Tour Talk

Getting young people involved in junior golf has a wealth of benefits, not only for kids to get their first exposure to the game in general, but also to enable these youngsters to learn so much about themselves and life as a whole.

In the 28 years that the McLennan Ross Alberta Junior Tour has been part of the golf landscape in our province, tens of thousands of juniors have entered ‘Mac Ross’ events throughout the province as well as the higher-level provincial tournaments operated by Alberta Golf. Many of these players have gone on to achieve great things in golf on the competitive side, but just as many or more of these kids have used the life skills and character development that junior golf helped provide them to further their careers and personal growth in life away from the golf course. We have interviewed three Tour alumni to talk to them about what they learned through junior golf and how they have been able to apply those lessons to their careers.

By Dunc Mills

Age: 34 Home Town: Rocky Mountain House Current Career: Assistant Professor, Sport Administration, College of Business, Ohio University, Athens, OH

After playing collegiately at California University of Pennsylvania, Melissa earned her masters degree at that school, and then obtained her PhD in Sport Administration from the University of Northern Colorado. Students in the Sport Administration program at Ohio University learn the business side of sport: marketing, ticketing, attraction of customers, contract negotiations, supply chain management and many more aspects of how to run a successful sports franchise or business.

Age: 37 Home Town: Stony Plain Current Career: Director of Golf at Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge Golf Club

After graduating high school in Stony Plain, Tahlon attended both Lethbridge Community College and MacEwan University to earn his degree in golf course management. He worked at a number of Edmonton and area courses and was head golf professional in Edson for a few years before being hired ten years ago at the Stanley Thompson-designed Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge GC. Tahlon is now the director of golf at one of the world’s finest golf resorts that is on everyone’s list as one of the Top Ten golf courses in Canada.

Age: 39 Home Town: Calgary Current Career: Director of Instruction, Golfuture YYC in Calgary

Born in Calgary, Todd spent much of his youth in Lacombe where his late grandfather Jack Brooks, a member of the Alberta Golf Hall of Fame, helped spark his interest in golf. Todd played collegiately at the University of Victoria, where he earned a degree in Behavioral Psychology. After competing on PGA TOUR Canada, Todd began to focus on instruction and he is now the DOI at Golfuture in Calgary, formerly the Golf Canada Teaching Centre.

MD: My parents, Peter and Wendy, got me started around age 6 in Rocky Mountain House, mostly for family outings and travel. My dad was my first instructor and he got me started playing McLennan Ross events at about age 13.

TS: I got started in the very successful junior program at Stony Plain GC under the supervision of head pro Grant Cammidge and his assistant Craig Kibblewhite. I worked at the golf course to earn my membership but didn’t start playing tournaments on the McLennan Ross Tour until I was 15.

TH: My parents got me into golf at age 5, but my grandfather Jack Brooks was my main influence at the Lacombe GCC because my parents were both working so hard. My first tournament was the Lacombe Junior Open, probably a couple of years before the Mac Ross Tour was founded.

TH: When I made a couple of travelling teams for Alberta Golf, I think I could see that I could compete with the other top juniors in Alberta on any given day. The Alberta Golf junior program helped make it very measurable for me to chart my progress.

MD: I remember playing in my first Alberta Junior Championship (now known at the U19s) and I was so nervous. But I calmed down, and improved my score by 14 shots on Day 2 and 10 more shots on Day 3, and I thought, ‘Hey, I can do this!’

TS: I can’t think of any one particular tournament that lit the fire, so to speak, but what I immediately liked about tournament play was the individual aspect of golf. The structure of junior golf with the emphasis on etiquette and how to carry yourself on and off the golf course was so important to me.

TS: I think I knew by the time I was 16 or 17 that being a club professional was what I wanted to do with my life. I set my educational goals accordingly, first to go to LCC and then to MacEwan for their golf management programs.

MD: Well for me, golf per se isn’t my career path. I had been a multi-sport athlete in school and I thought that perhaps being a physical education teacher was where I was heading. But certainly my background in golf was instrumental in getting into the business of sport.

TH: By my second year at UVic, my interest in behavorial psychology led me to start coaching fellow teammates on the golf team. It only seemed natural to have that evolve into the coaching and instruction part of the golf business. (Ed. Note: Todd is the 2021 PGA of Alberta ‘Teacher of the Year’)

MD: I think the fact that in golf, you are so vulnerable personally. With all the ups and downs in golf, the sport can’t help but make you more resilient and mentally stronger.

TH: The overall fairness of the game. Lots of times, people say ‘golf isn’t fair’ but if you play well, you usually get rewarded accordingly. Hard work matters. I also loved playing in a team atmosphere with Alberta Golf and later at UVic, and that has helped me be able to build long-lasting relationships.

TS: The structure of junior golf with the emphasis on etiquette and how to carry yourself on and off the golf course was so important to me.

TH: Be sure you’re a good person.

TS: Have fun. Don’t worry about your score.

MD: Golf is hard. Give yourself permission to have a bad round but be proud of your overall successes. This sport is not about instant gratification.

Hole #9 - Cleopatra - Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge GC