Brendan MacDougall defeats Emmett Oh 2 up in the 2017 Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP Alberta Match Play Championship final.

The top seed from the Alberta Open Championship defeated four opponents on the way to his eventual victory.

The talented 19-year-old from the Glencoe G&CC has been on a hot streak of late. He finished in fourth place at the Glencoe Invitational a week ago and took low amateur honours at the Alberta Open earlier this week. When asked about his feelings once he won the final match, he said “it was awesome. It was kind of just a wave of relief that went over me that said ‘it’s finally over. I can go take a break.’”

The 2017 Team Alberta High Performance Squad member enjoyed the competition this week and the challenge of the match play format. MacDougall said “my opponents were fantastic. This morning, I had an awesome match with Logan. So much fun. Then in the afternoon, Emmett and I just grinded it out. Luckily, I came out on top.”

Matt Williams of the Glencoe G&CC defeated Logan Carver of the Calgary G&CC in the consolation final 2 up.

MacDougall becomes the second member of the 2018 Pacific Coast Amateur Championship Alberta Morse Cup Team. He joins Emmett Oh on the team, who he defeated in the final. Oh claimed the first team position by finishing as the low Albertan at the Glencoe Invitational. The third and final member of the team will be the Alberta Men’s Amateur Champion. The squad will compete at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, California next July. MacDougall said “I’m very excited. I have heard great things about the tournament. I know that it’s a wonderful field with amazing players. I’m happy to go to San Francisco and play the Olympic Club.”

For the full leaderboard, click here.

For photographs from the championship, click here.

Follow along using #ABGolf.

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ABOUT ALBERTA GOLF
Alberta Golf hosts 13 annual provincial championships in order to identify the best golfers in various age and gender catergories. A mix of nearly 1,500 pro and amateur golfers compete on high quality member facility courses across the province. Championships are hosted by a core team of staff and over 100 volunteers. The tournaments promote competition, build pride in the community, support charitable giving and inspire future generations of golfers. They also serve as an opportunity for golfers to qualify for national amateur championships.

The Alberta Golf Association was incorporated as a society in 1912 and continues today as a not for profit Provincial Sport Organization (PSO) operating as Alberta Golf. As the PSO, we are commited to realizing the positive impacts of golf on indivudals and communities across Alberta. Our vision is that through golf, Albertans will enjoy a high quality of life, improved health and wellness, a strong sense of community, economic benefits and personal fulfillment.

ABOUT SCOTT VENTURO RUDAKOFF LLP
Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP is a multi service law firm based in Calgary, Alberta. Since its establishment in 1986, the firm has become one of Calgary’s leading legal service providers, focusing on delivering high quality, efficient solutions for clients. The partners, associates and staff of Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP come from a wide range of backgrounds, and this experience enables us to offer responsive, effective and creative legal solutions to our clients.

Top four players advance to semi-finals of the 2017 Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP Alberta Match Play Championship

Carver carves up the greens in his quarter-final match, with top seed MacDougall still in contention

It was a battle of the best on day two of the Alberta Match Play. The sixteen lowest scoring Alberta Open amateurs went head to head in a match play bracket challenge at the Sundre Golf Club. The top eight then played this afternoon, for their chance to play in the semi-final and finals tomorrow.

First time Alberta Match Play contender, Logan Carver, won his semi-final match 5 and 3, as he fought to the end against his UBC teammate, Evan Holmes. With an eagle on the second hole, and a five-up lead at the turn, the 18-year-old Calgarian’s putter was on fire.

“Today was 100 percent putting, I wasn’t hitting it exceptionally. I would either miss a green or chip it to like five feet and make it or I’d hit a green and it would somehow die on the front edge. I got it going from the start, and just never looked back.”

Carver, the 13th seeded player, will tee off against the first seed Alberta Open low amateur, Brendan MacDougall, tomorrow at 8AM. The two are friends, and Carver knows that he will have to keep his short game momentum going if he’s to beat MacDougall.

