The Alberta Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2026—an ironic milestone given that the event was originally established for male golfers aged 40 and over, prior to the creation of the Mid-Master Championship. Today, the Men’s Mid-Amateur is open to the province’s top male players aged 25 and older as of the first day of the national championship. Fittingly, the provincial championship will return in 2026 to the course that hosted the inaugural event in 1986: Wolf Creek.

The first championship was won by Alberta Golf Hall of Famer Ken Tamke, and over the years the event has been captured by many of the province’s standout players, including Frank Van Dornick, Floyd Kilgore, Senan Foley, David Schultz, and numerous others. In more recent editions, Edmonton Country Club’s Neil Thomas has claimed back-to-back titles and will be seeking to become the first player to win three consecutive Alberta Men’s Mid-Amateur Championships. Among the challengers is Alex Cartwright, who recently relocated to Calgary and earned a spot on Alberta’s interprovincial team in his first year in the province. A Canmore native, Cartwright previously spent five years competing on the University of Victoria golf team. Michael Valk, a member of the 2025 interprovincial team, will also be in pursuit of his first Mid-Amateur title as one of the newer competitors in the field. Meanwhile, established regulars such as Galvon, Markiw, DenBraber, Werre, Lefaivre, and Hollman will no doubt look to play spoiler to the emerging contenders.

2025 Men’s Mid-Amateur Recap

Whoever ultimately prevails in 2026 will be tested not only by the field, but by the venue itself. Known to many Albertans as “The Wolf,” Wolf Creek presents a formidable challenge regardless of which course hosts the championship, a decision yet to be confirmed. The Old Course, the original Rod Whitman design, is described on the club’s website as “a pure inland links course winding in and out of the Wolf Creek bed.” Tour-tested and strategically demanding, it places a premium on creativity, precision, and thoughtful shot-making. Across the road, the Links Course represents an evolution of classic design principles. With wider fairways and striking natural beauty, the course is carved through expansive natural sand dunes and features rolling contours that reward both power and finesse.

Wolf Creek has long been a premier championship venue in Alberta, hosting a wide range of prestigious events. It served for many years as the home of the Alberta Open during its Canadian Tour era, has welcomed multiple Golf Canada events including NextGen tournaments, and has hosted the McLennan Ross Alberta Junior Tour Championship. Most recently, Wolf Creek earned widespread praise from competitors after hosting the Alberta Men’s Senior Championship.

Regardless of the course selection or the final field, the 2026 Alberta Men’s Mid-Amateur champion will need to outduel a deep roster of talent and successfully tame the teeth of the Wolf over three demanding days, from July 21–23. In doing so, the winner will not only join the distinguished list of past champions of one of Alberta’s most popular events, but also secure a lasting place in the history of one of the province’s finest golf courses.

Wolf Creek Golf Resort Website

As the summer continues to roll on, so does the Alberta Golf Championship schedule. Up next, the 2025 Alberta Women’s Senior Championship, July 21-23. The championship returns to a course that’s very familiar to competitive players in Alberta, as Highwood Golf will host the event in 2025.

Highwood is a familiar course to many players in Alberta, as it’s been a terrific host for a variety of championships. Last year, Highwood hosted the Men’s Senior Championship where we saw David Schultz win the championship. In previous years Highwood has hosted the U19 Championships and the Women’s Amateur making it no stranger to hosting a provincial championship.

For the Women’s Senior Championship there’s a lot up for grabs this week. Players will be competing for the Women’s Senior, Super Senior, and Diamond Division Championships. There are also national championship quota spots up for grabs and the coveted Women’s Senior Interprovincial Team has three spots up for grabs.

As for potential winners this week, there are a lot of players to watch. Celina Lam, the defending champion, is on the cusp of history with the chance to win three straight Women’s Senior Championships. The other two members from last year’s interprovincial team, Lisa Hall & Lynn Kuehn, are also in the field and will be on the hunt this week. The championship also marks the return of Kim Carrington, a long time competitor in Alberta who has been sidelined for injury in recent years. Jackie Little will defend her Super Senior title from last year and has the chance to claim the 2025 Women’s Senior title in the same year that will see her get inducted into the Alberta Golf Hall of Fame.

For the full event preview and hear from the defending champions, click the button below for the 2025 Women’s Senior Championship Yearbook Article written by Gord Montgomery.

