The Unsung Heroes

By Wes Gilbertson

Terri Solodan (L), Executive Director of the AGSA, Cameron Kusiek (C), 2019 President of the AGSA, and Dennis McKernan (R), Past Executive Director of the AGSA.

Course superintendents have long been known as the unsung heroes of the golf industry. A fitting description.

But after the summer of 2020, with tee sheets jam-packed as more and more folks flocked to this safe and socially distanced sport, perhaps we should all be singing their praises.Or, at the very least, tipping our caps to the greenskeepers, some of the earliest-rising and hardest-working men and women on Alberta’s golf scene.

“A lot of superintendents were expected to do the same amount of work with less staff, with tighter budgets,” said Terri Solodan, executive director of the Alberta Golf Superintendents Association (AGSA). “It really spotlighted how important that asset is — the golf course, the grass, the turf underneath it. And for me, I think it spotlighted that they’re just so dedicated and so adaptable. They kind of worked with what they had.

“I can tell you, there’s not a superintendent I know that this past summer wasn’t getting on machines and cutting grass or cutting pins, doing work that normally they would have crew doing for them. And that’s while still doing all their normal duties.”

For a lot of Albertans, golf turned out to be an important escape during a strange, stressful and sometimes scary summer. Who knew that wayward drives and double bogeys could be so good for your mental health?

Hopefully, during one of your rounds, you stopped or waved to say thank you to those who do the mowing, set the pins and are occasionally spotted up to their elbows in mud as they try to fix irrigation issues. While turf-teamers start their tasks early and are typically on a second cup of coffee before the sun even rises, they were more visible than ever in 2020. It’s tough to find a gap between golfers when every tee time is filled.

“It was a challenge,” acknowledged Dean Zilinski, who is superintendent at Coal Creek Golf Resort and served as president of the AGSA during an unprecedented summer. “But I think everybody should be

proud of how we were able to adapt to a fluid situation. I mean, who would have thought golf would have been so busy? I think it was a big success story for the whole industry.”

Superintendents played an important part in that success story, and not just by delivering stellar conditions to the recordsetting droves of divot-diggers. Those on the AGSA’s board of directors are especially proud — and rightfully so — of their contributions in the push to convince the provincial government to allow courses to open in the spring. They banded together with several other stakeholder groups (see p. 30) presenting a long list of protocols and best practices to ensure that par-seeking would be a safe activity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The politicians and health officials were convinced and Premier Jason Kenney announced in late April that golf was a go — two days later. While private club members and green fee players were doing somersaults when that news dropped, superintendents and their crews were scrambling.

“When they made that announcement, it was foot to the floor,” Zilinski said. “And really, we didn’t let off until the cold snap that ended the year.”

“Things had to happen fast, and every club pulled it off in a professional and safe manner,” added Chris Prodahl, who is superintendent at Glendale Golf and Country Club and will double as president of the AGSA for 2021. “And then to fastforward to September and you look at the amount of golf that was played at each facility in a safe manner, that’s something to be recognized for. We have proven it can be a safe sport. Everybody bent every which way that they could to pull it off.”

The AGSA has an active membership of about 175 head superintendents, assistant supers and students, with representation from roughly 125 courses province-wide. The association was formed in 1987, aiming to promote the work and expertise of these unsung heroes and to encourage networking and sharing between the top turfies around Alberta.

As Solodan put it: “The woes and challenges that a super may have in one area, another may have had years before and have experience in how to figure it out and solve it.”

With most of their meetings and get-togethers cancelled, they missed out on some of that connectivity in 2020. Their work still shone.

“They’re just so dedicated and so passionate about what they do and always want their best foot forward and the course to look as good as it possibly can,” said Solodan, hired as executive director of the AGSA in 2019. “They don’t get a lot of the spotlight, but they should.”

One of Alberta Golf’s major objectives is to grow the game of golf. Whether it is giving a child the opportunity to try the game for the first time, helping top players excel in their training or paying tribute to all the people who helped to build this community from the ground up, growing the game is critically important to the long-term health of the sport.