“Brendan and I go way back, we’ve been playing in these events since we were like 13 or 14. I know his game. He hits his driver well. He’s not going to make too many mistakes, so I’ll have to definitely bring it again tomorrow.”

MacDougall closed out his match on 16 after three straight birdies, finishing 4 and 2 against UCLA Bruin, Patrick Murphy. Matt Williams won his match with Chris Horton in convincing fashion, 5 and 3. He went bogey-free and made five birdies in tough, swirling conditions. It took Emmett Oh 19 holes to defeat Alex Large. He will face his University of Houston teammate Williams in the semi-finals.

Semi-final victors will advance to the final tomorrow afternoon. The Alberta Match Play Champion will become the second member of the 2018 Pacific Coast Amateur Championship Alberta Morse Cup Team.

For the full leaderboard, click here.

For photographs from the championship, click here.

Follow along using #ABGolf.

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ABOUT ALBERTA GOLF
Alberta Golf hosts 13 annual provincial championships in order to identify the best golfers in various age and gender catergories. A mix of nearly 1,500 pro and amateur golfers compete on high quality member facility courses across the province. Championships are hosted by a core team of staff and over 100 volunteers. The tournaments promote competition, build pride in the community, support charitable giving and inspire future generations of golfers. They also serve as an opportunity for golfers to qualify for national amateur championships.

The Alberta Golf Association was incorporated as a society in 1912 and continues today as a not for profit Provincial Sport Organization (PSO) operating as Alberta Golf. As the PSO, we are commited to realizing the positive impacts of golf on indivudals and communities across Alberta. Our vision is that through golf, Albertans will enjoy a high quality of life, improved health and wellness, a strong sense of community, economic benefits and personal fulfillment.

ABOUT SCOTT VENTURO RUDAKOFF LLP
Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP is a multi service law firm based in Calgary, Alberta. Since its establishment in 1986, the firm has become one of Calgary’s leading legal service providers, focusing on delivering high quality, efficient solutions for clients. The partners, associates and staff of Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP come from a wide range of backgrounds, and this experience enables us to offer responsive, effective and creative legal solutions to our clients.

36 year-old pro tops the Province’s strongest field of the year

SUNDRE, Alta. (Alberta Golf) – You could call it a case of Dustin being Dustin. The Strathmore native who has virtually been on a winning tear since last year continued his dominant play into today’s final round of the 2017 Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP Alberta Open Championship.

Risdon shot a final round 69 to win by one shot over Calgary’s James Love. Professional, Ryan Werre, of Redcliff finished tied for third and five-time champion, Wes Heffernan, of Calgary finished at even par in a tie for seventh.

In his winning speech, Risdon said “I always wanted to win this one and now I’ve got my hands on it.” Risdon has been a top player since his junior days, winning the Alberta and Canadian Junior Championships, along with three Canadian Tour wins (Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada). He now enjoys the game more than ever as he has found teaching the game to be both rewarding and a benefit for his own competitive game. Risdon will put the first-place cheque of $5,000.00 towards expenses for the rest of his competitive 2017 schedule, which now includes his exemption into the ATB Financial Classic on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada.

Evan Holmes, of the Glencoe G&CC, had a one-shot lead in the championship after five holes before making a 10 on the par five, sixth hole when his drive hung up in the trees and was forced to head back to the tee and struggled to get it home.

Low Amateur honours went to Brendan MacDougall of the Glencoe G&CC. The 19-year-old Team Alberta High Performance Squad member made a clutch 5-foot par putt on the eighteenth hole to go bogey-free in the final round. When asked about his accomplishment, MacDougall said “I think it’s awesome. It just really shows that all the work I’ve put in, over the last few years, is really coming together. It shows that I can compete with just about anyone in Alberta.” He will be the number one seed in the Alberta Match Play Championship which starts tomorrow morning.  The Match Play Champion will become the second teammate on the 2018 Pacific Coast Amateur Alberta Morse Cup team.

