It’s not the geographical centre of the province but Red Deer will be the centre of attention for women’s golf in Alberta this July hosting the  2017 Sun Life Financial Alberta Ladies Amateur Championship.

Many of the best female amateur golfers in Alberta will gather to put on a show and decide who is the best.

The Red Deer Golf and Country Club has hosted amateur championships in the past with members and staff willing to do their part to help Alberta Golf.

“We just felt it that this was the right fit this year,” said Head Professional Ken Frame. “Don McFarlane (RDG&CC President) has been in discussions with them for I think a couple of years and we kind of keyed in on this coming year as the host year for the Red Deer Country Club and we’re excited about it.”

Last year, Jaclyn Lee, the young superstar from Calgary took home the title which she also won in 2014. Two years ago, the winner was Jennifer Ha who now is making her way along the LPGA path. Do you see where this is headed?

The event attracts some skilled college players according to Randy Robb, Alberta Golf’s Manager of High Performance Sport.

“We use that to determine the provincial team that will go to the Nationals,” he said. “So I think they’re always trying to gear up to finish in the top three.”

Alberta Junior team members also make room on their calendar for the amateur so you will see some up and coming players who could challenge for the crown.

Players like Sharmaine Rapisura, Kehler Koss, Annabelle Ackroyd and Lauren Koenig come to mind. All were Team Alberta Members.

The tournament also provides a great opportunity for younger girls to watch and get a good idea of what the game is like at a higher level, said Robb.

“It’s ideal for that late high school player that’s trying to figure out what they need to do to be successful at college. They can see the girls that have played two or three years at university and see the level they need to be at.”

It’s not all about the young guns however. More experienced players like Sharon Peart who plays at the RDG&CC and Lynn Kuehn from Lacombe could be in the mix as they are skilled players but also might have an edge on knowing the course slightly more than other competitors.

“We’ve seen that on the men’s side for so many years, the Frank Van Dornicks and Brian Laubmans continue to contend like that, just being there and having the experience of playing the course the best possible way,” said Robb.

The tournament operates with no cut so everyone plays three rounds of golf. Anyone with a registered handicap under 25 can enter.

There are those who are vying for the title while others are there for the social aspect of golf according to Stephen Wigington, Coordinator of Sport Development and Competitions with Alberta Golf.

“We view it as a great opportunity to meet people in the province and share the passion of golf amongst the women.”

Any player has a shot at the overall title but there is also the mid-am category which is for ladies 25 and over and the mid-master competition which is for those 40 years and older, said Wigington.

“So we’ll have three champions for the tournament and if the winner is 40 and over they can win all three contests.”

Over the three days somebody could get hot and run away with it but Frame says the key just might be the unique stretch of seven par fours the players will need to navigate.

“If you can be around about even par or maybe a couple over through those par fours I think you’re going to set yourself apart from the field. That’s the meat and potatoes of the golf course.”

But there are other parts of the course which could deal a blow to somebody’s chances on any of the three days.

Depending on where Alberta Golf sets the tee boxes for the event players could face a tough test on hole #9, a dog leg right, par four. If the tees are back enough then players will have to hit an accurate tee shot to take advantage of the terrain which will funnel the ball down to a flat spot for their second shot over water.

The par five #4 will also bring out the best in the ladies as a long tee shot could see the ball tumble down a steep hill which may leave them about 150 yards for their second shot. That would be the reward portion of this equation.

“For the long hitters, they can bomb it over the end of the hill and roll down to the bottom but if they go a little bit left or a little bit right they are in big, big trouble,” said Frame. “I’m talking about only ten yards off line so they’ve got to be very straight.”

The course will play anywhere from 5,800 to 6,300 yards and Frame says essentially the rest of the track will be status quo.

“We don’t tuck the pins, we don’t grow the rough. We just let them play golf and the Red Deer Country Club is a good challenge for any player in the province and we believe that will be the case this coming July,” he said.

