In the calamitous weeks following Sept. 11, the Banff Springs Golf Course resembled a quiet country retreat – not a bustling, world-famous international golf resort.
Banff’s executive professional Doug Wood recalls that the only players on the course in the days following the attacks were the hotel visitors who couldn’t get flights home.
“Some of them tried to play golf, but we had lots of people who couldn’t hold their concentration for 18 holes,” says Wood. “They were upset and would walk off the golf course, worrying about family or friends.”
Eight months later, the terrorist attacks are still having repercussions on international travel.
But in Alberta, all signs point to a tremendous summer for golf, handicapped only by lousy spring weather that has cost courses untold revenue.
In Banff, U.S bookings are strong and Canadian corporate bookings are up significantly, says Wood. Other Rockies courses are reporting tee-time reservations ahead of last year’s pace.
Recent polls suggest that a large number of Alberta residents are sticking close to home this summer, and will keep their holiday travel plans – and golfing money – in province.
At the same time, more seniors and women are taking up the game, waiting lists at private courses are growing, and thousands of Alberta children are being introduced to golf in an initiative that’s building a “farm system” for the future.
In essence, the boom that began in the 1990s is still going strong.
And on the corporate and international scale, Wood is observing an even more interesting trend.
“People are looking for things right now that make them feel good,” he says. “They are taking some of that money out of the markets, and saying: ‘I’m going to pamper myself for a while.’ They are making big purchases, cars and homes, and spending money on leisure.”
At Banff, U.S. golf bookings are strong, Japan is soft, Europe is holding its own, and travel from across Canada is well up, says Wood.
“We’ve had some surprise high-end corporate events that have come out of nowhere, and they are spending really big numbers,” he adds.
“They are all Top 100 companies in Canada, and they are looking at taking care of their best clients. They are doing it up right, upgrading on things like meals and giveaways.”
While Banff took the biggest hit following Sept. 11, many other courses didn’t miss a beat.
At Kananaskis Country, the terrorist attacks led to about 600 tee-time cancellations by people unwilling to travel.
However, the times were snapped up immediately by local players enjoying beautiful fall weather.
Albertans have always been the lifeblood of the 36-hole golf resort and make up 85 per cent of its annual play (about 70,000 rounds a year).
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this summer, course bookings are ahead of last year’s pace – despite initial fears that the G8 summit would scare golfers away.
The course will shut down for 13 days next month (June 17-29) for security reasons.)
Albertans are planning many more day trips this summer, and that will likely include golfers heading to the mountains and country courses, says Bill Ozard at Travel Alberta In-Province.
Independent survey results show that 20 per cent more Albertans plan to travel more often in-province this year than 2001, says Ozard. Seventy-nine per cent of those people surveyed plan to make an average of 6.5 trips of 80 kilometres or more, one way, in the summer months.
If last year is a gauge, many Edmontonians and Calgarians will be beating a path to the Red Deer area, where a core of eight golf courses have found a niche in the Alberta golf market.
Led by Ozard and Wolf Creek Golf Resort executive professional Ryan Vold, eight area courses and three Red Deer hotels created a consortium in 1999.
Offering affordable “Stay and Play” packages, their marketing efforts generated 400 room night bookings and 870 rounds of golf that first season. Last year, the numbers jumped to 1,718 room nights and 4,500 rounds of golf.
Although participating clubs are mostly semi-private and do about 30,000 rounds annually, there are always times that can be filled in, says Vold.
Working as a solid marketing unit – “No one’s cutting their own deals” – the group has found a comfortable business niche.
“Our starting price is $85, and that gets you a green fee and a room,” says Vold. “That price might not even get you a green fee and cart in the Rockies.”
A 1998 survey of Canadian golfers by the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) showed Albertans are crazy about the game. Between 1996 and 1998, 29.7 per cent of Albertans aged 12 and over played golf.
Brent Ellenton, executive director of the Alberta Golf Association, is amazed by the game’s annual growth.
“I expected that it would peak in the mid-1990s, but each year we get busier and busier,” says Ellenton, whose association is responsible for amateur golf in Alberta.
Thanks in part to the AGA, the pipeline of players is likely to continue for decades.
Last year, 6,000 school children in Grades 4 to 6 were introduced to golf in a program called Future Links Level 1.
The series of five lessons shows kids the basics of the game and is part of the RCGA’s Future Links program, an initiative designed to grow the game on a national scale. As players progress, they are funnelled through higher-level programs right up to elite instruction.
“The teachers love it because (it’s) a part of the curriculum that is provided, in their lap, at no cost,” says Ellenton.
The program doesn’t require professional instruction (although Alberta PGA professionals become involved at the next level) and can be taught by a physical education teacher or a community volunteer.
“There’s no question that we are attracting kids to the game, and that just spurs its growth,” says Ellenton.
But will there be enough courses to play?
Calgary golf course architect Gary Browning hopes so. He has six projects in various stages under way in the Calgary area and B.C.’s Columbia Valley.
“I’m working myself, and everyone else on my staff, to the bone,” laughs Browning, who is involved in a proposal to build a 27-hole facility near the Calgary International Airport.
Also in Calgary, south of McKenzie Meadows along the Bow River, Browning is working on the design of the (currently named) Chaparral Golf Club, which is in the development permit process.
Although negotiations continue concerning the airport course, Browning expects crews to break ground on the project by next spring.
As the game continues to thrive, many industry experts worry about the rising price of green fees.
Some believe that green fee players will begin cutting down on the number of games they play to reduce expenses, and practise more instead.
This year, however, the forecast suggests that when the weather is good, Alberta courses will be flooded with players.