For the full leaderboard, click here.

For photographs from the championship, click here.

Follow along using #ABOpen.

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ABOUT ALBERTA GOLF
Alberta Golf hosts 13 annual provincial championships in order to identify the best golfers in various age and gender catergories. A mix of nearly 1,500 pro and amateur golfers compete on high quality member facility courses across the province. Championships are hosted by a core team of staff and over 100 volunteers. The tournaments promote competition, build pride in the community, support charitable giving and inspire future generations of golfers. They also serve as an opportunity for golfers to qualify for national amateur championships.

The Alberta Golf Association was incorporated as a society in 1912 and continues today as a not for profit Provincial Sport Organization (PSO) operating as Alberta Golf. As the PSO, we are commited to realizing the positive impacts of golf on indivudals and communities across Alberta. Our vision is that through golf, Albertans will enjoy a high quality of life, improved health and wellness, a strong sense of community, economic benefits and personal fulfillment.

ABOUT SCOTT VENTURO RUDAKOFF LLP
Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP is a multi service law firm based in Calgary, Alberta. Since its establishment in 1986, the firm has become one of Calgary’s leading legal service providers, focusing on delivering high quality, efficient solutions for clients. The partners, associates and staff of Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP come from a wide range of backgrounds, and this experience enables us to offer responsive, effective and creative legal solutions to our clients.

In the midst of its 14th season, Golf Fore the Cure presented by Subaru boasts over 100,000 participants since 2003 raising over $5.9 million dollars for the Canadian Cancer Society and Québec Breast Cancer Foundation in support of breast cancer research during that period.

Golf Fore the Cure presented  by Subaru offers a seamless addition to an existing event (such as ladies night) with free prizing and event kits.

In 2017 Golf Fore the Cure presented by Subaru has a fundraising goal of $500,000.

In just one month over $15,000 has already been raised. The below infographic outlines six easy steps to planning your own Golf Fore the Cure event:

Past Champion, James Love, holds a slim one shot lead after day one

SUNDRE, Alta. (Alberta Golf) – The 2017 Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP Alberta Open Championship is feeling like a flashback as James Love sits on top of today’s leaderboard. In 2015, Love made a second day charge to win the event in dramatic fashion. This year it’s a different story. “I got off to a good start. I birdied my first two holes. So that sets the tone pretty easily for the day,” Love said.

It took four birdies on the front nine and three more on the back to secure a one stroke lead over Evan Holmes. The conditions today made for good scoring with 15 players at even par or better.

Love said the course was just working for him, having not played the track since the renovations 10 years ago. “This is a good course here. You want to keep hitting it in front of you, and you want to keep out of the trees. I pretty much did that today.”

A practice round wasn’t even needed, as the Calgarian travelled in from the Kelowna area after playing in the GolfBC Championship on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada event held last week. Love said that he is hoping to keep his momentum going into round two. “You know, I’ve been playing well most of the year. So there isn’t a lot of stuff that I need to do differently. I will hopefully get off to a good start again and keep that rhythm going.”

TOP 10 – ALBERTA OPEN LEADERBOARD

For the full leaderboard, click here.

Evan Holmes is looking for some redemption at the Sundre GC. Having narrowly missed at the Alberta Men’s Amateur four years ago at this same course, he is proving to be a notable contender, as he sits alone in second place and only one shot back of Love.

PGA of Alberta Professional, Craig Gibson, from the Sirocco Golf Club, is in third place at three under par. Notably, Dustin Risdon had it to five under par through 12 holes before a double bogey on 13 stalled his round. He sits three shots back and will surely be a player to keep an eye on in the final round.

Tomorrow’s champion will earn a spot in the ATB Financial Classic on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada. The top 16 amateur players will advance to the Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP Alberta Match Play Championship the following two days. The Match Play Champion will become the second teammate on the 2018 Pacific Coast Amateur Alberta Morse Cup team.