2025 Women’s Senior Championship Preview

For Round 1 & Round 2 pairings, click the button below to find and star your favourites for the event this week!

Women’s Senior Pairings

The 113th Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship gets underway tomorrow at Paradise Canyon Country Club. This is the first time Paradise Canyon has hosted the Men’s Amateur since 1993, a year after they opened.

This week there’s a lot at stake. The Men’s Amateur not only names the best male amateur golfer in the province, but has been used as a spring board for many players careers. The winner is named to the Morse Cup Interprovincial team for 2026 and competes at the Pacific Coast Amateur championship. There are also 18 quota spots available for the top finishers with Alberta residence. This will also be the first event with an interprovincial team being named, with the top three finishers with Alberta residence making up the 2025 Willingdon Cup Team to compete at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship.

The list of high-profile players is long including past champions like Brett Jones, Mike Valk, and Braden O’Grady. Also a part of the list are Mid-Amateur Champions like Jesse Galvon, the defending Senior Champion David Schultz, 2025 Glencoe Invitational Champion Brandon Markiw, Alberta’s U19 and U17 Champions Ryan Gillis and Patrick McLarty.

Click the link below to read more about the course and hear from our defending champion, Brett Jones, in the 2025 Alberta Golf Yearbook.

Men’s Amateur Preview Article

The Alberta Men’s Amateur is one of the most prestigious events in the golfing landscape, tracing its origins back to 1907. The event has been played at a plethora of different golf courses over the years, and in 2025 the event will return to a course that it hasn’t visited since 1993. Paradise Canyon Country Club will play host to the top 120 male amateur golfers in the province for the 113^th Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship on June 25-27. 

The Men’s Amateur Championship is wrapped in history with a wide variety of champions throughout its playing. The event has been used as a springboard into professional careers for players like Henry Martell, Darryl James, Wes Heffernan, Scott Stiles, and plenty more. The event has also seen many of the great amateurs in our province compete with Doug Silverberg, Keith Alexander, Bob Wylie, and Ken Wasslen all being crowned champions. With three qualifiers and over 250 players trying to qualify each year, getting into the championship field is a major accomplishment. Registration for qualifiers opens in early April each season and players hoping to qualify need to have a Handicap Index of 8.0 or lower to register. 

Paradise Canyon Country Club promises to be an amazing host for the 113^th Men’s Amateur. Having hosted its own professional event in 2018 and 2019, and hosting the Canadian Men’s Amateur in 2008, the course is no stranger to the best of the best competing on its fairways. With an unpredictable Lethbridge wind, the course is sure to offer challenges from the first tee shot to the final putt. A key stretch on the course starts on the back 9 with holes 10, 11, and 12 often causing movement on the leaderboard. Hole 12 is the course’s signature hole, a beautiful elevated par 3 where players can see the Old Man River and the coulees surrounding it. With deep bunkers protecting the front of the green, fescue and badlands on either side, and the river right behind, club selection here can easily decide the winner of the event. 

In 1993, the Alberta Men’s Amateur at Paradise Canyon Country Club was won by Darryl James, who would go on to become a top PGA of Alberta Professional. Since then, plenty of players have gone on to win the event including names like Mike Mezei, Ryan Yip, and Riley Fleming. Many things have changed since James’ win, but in Lethbridge the wind remains constant and players in the 113^th Men’s Amateur will have to find a way to navigate this challenge, just as James did, to be crowned the best in Alberta. 

Magrath Golf Club is known by many as the hidden gem of the south and has a reputation since its inception in 1925 as a must play golf course in the province. As part of its centennial year a lot is happening at the course this year including the hosting of the 2025 Alberta Men’s Super Senior Championship. 

The Men’s Super Senior Championship is open to male golfers aged 65+ as of the first day of the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship. There are no qualifiers for this event, registration will open on April 1^st at 9am, and a player’s Handicap Index must be 30.0 or lower. This is the third year of this event being separated from the Men’s Senior Championship and continues to receive praise from the players excited about an additional competitive opportunity and a chance to compete against players their own age. The Super Senior has two championships up for grabs, the Super Senior and the Diamond division, which is specific for players aged 70 and above. The previous two iterations of this event have had the same winners both years with Howard Broun winning the Diamond Divisions and David Schultz winning the Super Senior championships. Schultz has had a flare for drama both years with a playoff win in 2023 and a comeback win in 2024. 

