Tiffany Gordon believes she is extremely fortunate to work in a job she loves
by Tanya Laing Gahr
As the executive professional of Cottonwood Golf & Country Club south of Calgary, Tiffany Gordon is a very busy woman. On the day we spoke, she had her hands full preparing to host the Canadian PGA Tour as part of the Alberta Day of Golf. However, I’m an old friend, so she squeezed in a few minutes to catch up before running off to ensure everything goes smoothly.
“This is the largest event we’ve run,” said Gordon. “We’ve run the Bank of Montreal Women’s series, but to get a Canadian Tour event here—and all the bells and whistles that go with it—it’s a lot of fun. We’re learning lots, anyway.”
Being able to bring the event to the course is a huge achievement for Gordon and for the course, and it has been one of her goals for a few years.
“It’s always been something that I wanted to see,” said Gordon. “We run a lot of events . . . and we’re big believers in giving back to the game. This was an opportunity to see—one—what we could do, and two, we did a major renovation to the course a year and a half ago and spent about $1.5 million on greens and adding new tees and bunkers and getting it to a championship length, so it was a nice tie-in.”
Hosting an event of this magnitude is just part of Gordon’s career arc. When the course opened in 1990, Gordon signed on as an assistant pro. Over the years, she has moved up through the ranks to head professional and is now the executive pro and general manager of the course. She said she doesn’t play as much as she used to, but enjoys the game more now that she gets to play it rather than work it.
“I’m not as good as I used to be,” she chuckled. “It’s the people, it’s the atmosphere, it’s the business—that’s the stuff that I enjoy.”
That enjoyment has translated into recognition from her peers. Gordon was named Club Pro of the Year in 2005 by the PGA of Alberta and Canadian Club Pro of the Year by the CPGA.
“The moment you get recognized by your peers, it becomes pretty special,” said Gordon.
It’s recognition that is well deserved. But even though Gordon appreciates the accolades, she stresses that it’s not the reason she devotes so much of her time to helping others on and off the golf course. Gordon spends as much time as she can giving to the greater community. She’s involved in several charities as well as events that support community initiatives. She mentors young people on the course and coming up through the business. And in the end, giving back to the community and to the people around her gives her tremendous satisfaction.
“I’m very lucky to love what I do,” said Gordon. “A lot of people get out of bed every day and don’t like what they’re going to. I come in here all day and every day and still like getting up the next day—and I think that’s the difference.”
Gordon plans to keep on enjoying what she does and has no plans to simply coast along. Eventually, she’d like to be involved in developing a golf course from the ground up somewhere in southern Alberta.
“It’s a great golf buzz place,” she said. “It’s awesome here.”
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