For photographs from round one of the championship, click here.

The final group will tee off at 1:10 PM.

Follow along using #ABOpen.

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ABOUT ALBERTA GOLF

Alberta Golf hosts 13 annual provincial championships in order to identify the best golfers in various age and gender catergories. A mix of nearly 1,500 pro and amateur golfers compete on high quality member facility courses across the province. Championships are hosted by a core team of staff and over 100 volunteers. The tournaments promote competition, build pride in the community, support charitable giving and inspire future generations of golfers. They also serve as an opportunity for golfers to qualify for national amateur championships.

The Alberta Golf Association was incorporated as a society in 1912 and continues today as a not for profit Provincial Sport Organization (PSO) operating as Alberta Golf. As the PSO, we are commited to realizing the positive impacts of golf on indivudals and communities across Alberta. Our vision is that through golf, Albertans will enjoy a high quality of life, improved health and wellness, a strong sense of community, economic benefits and personal fulfillment.

ABOUT SCOTT VENTURO RUDAKOFF LLP

Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP is a multi service law firm based in Calgary, Alberta. Since its establishment in 1986, the firm has become one of Calgary’s leading legal service providers, focusing on delivering high quality, efficient solutions for clients. The partners, associates and staff of Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP come from a wide range of backgrounds, and this experience enables us to offer responsive, effective and creative legal solutions to our clients.

A few special guests could be seen at the Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP Alberta Open and Match Play Championships Media Day. Seven event competitors’ dads were at the Sundre Golf Club to get in a round with their sons for Father’s Day, including Bob – the father of 2016 Alberta Junior Boys Player of the Year, Brendan MacDougall.

As a Team Alberta High Performance athlete, currently on the High Point University golf team, Brendan explains that even though some days are harder than others, having his family and dad behind him has really helped his career.

“There are always rounds where I know I could have done better. He’s always there after saying, ‘You know what, go get it next time. You’ll be alright.’ He just helps me through.”

Bob has been there to support Brendan and his golf game since the early days.

“He was always a pretty happy kid. He picked up plastic golf clubs pretty much as soon as he could walk. He would spend hours hitting balls in the backyard, and when they went over the fence, I would have to go and track them all down and bring them all back. He thought that was great fun.”

Golf has given this pair a lot of unforgettable times.

“He always just been there for me. He’s always been willing to drive me to practice or tournaments whenever I need to. It’s always fun to spend time with him on the road, and it’s always some of the greatest memories that I have.”

Bob, a recreational golfer himself, loves to get out on the course with his family. Even though he may not always win against Brendan, he got his once in a lifetime chance to shine a few years ago against the all-star.

“I was playing with Brendan, my wife and Jon Fisher who at the time was the general manager at the Willow Park Golf and Country Club. I hit my tee shot, and it was right into the sun. We couldn’t really see it. The people who had vacated the green in front of us, and who were on the next tee box, knew we couldn’t see it because they knew that we weren’t really reacting to it. One of the players came off the tee and said, ‘It’s in the hole! It’s in the hole!” They were yelling back at us. My wife hugged me, Jon gave me a high five and Brendan did nothing. Then my wife said, ‘Aren’t you going to congratulate your dad?’ and he said, “Yeah, I guess so…but I would have rather have had the hole in one myself.’”

Brendan has still yet to get his hole in one, but with the way he’s been playing over the past two years, his dad may not hold the title much longer. Placing 1st at the 2016 CN Future Links Western Championship, T2 at the 2016 Alberta Junior Championships and 4th at the 2017 Glencoe Invitational, Bob says Brendan’s top ranking ability comes from his attention to detail.

“He is a thoughtful player he’s a smart player. So he understands risk and reward. He’ll play a course in a very thoughtful manner.”