Magrath is sure to be a great host and a great test for the players. With pristinely manicured fairways, lush landscaping, and beautiful vistas the players can surely enjoy. It’s the quick greens, stunning par 3’s, shot maker par 4’s, and go for broke par 5’s that will make the players be sure to show up on top of their games. The course is also set to host the 2025 Alberta-Montana Junior Ryder Cup in August and the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns Invitational in May. 

While the centennial celebration will be in full effect when players show up for the first round on August 26, the celebration of the eventual winners will have to wait as they’ll have to navigate their way around this challenging yet beautiful hidden gem for two days. The beautiful vistas will surely provide a great view for the winners and add another chapter to the course’s history books. 

Highwood Golf is a common sight on many players competitive schedules in the past few years. It has played host to the Men’s Senior in 2024, the Men’s Mid-Amateur in 2022, the U19 Championships in 2019, and the Women’s Amateur in 2016. The course has a tradition of getting the event winner to sign the championship banner and hangs each of them in their maintenance facility. In 2025, a new sign will be going up for an event they’ve never hosted, the Women’s Senior Championship. 

The Women’s Senior Championship began in 1963 and to no surprise the list of winners encompasses some of the best female amateurs throughout Alberta Golf’s history. It’s where Diane Williams became a Hall of Famer, where Marilyn O’Connor and Betty Stanhope-Cole continued their battle for the most championships, but most importantly it’s been where the older generation could provide knowledge and experience to the younger players. The event is open to players aged 50+ as of the first day of the Canadian Women’s Senior Championship and is open registration for players with a Handicap Index of 30.0 or lower. In recent years, the event has been a favourite for many out-of-town players including a contingent of BC competitors including the great Jackie Little, Sandra Turbide, and many others. The event has three championships that players are competing for based on their age, the Senior (aged 50+), the Super Senior (aged 60+) and the Diamond Division (aged 70+). 

Highwood Golf is an impressive 27-hole facility located just south of Calgary in High River. The 18-hole championship course is made up of the Heritage and Mountainview nines with each presenting a unique test for the golfers to enjoy. The additional 9 holes are the Spitzee 9 which is a peaceful and picturesque gem which runs along the Highwood River. The layout offers great golf for families, beginners, and even the experienced golfer looking for a quick round. The course is a staple of the community with plenty of fun events being hosted throughout the season and different league options for the members. The club has a great community with many members volunteering their time to help take care of the facility and a plethora of repeat volunteers at each provincial championship that have been hosted over the years. 

In 2025, competitors can expect much of the same from Highwood Golf. An amazing community feeling upon arrival, a tough golf course with a knack for causing drama on the last hole, and three new champions to be crowned at the end of day on July 24. Highwood will anxiously await the new champion’s signature and new decor for its facility as the three-day event will get underway on July 21.  

In between Red Deer and Edmonton, there lies a golf course that is consistently recognized as one of the top courses in the province. The facility requires no introduction to golfers since its inception in 1984, as it boasts an impressive 36-hole layout designed by Rod Whitman. The facility is Wolf Creek Golf Resort and in 2025, it finds itself hosting the 2025 Men’s Senior Championship. 

The Men’s Senior Championship is one of the most well attended championship events on the Alberta Golf schedule with three qualifiers scheduled around the province every year. The event is open to players aged 55+ as of the first day of the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship. Players are required to have a Handicap Index of 20.0 or less and players must qualify at one of the regional sites which are scheduled to be held at Nanton Golf Club on May 29, Ponoka Golf Club on June 2, and Edmonton Garrison Memorial Golf & Curling Club on June 6^th. The Alberta Men’s Senior Championship has also proven to produce some of the top players in the country with the great names like Wylie, Alexander, and Tait continuing their dominance in the 80’s as individuals and on interprovincial teams. This has continued with the new crop of players like Broun, Schultz, Van Dornick, Foley, Laubman, Griffith and others creating their own dominance at the national event as a team. The championship also proves to be a place of great camaraderie with wives coming out as caddies and friends of old looking forward to the yearly catch up after the winter. 