No matter how you slice it, the players and the fans should be in for a solid three days of golf in Red Deer.

Red Deer Hosts the Ladies Amateur

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

Gord MacIntyre gets help from his caddie Leam Thistle in the qualifying for the Special Olympics Alberta Summer Games

When people talk about “growing the game,” that catchphrase seems to generally encompass only one main group — kids. However, courses across Alberta are becoming aware that another segment of the population, special needs athletes, is playing a huge role in boosting the sport’s numbers.

Special Olympians are flocking to golf courses across Alberta in ever-increasing numbers, says Johnny Byrne, the President and CEO of Special Olympics Alberta. He noted that from 2013 to 2016 the provincial program has grown by an 15 per cent, rising to 309 athletes from 268. They are overseen by 42 head/assistant coaches and 38 program volunteers in 14 communities.

“Golf started in the last six years as a formal program,” said Byrne, adding the competitive stream is four years old. “We’ve had really good reception from certain clubs, and the pros, who want to help out. We have a great relationship with the PGA of Canada as well. It’s been great to see this really develop.”

Calgary plays home to a large number of the province’s golfers where 141 athletes are involved with a wait list of 20 more. The Calgary program began 15 years ago with a single facility, the Eaglequest Golf Dome at the Fox Hollow GC, pitching in with their support.

“They have been wonderful friends to the organization, lending us the dome on a weekly basis,” said Kathy Urquhart, the Executive Director of Special Olympics Calgary. Since then, she added, the Winston Golf Club and now a city-owned course have joined in to offer up their facilities.

“Without all three of those partners we would not be able to run this program. We would not be able to grow this program, so we are significantly grateful for their support,” Urquhart stated.

Another huge supporter of the Special Olympics program is in the Stony Plain/Spruce Grove area, where the Stony Plain Golf Course bought into this idea four years ago. The Manager of Golf Operations, Jeff Cuthbertson, is wholeheartedly behind the program that sees upwards of 20 athletes take to the driving range and four-hole kids’ course every second week. As well, they have three competitive-minded players who tour the “big” course on a weekly basis.

“When you look at Special Olympics and the athletes, whether they’re kids, young adults or adults, we have the opportunity to include another group of people in what we do,” explained Cuthbertson. “Truly, if you want to grow the game of golf, it’s not just the kids. There are other groups of people not playing our sport for various reasons and if we can open the doors to those who want to be part of what we are doing, that makes us a viable business and also a valuable asset to our community.”

Ryan Tapankov from the West Central District at the Special Olympics Alberta Summer Games

The feeling of inclusion for the Special Olympics athletes who get to use a course’s driving range, practice areas and sometimes the course itself is a big deal, Byrne pointed out.

“There is no segregation. You’re just out there playing golf. It’s sport at its purest. When you’re out there on the course, everyone’s the same. Everybody shanks shots. You don’t always hit the shot where you want it to go. There’s no difference.”

Cuthbertson suggested quietly that perhaps society as a whole could take a valuable lesson from these very special athletes.

“Golf is hard. Anybody that plays understands that and for someone that has challenges and puts in the effort to play this game, they have my respect. Those that are participating dedicate themselves to it. They go at it as hard, or harder, than anybody else learning to play the game. We’d be doing a disservice to our community if we tried to exclude them from being part of our facility. I’m excited they’re here as part of our community and our golf course. They’re excited to come and that’s a great thing for golf!”

Urquhart perhaps summed up the feelings of the athletes and coaches involved in the golf programs by saying: “These partners that are so supportive of our program and we wouldn’t be able to do this without them. It’s so important for us to have these facilities to get our athletes out to and for them to be able to participate,” because while there are several courses now involved in “growing the game” in this special way, there is always room for more.