The talent runs in the McDougall family. Brendan’s 16-year-old sister, Madison, is a World Class Competitive Irish dancer. With both of his children living an active life, Bob is always there to watch them grow and do what they love.

“It’s lots of fun. We’ve always encouraged both the kids to have fun at the pursuits that they have and to do their best. If they’re doing their best they are probably having fun, and if they’re having fun they’re probably going to do their best. It’s really that simple.”

Happy Father’s Day from Alberta Golf to all of the dads out there.

Today the City of Calgary hosted 70 unique events, ranging from roller derby to a military inspired activity called winterguard, for All Sport One Day. Kids between the ages of 6 to 12 were able to try a new activity for free at 12 unique sporting facilities across the city. The PGA of Alberta pros, Alberta Golf staff and City of Calgary representatives were at Glenmore Athlete Park to help inspire the next generation of golfers.

Kids had the chance to play fun interactive games with the assistance of golf professionals through the PGA on Wheels Program. Participants got to go through a series of introductory skill building activities. There was a spinning mini golf course, driver target practice and a netted golf range, all equipped with a variety of practice gear.

Many of the visitors had never picked up a club before, but it didn’t take them long to start to get into the swing of things. Big smiles could be seen as little rookies made their first big hits. The newly converted were then able to learn about all of the fun and affordable golf options across the city and province.

Families can find a range of golf options like free junior nights and take a kid to the course weeks through the City of Calgary. New golfers of any age can also arrange for trial runs and personal instruction. See what’s available this summer and view the City of Calgary’s golf information brochure.

Parents also got to learn about Alberta Golf/Golf Canada memberships as well as local, provincial and national PGA of Alberta and Golf Canada offerings. Members and member clubs help fund programs like Future Links. As Canada’s national junior golf platform, Future Links Driven by Acura has hosted affordable and fun programming for over 1.4 million kids so far. From competitive to new junior players, Future Links offers a range of activities from Golf in Schools to mobile clinics such as the one hosted today. Golf Canada’s online search option allows those interested to find junior golf opportunities in their area all year round.

Specific programming for women and girls is also offered by Alberta Golf. She Swing She Scores if specifically designed to introduce girls currently participating in other sports from ages 6 to 12 to try golf. Community Golf Coaches and PGA of Alberta Professionals provide pop-up elements like “boom rooms” for young athletes to test out the game. View all of Alberta Golf’s development programs.

This year, Alberta Golf was able to award a combined total of $5,900 of Athlete Assistance to 21 deserving golfers. Funding was given to those who will attempt to make their mark this season and compete in regional, provincial, national and international events.

Multiple-year award winner, Matt Williams, says that “funding from Alberta Golf has allowed me the opportunity to compete in Canada’s national championships in year’s past. My primary golf goal is to play my way onto the Canadian Men’s National Team. This goal has me really focused and working harder and smarter than I ever have before.”

Matt Williams in 2014 as a Team Canada athlete.

The Team Alberta High Performance Squad member is a shining example of the self-driven enthusiasm and hard work that so many of this year’s award winners demonstrate across the province.

“A couple years ago I really struggled with golf and wasn’t sure if it was something I would want to pursue long-term, but since then I feel I have rebounded, and I certainly have a whole new appreciation for golf when I am playing well. It’s nice when golf is fun. My dad always wanted me to be a hockey player when I was younger, and while I took it pretty seriously for a while, golf eventually took over.”

