH 2023 ALBERTA SUPER SENIOR CHAMPION DAVID SCHULTZ

Recently, the Ranch was voted by Score Golf to have the best value in Edmonton, 2^nd in the province and 30^th in all of Canada. It should be a great 2 day celebration of senior men’s golf late in August at The Ranch!