“The 2017 Special Olympics Alberta Summer Games is taking place in Medicine Hat from July 7 to 9. Medicine Hat will host the largest Provincial Summer Games with over 1,400 athletes and coaches from across the province. Athletes will compete in 11 summer sports: 5 and 10 pin bowling, athletics, basketball, bocce, golf, powerlifting, rhythmic gymnastics, soccer, softball and swimming. Opening ceremony will be held on July 7 at 7 p.m. at the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede Fieldhouse. This event is free and open to the public. The sport venues for the summer games are Panorama Bowling Lanes, Crescent Heights High School, Family Leisure Centre, Connaught Golf Club and Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club. Closing ceremony will be held on July 9 at the Family Leisure Centre Kinsmen Plaza on July 9 at 2:30 p.m.” For more information visit specialolympics.ca

Inclusion in the Game

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

Winning last year’s Alberta Bantam & Novice Championship with a 59, Ethan Choi, has a goal of winning the Alberta Junior & Juvenile Championship. Below are reflections from the now Team Alberta High Performance Squad member’s memorable day last year…

Ethan Choi wasn’t thinking about his score. Honest.

As any golfer can attest, that’s no small feat when you’re possibly on pace for a career-best round. Few folks can relate, but it must be darn-near impossible when you’re on the verge of firing a 59, the most magical number in golf.

The strategy worked wonders for a 14-year-old Choi, who made history and headlines with his record-setting spin at the Alberta Bantam Championship last August, running away with the provincial crown thanks to a 12-under 59 at River’s Edge Golf Club in Okotoks.

That’s right, 59.

At 14.

“I didn’t think about my score, actually, throughout the round,” said Choi, a resident of Pincher Creek. “I just stayed in the zone, and that’s pretty hard to do. That’s probably the only round I’ve felt that way.

“I don’t know how I did it. I guess when you’re playing well, you don’t really think about your score. It just happens.”

Fifty-nine doesn’t happen very often.

The bantam boys teed it up from the white tees at River’s Edge, with the Par-71 layout spanning 5,879 yards for the 14-and-under showdown.

Choi was rolling right away, dropping a 30-footer on the opening hole for his first of four consecutive birdies.

He notched another bird on the sixth, eagled the eighth and apparently wasn’t intimidated by the island green on No. 9, finishing that test with two tidy strokes and making the turn at 8-under 28. Wow.

Choi scratched another circle on his scorecard on No. 10, then settled for four straight pars before cranking off three more birdies. It was until he drained his putt for a deuce on No. 17 that he started to crunch the numbers.

“The first time I really thought about my score was on the 18^th tee-box. That’s when I realized I just needed a par to shoot that number,” Choi said. “But I just went through my normal routine, took a few deep breaths and… ”

He chuckles, perhaps realizing that he’s making this sound way too simple.

“Just made my par,” he continued. “And it was done.”

The finishing assignment at River’s Edge doglegs to the right, and Choi pulled his drive a wee bit but still found the short stuff. The adrenaline must have been pumping on his approach, because he walloped a wedge-shot about 25 feet past the flag. Needing a two-putt for 59, he barely missed a long bomb before tapping in for a personal-best that many pros can’t even claim.

Twitter was abuzz. Instagram, too.

The youngster received all sorts of congratulatory notes, including a message from Jared du Toit, who made headlines of his own by contending for the title at the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open just a few weeks earlier.

“At first, I thought it was a joke or something,” du Toit said of his reaction to Choi’s remarkable round. “When I found out it wasn’t, I was just amazed. I thought about the scores I was shooting at that age — anywhere between 75 and 85 — and how much better he is at 14 than I was.”

Choi’s mother, Rachel, was at River’s Edge that day. His father, Sheldon, was trying to follow the action online from his job at a pharmacy in Pincher Creek.

“I checked Twitter and it says, ’59.’ I was like, ‘Whoa, what?!’ ” Sheldon said. “It’s a lifetime achievement, I think, for any golfer.”

Indeed, it is.

A golf ball that’s only been struck 59 times isn’t typically ready for retirement, but that Titleist Pro V1 is now stashed among Choi’s keepsakes. Alberta Golf provided the official scorecard, now displayed in the living room of the family home.