Not only does he continue to raise the bar for himself on the course, but he is also a full-time student. As a University of Houston teammate, he must balance the day-to-day challenges of being a competitive amateur golfer, while completing an accounting degree. His hard work is paying off. Williams was a part of Golf Canada’s National Development squad for two years, and he is currently Alberta’s top ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

We can’t wait to see what’s next for all of this year’s recipients, and we will be cheering them on! Congratulations to the following 2017 Athlete Assistance recipients:

• Matt Williams
• Brendan MacDougall
• Ethan Choi
• Evan Holmes
• Kenna Hughes
• Max Murchison
• Lauren Diederichs
• Jack Wood
• Andrew Harrison
• Sang Won Kim
• Susan Thomson
• Joan Wilson
• Owen Murray
• Jeff Murdoch
• Ethan Palmer
• Cody Adolph
• MacKenzie Baustad
• Mandy Wong
• Alex Large
• Ryan Hounjet
• Mitchell Fleming

To learn more about the Alberta Golf Athlete Assistance program, click here.

Golf’s relationship with the fluctuating economy is a constant battle, but national and local golf associations are feeling optimistic for the remainder of the 2017 season. With budgets back on track after last year, clubs and organizations are looking at what it takes to create sustainability for future seasons, including encouraging and recruiting members to get on the course. For this month’s poll, Alberta Golf wants to know what you think courses should do to help attract new players. So far, over 50% say “make golf more affordable,” with the second most popular answer being “create a welcoming culture.” Share your thoughts with us on our homepage poll. 

For many Albertans, the game of golf is something which occupies their time between late April and late October. It’s recreational, social, exercise and a break from their work schedules. For others, it’s a way to spend a good chunk of their time after they retire. For many others, it’s simply a game. One which thousands of people in this province enjoy or curse-sometimes at the same time, depending on the day.

But for more than 43,000 Albertans (NAGA report 2014) it’s a way of life and one which is not immune to the effects of an economic downturn.

“It has a been an interesting few seasons. When oil prices drop it effects everything in Alberta. Expense accounts dry up, golf tournaments are postponed, corporate memberships are smaller,” said Brent Hutcheon, President of the National Golf Course Owners Association.

With oil hanging around the $50 to $55 dollar per barrel neighborhood many golf courses felt the effects one way or another. Sure, up and down is a good thing for a golfer but not so much for the business side of the ledger.

“Like all businesses, we’re hoping the bottom has already been hit,” said Trevor Goplin, current president of the PGA of Alberta regarding 2017. “You know, that people are planning to play more and spend more and from a pre-book standpoint, corporate standpoint, maybe book more tournaments.”

Some courses saw a drop in the number of rounds played while others recorded slight increases. It seems 2016 was a mixed bag for the industry with no real definable trend emerging.

There were plenty of golfers in the unemployment lines last year, spilling over from 2015 and while they had money they still had to battle through another winter without work.

“We definitely felt it and I think people still played, they just didn’t play as much but curiously enough we had to cut off membership sales because membership sales were very strong,” according to Lesley McMahon, owner of Balmoral Golf Course just east of Red Deer.

One area which certainly saw a drop is the partnerships involved with the PGA of Alberta in running some programs and events, said Tom Grenier, the past president of the PGA.

“I know there’s been a significant reduction in corporate branding, corporate golf balls, merchandise which many of these corporations and companies would purchase through golf professionals at their respective golf clubs and that’s had a significant decline as their budgets have been cut. I mean, they’re not going to spend the same kind of dollars.”

He said support for charity events from corporations was still around but likely came in at a fraction of the support it may have been at in years past.

Goplin says in some cases play at various courses was up slightly as people were travelling less and so playing at courses closer to home. He adds from a tournament perspective though, there couldn’t have been too many courses that saw a rise in that category.

“There’s golf courses that rely a fair bit on tournament play. I’m sort of splitting those up, those full corporate charity events to groups of 40,50 60 that definitely saw that down this past year.”

According to the National Allied Golf Associations report from 2014, golf generates $5.88 billion in total gross production through direct, indirect and induced spending across Canada. In Alberta, the golf industry deposits $2.88 billion into the coffers so when this segment of business takes a hit from an economic downturn it’s noticed. But 2016 was basically a double bogey for golf in Alberta. Along with the economic hit, the weather played a significant role last season, especially in the area of green fee players.

