It’s become the Number One participation sport in Canada — a game once ridiculed as a domain for seniors or those with a fixation for checked polyester pants, white belts and blushing pink golf shirts.

Today, the stereotypes are gone.

Golf has become fashionable.

In Calgary, where we have always warmed to the game, golf has become red-hot.

It’s a city described as “obsessed,” where players are lining up to write $25,000 cheques to join private clubs. It’s also a place where business people from across North America are calling — to see how they might get in on the action.

“It’s become an industry unto itself,” says Darren Munnich, general manager of the private Carnmoney Golf Club just outside Calgary’s southern limits.

Illustration: Grant McKenzie


“I don’t consider it a wealthy industry,” he adds.

“It’s not a road to riches. If an entrepreneur’s primary objective is a return on investment, I wouldn’t recommend golf. You do it as an investor or an employee for the love of the game. It’s a great industry to work in.”

Last year, the nine-year-old Carnmoney course added 43 principal members to its club, each paying $25,000 for a 100-per-cent equity share. It was a great year, bringing the club’s total to 371 principal members, 29 shy of its cap of 400.

Closer to downtown, the venerable Earl Grey Golf Club has a waiting list of between 10 and 15 years. Potential members joining this year would pay $25,000 for a non-equity share.

The first $18,000 is paid up front (there are payment plans and partial playing privileges) while the remaining $7,000 transfer fee, which is subject to change, is paid when the member gains full entry.

Who’s playing?

“Passionate golfers, a lot of families and couples,” says Munnich. “We get a really high percentage of really keen golfers. That would be the unifying demographic rather than (by) profession.”

In the case of private clubs, players are obviously well off. But Alberta golfers come from all walks of life, people riding the wave of a game that accommodates all ages, gender and physical ability.

According to a major study by the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) on playing patterns in the country between 1996 and 1998, 29.7 per cent of Albertans aged 12 and over play golf. In total numbers, 464,000 males (67 per cent) and 228,000 females (33 per cent) take part.

The number of Albertans playing at least eight rounds a year (called core golfers) totalled 305,000, with 88,000 belonging to private clubs.

At the same time, using slightly different guidelines, a recent study by Statistics Canada over the same period showed 1.8 million Canadians regularly played golf compared to 1.5 million playing hockey. In 1992, golf was the fourth most popular participation sport, but the number of women playing has pushed it to first.

Tracking the boom is Brent Ellenton, executive director for the Alberta Golf Association, who receives calls almost daily from B.C. and the U.S. asking for impact studies on the game here.

“They aren’t necessarily in the business, but they want to get in the business,” says Ellenton, whose association governs men’s and women’s amateur golf in the province.

He’s noticed an increase in women players here, especially in Calgary. (More women than men are joining the AGA.)

“It’s often been said you don’t know anybody until you’ve played 18 holes with them,” says Ellenton. “It’s the same with clients. Friendships are made in four hours. If you’re sitting around a boardroom, it’s just not as comfortable. Today, a lot of women don’t want to be excluded from that opportunity.”

Terry Boldt, Calgary Parks and Recreation manager in charge of municipal courses, says the demand is phenomenal. He believes if the city had two more 18-hole courses today, they would be packed.

The City of Calgary has eight courses on six locations. Its mandate is to provide affordable golf and encourage participation. This year’s rates will not change, says Boldt, who points with satisfaction to a program at the Richmond Greens nine-hole course that allows a family of four, with rental clubs, to play for $25. The rate’s been the same since 1995.

However, once players improve and look for more challenge, they face higher fees and difficulty getting good tee times at local courses. Many players are literally getting out of town.

At Olds Central Highlands Golf Club, a player can walk into the clubhouse and enjoy a year’s membership with full privileges for $535.

People are making the hour-long drive, says head professional Dean McBride.

Twenty per cent of his membership is made up of Calgarians, about double from two years ago.

Outside the area’s 60 public, private and semi-private courses, Calgarians are also enjoying golf holidays. Hawaii, Phoenix and California are winter getaways, but for sheer numbers the Columbia Valley is the place to be from April through September.

“If it wasn’t for Calgary, I’d have a lot of free time on my hands,” says Don Seable, owner of the Riverside Golf Resort at Fairmont Hot Springs. Seable estimates that 70 per cent of his tee times go to Albertans; 30 to 40 per cent of those are from Calgary.

Jim Thompson, president and CEO of the Radium Resort’s two 18-hole courses, believes his Alberta business might be closer to 80 per cent. Both owners have land available to build new courses, but haven’t gone ahead.

“Timing is everything,” says Thompson, who also runs McKenzie Meadows in Calgary’s southeast and plans to build another course in that area.

Thompson, Seable and Carnmoney’s Munnich all agree that while the game is hugely popular, it doesn’t mean that building courses are automatic money makers.

Land is expensive and building a course with a proper clubhouse and infrastructure will likely cost between $4 million and $10 million. Many industry people compare it to owning an NHL hockey team. It’s glamorous, but costs are high and the industry is competitive.

“Depending on your accounting methods, a course will spend anywhere from $500,000 to $900,000 annually on its operating budget — things like staff, equipment, chemicals and fertilizers,” says Munnich.

“It’s not cheap, but our No. 1 priority is maintenance, because playing conditions and presentation is the customer’s top priority. That’s how we’re judged.”

The RCGA study noted that largest jump in golfers was in the junior group (11 per cent) and that the rolling waves of boomers (20 per cent now golf) with more discretionary income will likely ensure a bright future for the game.

Munnich agrees.

“The trend I see is that the people who are playing, play a lot. Before, there were a lot of casual golfers. It’s not the case anymore.”