Thing is, the talented up-and-comer — a regular at both Pincher Creek Golf Club and Lethbridge Country Club and a member of Team Alberta — won’t waste too much time gazing in his rearview mirror.

“I just want to leave that achievement in the past and move on,” he said. “I don’t want to dwell on that and be satisfied, because that was in the past. I just want to keep grinding away.”

Already better than a scratch handicap, Choi hopes another superb summer would land him a spot on Golf Canada’s national development squad. His list of more long-term goals includes a university golf scholarship and a career on the PGA Tour.

His course record at River’s Edge should be safe. And, who knows, maybe he’ll eventually enjoy another one of those days.

“Since I’ve done it before, I know it’s possible to do it again,” Choi said. “But you don’t go out there thinking, ‘Oh, I’m going to shoot 59.’ It just happens as the day goes on.”

59!

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

Dustin Risdon captured the PGA of Alberta Championship at the Edmonton Petroleum G&CC. He continues to play extremely well, winning the PGA of Alberta’s first Players’ Tour event of the season on May 24, 2017. 

Junior champion.

Professional golfer.

Caddie.

PGA of Canada assistant.

Teacher.

Dustin Risdon has been there, done that … is doing that. And somewhere along the lines, he’s still finding time to do what he does best— win golf tournaments.

But these days, golf is paying dividends for him in more ways than with just prize money.

These days, the Strathmore native is stress-free and having fun golfing.

Again.

Finally again.

“I definitely lost the fun on a number of occasions,” said the 35-year-old two-time Alberta junior kingpin and 1997 Canadian junior champ, who eventually swung his way to success on the Nationwide Tour, now the Web.com Tour, during a roller-coaster pro golf career. “I wanted to quit the game countless times.”

Good thing he didn’t, in retrospect.

While they may not be events on the Nationwide Tour, of which he played in 46 events from 2003-10, or the Canadian Open, of which he’s played in three over the years, Risdon found his way to a run of wins — and a ton of fun — during the 2016 PGA of Alberta golf season.

First, it was victory at the PGA of Alberta Assistants’ Championship with a two-day 16-under 128 at Mill Woods Golf Club.

Second, it was the PGA of Alberta Championship that saw him shoot a field-best 1-under 71 at Edmonton Petroleum Golf & Country Club.

Then, it was the SunIce Tour Championship at which he carded a two-day 11-under 133 to beat runner-up Wes Heffernan by eight strokes and set a new course record at Sundre Golf Club.

Along the way, he won seven of the eight PGA of Alberta events he entered and finished runner-up in the other.

And in the end, he was tops on the PGA of Alberta’s order of merit and grabbed — of course — its player-of-the-year honour.

It was definitely good times for the oft-reserved Risdon.

“I was having fun most of the time,” said Risdon of the key to his golf success. “When I was travelling, I kind of got the old feelings back staying in the hotel rooms by myself, thinking ‘I don’t want to be doing this anymore.’ Quebec was a real tough one (for a third-place finish at the Quebec Canadian Circuit Pro Tour), because we were way out in the middle of nowhere — I was pretty much isolated by myself, it was a four-day event, and by the end of the week, I was pretty much begging to come home.”

But his crowning achievement of the schedule was yet to come on the shores of Georgian Bay at the Lora Bay Golf Club just outside Thornbury, Ont., where he trounced the field last September to triumph at the PGA Assistant’s Championship of Canada.

“It was relaxing staying at a house instead of being stuck alone in a hotel room — and that helped,” said Risdon of bunking with a friend in a huge home by Georgian Bay. “It’s a different feeling when you’ve got someone there with you there all the time, so that made life easier.”

Indeed, Risdon rode a stress-free week to a three-day, 18-under 198, beating the nearest competition by an event-record 11 strokes to collect a $9,000 paycheque. The first two rounds of his 67-67-64 effort helped Alberta win the 36-hole inter-zone competition — again in record fashion — at the national tournament.