Wolf Creek is a staple to the golfing scene in the province. After its inception in 1984 as a 27-hole facility and then the expansion to 36 holes in the 90’s this course has consistently found itself in the Top 100 Score Golf Rankings and for good reason. The course gained world-wide publicity as a regular stop on the Canadian Tour and a consistent host for the Alberta Open Championship. The course has seen many of the greats of each generation walk the course including Kirk Triplett, Moe Norman, Keith Alexander, Darryl James and many more. For this year’s event, the players will face a familiar foe in the Old Course, the original Rod Whitman design. It’s a pure inland links course with plenty of strategical decisions to be made and the keys to success will surely be the creative shot making and precision, just the way the predecessors of the game had intended.

As the snow continues to melt around the province, the Old Course at Wolf Creek awaits its chance to show its fangs once again with its return to the Alberta Golf schedule. The competitors will surely need to come prepared for more than just the catch-up with friends, but as history has proven, this crowd is always ready to play. 

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.

Naturally, the best golf holes in the world are, at their essence, exceptional in their design merits. But they almost always have a setting, an ambiance, a natural beauty, that truly makes them worthy of the accolades. In other words, they playbeautifully and they look beautiful! The par-5 11th at Blackhawk is such a hole.

A gorgeous, down-the-hill, par-5 that begins the exceptional stretch of “valley holes” at the private Blackhawk Golf Course near Edmonton, the 11th always serves up one of the most exciting moments of the round.

Of course, “excitement” accompanies the golfer throughout a round at Blackhawk. The routing, which features plenty of perched tees, breathtaking bunkering, cunning contours, and heroic shot options, is, rightfully regarded as one of the top private golf experiences in the country. Last year Blackhawk, which is located just southwest of Edmonton along the pine-coated banks of the North Saskatchewan River, was ranked No. 15 in SCOREGolf’s rankings of the Top 100 Courses in Canada.

Designed by architect Rod Whitman (an Albertan who grew up just an hour, or so, south of Blackhawk near Ponoka), Blackhawk was to some extent, a groundbreaking achievement. Although it boasts similar trademarks of his earlier work at nearby Wolf Creek, this was one of the first courses in the country to embody the contemporary “minimalist” style.

Unquestionably, Whitman gravitated to that style – think heavy use of natural features, non-formulaic and highly-strategic holes, hand-carved bunkers that appear natural, fairways that simply follow the lay of the land, etc. – thanks to his extensive work with arguably the two most important pioneers of the “Golden Age” renaissance. That would be the late Pete Dye and his good friend, Bill Coore.

The “Golden Age” of golf course architecture was, predominantly, the 1920s when great architects such as Alister MacKenzie, A.W. Tillinghast, and Canada’s Stanley Thompson built many of the world’s finest courses.

Not surprisingly, this influence is noticeable throughout Blackhawk, including, of course, the fantastic par-5 11th, which is dubbed “Peninsula.”
“First of all, the setting there is stunning,” says Whitman. “From high on the bench where the tee is situated, you’re treated to a beautiful sight of the valley and the river. The anticipation is always high.”

Indeed, with many pivotal holes yet to come, this is definitely “gut check” time for the golfer. And the 11th is a hole where many things – some good, some bad! – can happen.

“To me, the fact that everything is running away from the golfer on the second shot is ideal,” says Whitman. “When it plays firm and fast, which it’s supposed to, even the average player has a chance of knocking it on the green in two here and making an eagle.”

Fittingly, it’s the low running shot that uses the natural landforms that is the ideal play to the green. However, as Whitman is quick to point out, there is plenty of trouble.

“Having the main hazard behind the green and also to the right of the green presents issues. The good player must control distance. And missing to the right is one of the most common mistakes in golf. So needless to say, there is plenty of trouble, yet there is a great opportunity for a low score on the hole.”

While the hole, which covers 532 yards from the regular member tees, isn’t “short,” the big elevation change and firm-and-fast fairway certainly makes it play much shorter. A clutch of beautiful bunkers (the hole features a massive bunker complex down the right side) and a newly added wood bulkhead around the green (the Pete Dye influence?) are other key aspects of the hole.

“This hole is always a favourite with our members,” says Blackhawk’s Head Golf Professional, Kevin Chow. “It kind of has it all. In my opinion, it’s truly one of the great holes in Alberta.”

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.