Alberta
Bringing the pros to town
Alberta golfers will have a chance to learn from Canadian Tour pros on June 30th
ATB Financial, along with PGA Alberta and the Canadian Tour, have collaborated to bring the first annual Golf Day in Alberta to life—the first of its kind in Canada. The event, taking place on June 30, 2008, is co-ordinated with two Canadian Tour events on June 23 and July 7 as a way of promoting the tour as well as golfing opportunities in Alberta.
Future Canadian Pro?: Junior clinics are an important part of the Day of Golf in Alberta.—photo courtesy ATB Financial
“ATB feels very committed to promoting awareness of golf in Alberta," said Sunny Lee-Fay, the project manager for the ATB Golf Day in Alberta. “Because the Canadian Tour is always wanting to generate awareness throughout Canada, they are welcoming any type of programs that could get their name out there and (get) the pros out to different communities along their tour schedule. PGA Alberta’s pros are members of (the Canadian Tour), so they are always trying to create an event that will help with sustainability. . .So how do we create an event that is sustainable that will also reach out to communities outside of the major centres of Calgary and Edmonton?”
The Tour comes to town
The answer to that question was to select 10 outlying communities in Alberta—Camrose, Edson, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Lloydminster, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, Strathmore and Whitecourt—and create a meaningful event that would involve local golf courses as well as promote the Canadian Tour and PGA Alberta. Each of the communities will have individual competitions, including closest to the pin and hole-in-one prizes, that will offer players on those courses a chance to participate in the one-day event. Three Canadian Tour pros will be visiting those communities to conduct workshops and participate in a Pro-Am tournament.
“It’s very exciting,” said Lee-Fay. “We had to be limited by the (Canadian Tour pro) schedules. . .it will be tight for some of them who have made the cut to get out to some of the communities, but we’re making as many provisions as we can to facilitate that.”
Lee-Fay said that one of the most important components of ATB’s Golf Day in Alberta will be junior clinics open to the public.
“In any sustainable program, you have to look for the juniors,” she said. “The junior clinics will be open to children from ages six through 12—with or without experience—and will include long game and short game clinics with the pros.”
Lee-Fay said the clinics put on by the Canadian Tour are generally well attended
“The pros enjoy this," she said. “This is how they all got started.”
| Event: | Golf Day in Alberta |
|---|---|
| Date: | June 30, 2008 |
| Info: |
Central Alberta key contacts
A unique training experience
Every year since 2004, the entire class of NAIT's Turfgrass Equipment Technician (TET) program has taken a one-week field trip to Oakcreek Golf and Turf's huge Calgary facility. But this field trip is no sightseeing excursion—it's hard work. The students arrive on a Sunday with their instructors and tools, then put in five days assembling equipment, which arrives in crates from Toro's manufacturing plant in Wisconsin. The students can rub shoulders with visiting golf course superintendents, who are invited because they want to scope out possible employees among the TET students. There is a huge demand for trained technicians. Everyone wins in this partnership.
Camrose, Alberta
East Central Albertas Finest Course
Established in 1929, the Camrose Golf Course is an 18-hole public course that offers all amenities required by both the recreational golfer and the golfer seeking additional challenges to their game. Offering a well stocked pro shop, locker rooms and a full service restaurant/lounge. Our 'southern mansion' style clubhouse serves as the starting point of your golf experience. Our tree-lined fairways situated along the banks of the Stoney Creek provide a variety of challenges to the seasoned golfer while remaining very playable to the beginner. Enhancements to the course over the past few years have contributed to increased popularity with an ever growing market as more golfers rediscover what we have to offer. Whether you are a Camrose 'regular' or visiting us for the first time, you will be pleased with what Camrose has to offer.