“I was kinda building up to that — won a few tournaments going in,” Risdon said. “The year before, I had a bad first round. I felt like I could’ve won that tournament, but I actually felt a little nervous playing at a national championship again, even though it wasn’t the Canadian Open.

“So I went in last year thinking I can play with these guys and shoot 6-under each round. I shot 5-under the first round, and I told (the PGA of Canada reporter), ‘I’m one shot behind my goal — I want to shoot 6-under every day and finish 18-under’ — and his eyes went wide open. I birdied the last three holes to finish 18-under, and he was the first guy to say, ‘Holy, you did it!’

“So just the mind was right. I had a place to stay, and I had a buddy caddying for me — I was comfortable.”

These days, he’s most comfortable teaching the game to others as an associate teaching professional at National Golf Academy in Calgary.

Risdon brings, of course, a wealth of not just knowledge but the experience of having played high-pressure golf in the top ranks of the sport. It all makes him the perfect teacher.

“The first thing I teach in a lesson is we’re going to keep this as simple as possible, so you can go out and have some fun,” Risdon said. “They’re not going out on tour, so let’s get a golf-swing groove that you can go out and rely on. And I teach them how to self-diagnose, so they don’t have 18 different thoughts in their head before they hit the ball.”

He’s especially keen on mentoring those young talents with a chance, perhaps, to follow in his footsteps.

“You can’t perfect this game — you lose 99% of the time,” said Risdon, who’s also spent time working in the much-ballyhooed junior program at Collicutt Siding Golf Club in Carstairs. “It’s hard to explain the mental side. That’s why I go out and play a lot of lesson holes with the juniors. I’ll go out and show them how to play the course and offer course management and the mental experience.”

“You never say never when it comes to playing again — but for now, it’s teaching,” added Risdon, who can be reached at dustin@nationalgolfacademy.ca. “I’d like to become more of a coach — my ultimate goal is to help juniors along that are getting ready to go to college and help them get their scholarship. I didn’t have too much of that growing up. I had a lot of offers, but I didn’t have a lot of guidance. I want to re-do what I did with other kids and get them on the right track.

“If I can get them there and get them on their way, that would be gratifying to me.”

Dustin being Dustin

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

Assembled media, sponsors and junior golfers at the annual McLennan Ross Junior Golf Tour Media Day on May 23rd at Wolf Creek Golf Resort. Juniors on hand included Brooke Brezovski of Sturgeon Valley, Ethan deGraaf of Royal Mayfair, Kaiden Nicholson of the Edmonton CC, and Chase Broderson of Lacombe. With 24 other events scheduled, the Tour kicks into high gear this week for the first tournament happening on May 27th in Drayton Valley. Entries are open. Visit the Tour’s website for more information and register. 

Tour talk – A message from the Tour’s Executive Director Dunc Mills on this season:

It has been over twenty years now; twenty-two to be exact, since we started the McLennan Ross Junior Golf Tour, Presented by Crowe MacKay.  What a treat it has been to see the thousands of young Alberta junior golfers compete on the Tour over that time as they launched their competitive golf careers.

While we have seen the best of the best Alberta juniors come through the program over the last two decades, we have also seen thousands of other youngsters who were just getting their first taste of what it takes to play in competition.

I can easily remember first seeing players like Jaclyn Lee, Brett Hogan, Jennifer Ha, Andrew Harrison and others when they were barely into their teens or even younger, and look at all they have accomplished now. Did the McLennan Ross Junior Golf Tour instantly turn these kids into great players?  Of course not; their hard work and dedication and talent turned them into great players. But one of the objectives of the Tour from the very start has been to help provide an environment where junior golfers of all abilities in Alberta have a platform where they can grow and develop their golf games, and have a ton of fun at the same time.

We would like to think that we have been very successful in that facet of what we have tried to achieve with these young people.