Goplin said talking to other PGA members, they saw more people playing less simply because of the seemingly regular build-up of thunderstorms through the day and rain starting in the late afternoon in July and August.

“People were back at their office desks in 2016. I talked to a lot of people who said they were having to work because they may have lost staff and don’t have enough support so they couldn’t get to the course until say 4 o’clock, five o’clock and then there was another rainstorm.”

While some courses saw a drop off in play, others were apparently trending upwards.

“Some clubs saw their best public green fee year ever,” said Hutcheon. “This would be because of a few factors. Early season hype, more time to play with less work requirements, people not working who received severance packages, as well as more golf course promotions and specials were available. With all of these factors playing out, the season ended flat for most areas in Alberta, however we needed every one of those extra days to squeeze out those rounds.”

But the golf industry is resilient if anything. Dennis McKernan, executive director of the Alberta Golf Superintendent’s Association says courses have been very frugal in recent years in order to cushion the blow of oil prices and other economic influences on the game.

“In the past five years at least, the trend has been to a better financial model where we’re doing more with less,” he said. “I don’t think last year was any worse than other years.”

But the sport is not completely out of the woods. Fuel costs have gone up and there is the looming carbon tax, the increase in minimum wage and so budgets for maintenance are being scrutinized closely.

McKernan says all courses are looking to maximum dollars to increase efficiency due to the cost of water.

“But we’re also looking at how we can utilize a fertility budget better than we have in the past. Is there some ways where we can use the same number of dollars and still supply the turf with the nutrients in a different way than we have in the past to make it more efficient?”

In another part of the industry, course owners/managers are exploring new ideas to attract more golfers and keep the ones they already have. Golf is in competition with so many other interests these days the creative aspect of this task has increased, said McMahon.

“To get people just motivated to get out of their house and do something, which might be hard for an avid golfer to get but I think people are just slower to take up new things. We have to change that.”

Hutcheon says it’s all about diversifying what you present as a product to the public.

“You need leagues, tournaments, members, group bookings, corporate members, and public golfers. The more slices your pie is cut into the more stable your business,” he said. “All facilities need to be aware of all the new and possible communication tools available to them to improve their business.”

Moving forward the feeling within the industry appears to be it’s not all doom and gloom with the belief golf will continue to be a strong contributor to the economy, starting with this year.

“The economy is on the up-swing,” said Goplin. “Now you can argue the degree of trajectory but it is.”

The past two years saw many a corporation cut back on things like sponsorship but McKernan feels it’s going to swing in the other direction soon.

“I think we’re going to see a lot of companies come back and retool their business plans. I think a lot of people look at golf as a corporate sponsorship event that has great meaning to their business plan and their business model,” he said.

Grenier says what he’s been hearing around the Calgary region is both positive and realistic.

“I think there’ll be a small improvement by the sounds of it but we still have a long way ahead of us.”

No amount of marketing can keep you busy when it’s pouring rain outside said McMahon but courses need to grab hold of the situation and make it work any way they can.

“There’s things you can’t control, like the price of oil and the weather but there’s things you can control and things you can be doing,” she said.

With so many factors involved in how golf is impacted like taxation, water usage, and the minimum wage course operators are faced with a daunting challenge.

“Golf has been run in a certain way for decades and it will take time, effort and education to catch up to other industries such as hotels, airlines, and car rentals. There are many opportunities in golf moving forward with some adjustments,” said Hutcheon.

He added while it’s tough to pin down just where the strength of the industry is now he feels strongly about golf in the future.

“I believe the interest in the game is still high. Most leagues are still full, and our prime times are still busy.  We need to get creative and encourage more people to come to the course.”

So get out and play this summer. You’ll get some exercise, some enjoyment, meet new people and at the same time support an important piece of Alberta’s economic engine. That’s a win.

The Golf Economy

This article was originally published in the 2017 edition of The Alberta Golfer Magazine. To view the full magazine, click here.