None of this of course would be possible without the support of so many others.  The host sites at courses around the province provide their golf courses to help grow the game and develop these kids into good players, and more importantly, into becoming good people.  Junior golf is so important in the personal growth and character development of young people.

Parents provide the moral and financial support to get their kids into golf and hopefully stay with the sport for a lifetime. Volunteers and professional staff at the host clubs provide their time and support to help make the tournaments run smoothly.

The financial support and encouragement from our corporate partners has been incredible.  Loyalty from sponsors such as the law firm of McLennan Ross as our Title Sponsor, and our Presenting Sponsor Crowe MacKay, makes the Tour possible in the first place.

The Koch Ford Edge all decked out at the McLennan Ross Junior Tour Media Day.

We couldn’t get around the province to the events without the Koch Ford Lincoln tour vehicle. Srixon Canada supports the annual Order of Merit so that the kids can track their progress and achievements. Dairyland supplies nutritious milk products for the players at every event.

We have 25 events around Alberta this summer at many of the best golf courses in the province, culminating in the Tour Championship at Wolf Creek Golf Resort on August 28^th, where Director of Golf Ryan Vold has hosted the tour final event since the Tour’s inception in 1996.  The tournaments are fun, affordable and great competition.  See you on Tour!

Tour Talk

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

The fire reduced the Fort McMurray GC clubhouse and maintenance building to ashes, but the greens and fairways were largely untouched. 

At its largest its angry flames scorched a perimeter of 1,120 kilometres. It destroyed 2,400 homes and other buildings, forced the largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta’s history and, according the Insurance Bureau of Canada, caused damages of $3.58 billion – the most expensive disaster for insurers in the country’s history.

And yet, somehow, someway, and against all odds, the two beautiful golf courses in Fort McMurray – the Fort McMurray Golf Club and Miskanaw – survived.

Miskanaw was barely touched and although the Fort McMurray Golf Club lost its clubhouse, equipment, 100 golf carts, driving range and maintenance building, it was still able to open just two months after the devastating blaze. “We got lucky,” said Fort McMurray’s head pro Jason Vaughn. “The infrastructure is gone but the fire didn’t touch the fairways, greens or tee boxes very much.”

“It’s hard to believe but the only damage we had was one little fence burned a bit,” said Miskanaw’s director of golf Rob MacGregor which is just eight kilometers south east from the Fort McMurray Golf Club.

In the fall of 2014, Miskanaw was renovated and lengthened to 7,031 yards. “There is an island that is just 97 meters away – I know the exact distance because we were thinking about putting a tee box there – and it was on fire but we got lucky,” said MacGregor.

The fire which began on May 1 swept into Fort McMurray, the Oilsands capital, two days later forcing more than 80,000 people to leave. Yet on July 1 the Fort McMurray Golf Club was able to reopen. “We’ve got a fresh start,” said Vaughn. “The only thing we can do is move forward. “We showed that a ‘little’ fire wasn’t going to hurt us,” he said. “We’re bigger and stronger than the fire even as big as it was. “We weren’t going to let it get us down.”

Vaughn said that the grass continued to grow so well that fairways were knee high and the greens a foot or two tall when equipment was finally allowed back on the course. “It’s amazing how fast it grew and how high it grew with no maintenance at all for five weeks.

“When we got back on the course with the maintenance equipment there were spots that were still smoldering and lots of smoke.” At its hottest point, the raging inferno burned at up to 1,000 Celsius.

“The bush is obviously a lot thinner; the trees really took a beating. Including the trees that burnt and were dead we had to take down 2,500 trees that were in danger of falling over. The bottoms of the trees and bush were still thick as ever but the tops of the tress were all brown or black.When we reopened, it looked like early November instead of the first of July but the course itself still plays the same.”

Not only that but the Fort McMurray Golf Club will open this year with nine new holes giving the course 27 in total. “It’s out with the old and in with the new,” said Vaughn, 36, who is in his 11th year as the course’s head professional.

“The new nine will be tough but it will be fun to play,” he said of the addition which was developed by golf course architect Wayne Carleton, who also did some renovations to the existing 18 holes.

Carleton, who has designed several award winning projects like Shadow Mountain in Cranbrook, B.C.; Talking Rock in Chase B.C., Dakota Dunes in Saskatoon, SK, and Black Mountain in Kelowna, B.C., said the plan is to eventually add a fourth nine and have a 36-hole facility. “The new nine holes are very similar to the current two nines but it has a lot more elevation. I’m particularly impressed by the bunkering,” said Vaughn.

The new nine is also a little more forgiving with wider fairways and larger landing zones. Like the existing 18 holes which were designed by Bill Newis – author of courses like Golden, Lethbridge’s Paradise Canyon and Calgary courses like Priddis, Heritage Pointe, Bearspaw, the Hamptons and Cottonwood – the new nine have been carved out of the Borealis Forest and lies along the banks of the Athabasca River.

With several dog legs and lots of shots demanding carries over valleys and creek beds, the greens on the original nine plays from as far as 6,850 yards from the tips. “It’s one of the most challenging courses I’ve played,” said superintendent Jeff Hacior. “It’s tight with out-of-bounds on every hole. You have to be straight. The original 18 is flat but not very forgiving.”

The Fort McMurray Golf Club hosted the Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada’s Syncrude Boreal Open for five years but were obviously unable to do it again last year.

“It’s onwards and upwards,” said Vaughn, who previously spent seven years in the Edmonton area – four at Jagare Ridge and three at Devon. “The goal is to keep it positive. Fort McMurray is awesome; there is so much support. It’s a real tight-knit group of people and the golf course is kind of like everybody’s second home, me included.”

While the clubhouse and pro shop are currently eight trailers put together, new facilities will be built that Vaughn said will be “bigger and better than what we currently had. We were looking to just add on to the clubhouse – we even had an architect in place – but because of the fire we’re starting from scratch instead.”

The new clubhouse and other structures will open in the spring of 2018. “It’s been an interesting experience to say the least – it’s also been a learning experience,” said Vaughn, who relocated to Calgary during the evacuation. “We’re taking it step by step, moving forward one day at a time and making the best of a bad situation.”

Personally, Vaughn said the early days of the fire were tough for everyone. “The toughest thing was the unknown. Nobody knew if they had a house or a place of work to come back to. We watched the news like everyone else. “Nobody had any answers.” Hacior was in the same position. “When we evacuated nobody had any idea what was happening to our houses or if the golf course was on fire,” he said.

“It was unbelievable. We just kind of watched it explode. When we were able to return to Fort McMurray I was shocked to see how much of the course was still standing. I was expecting way worse. I was surprised I had something to come back to,” said Hacior, a graduate of Olds College, who became the Fort McMurray Golf Club’s superintendent since 2005.

“The fire was too massive – it was crazy how big it was but we didn’t have to start off from ground zero to any extent. It’s hard to burn green grass; it doesn’t turn on fire. There was lots of fuel for the fire in the trees but not in the grass.”

“When we got back to the course five weeks later we got some rain and it was amazing how fast the turf came back and it came back as good as it was if not better. The toughest challenge was simply trying to reopen, salvage the rest of the season and put out the product that our members and green-fee players expected.”

“Yet, within just two weeks, we were back to where we wanted to be. By mid-July the golfers hardly knew any difference.” Getting there, Haicor said was only possible because of companies like John Deere and Oakcreek Golf and Turf. “Until we got new equipment those companies all gave us loaner equipment.”

Hacior said in a matter of time everything will regenerate. “I can already see some dogwoods and poplars coming back. Anything in the forest, when it burns, replenishes itself.”

“Now we’re all excited,” said Vaughn. “We’re all looking forward to a typical Fort McMurray summer; we’re looking for some normality.”

The Beast

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