Alberta Golf is proud to announce the Alberta Golf Fund – a way to help grow the game right in our own back yard. Alberta Golf has created five initiatives to which donors can contribute, with a variety of programs offered within each initiative. All of the money raised stays right here in Alberta.

• Investing in junior golf is the key to securing the future of golf in Alberta.

Alberta Golf’s flagship program,

Youth on Course, allows kids to play golf for $5 per round. Donations to this segment of the Alberta Golf Fund go directly to support the Youth on

Course program. The potential for expansion within junior golf in Alberta is extremely exciting, with many new opportunities just around the corner. • Youth on Course is a program started in Northern California a number of years ago. It was brought to Alberta in 2019 and has produced some incredible numbers in the two short years it has been in the province. In 2019, 1,000 rounds were played by kids with a Youth on Course card, and in 2020 that number skyrocketed to 8,000 rounds.

• Preserving golf’s history in Alberta and celebrating those vital ambassadors that made the game what it is today is the top priority of this area. Donations will expand the Alberta Golf Hall of

Fame, Volunteer Awards and the ongoing Heritage Project. • The Heritage Project is a new initiative designed to take the Alberta Golf

Hall of Fame and all the history that comes with it on the road. The goal is to create a travelling display that would be available for viewing at every one of Alberta Golf’s major championships.

• Alberta continues to produce some of the top prospects in the country for national and international competitions. Funding in this segment of the Alberta Golf Fund directly impacts the Player Support Program,

Multi-Sport Games/Teams and

Athlete Assistance. • The Alberta Golf Player Support

Program supports the top athletes in the province through funding that is directed to a player’s personal professional support staff. Players are able to direct funds to four different areas of their training – coaching, swing instruction, fitness/nutrition or sports psychology. • Players are invited to join this program via a pre-determined set of criteria, which include the Golf Canada Order of Merit and performance at Alberta

Golf Championship events.

• Golf continues to grow at a rapid pace in this ever-expanding demographic in Alberta. From corporate events, to networking, to increasing numbers of junior girls hitting the links – programming designed to specifically target women and girls in Alberta will be directly impacted by this fundraising campaign. • This initiative continues to be a work in progress, however the goal would be to enhance some of the programming our industry partners are working on.

This segment of the fund will assist young female professionals getting started in the golf industry and eventually creating a Women’s Golf

Summit – where women from across the province can come together and grow the game for everyone.

• Year after year, the Alberta Golf

Association Foundation (AGAF) helps support students in Alberta pursue their post-secondary education.

Donations for post-secondary scholarships can be made directly to the AGAF via its website at albertagolffoundation.org

Alberta Golf is excited to launch this opportunity for those that love the game of golf to be able give back. Alberta Golf is working in conjunction with the Golf Canada Foundation to ensure that every donation over $20 receives a tax receipt. To make a donation or to obtain more information, please visit the Alberta Golf website under “Make An Impact” or contact Jennifer Davison at jennifer@ albertagolf.org

By Dunc Mills

Royal Mayfair GC will host the EGA Men's Amateur Championship July 18-19.

Since its inception in 1921, the Edmonton Golf Association has organized and operated golf tournaments and programs in the capital city. Kent Coulter is the president of the EGA this year, as the organization looks to celebrate a century of service to golf in the Edmonton community.

“I’m very proud to be involved with the EGA,” said Coulter. “This is such an important year in our history. We want to do everything we can to make the 2021 season something special.”

Alberta Golf is the overall governing body of golf in the province, but the cities of Edmonton and Calgary each have their own respective volunteer groups to help roll out a full slate of tournaments for players. Coulter sees the role of the EGA evolving in the future to offer much more than just competitions.

“We want the EGA to be a hub of information for all golfers in the Edmonton area,” commented Coulter. “Of course, our tournament schedule is the main focus of what we do, but we want to be much more than that for every category of player.

“With so many people now coming to golf for the first time, where can they get information about what’s going on with golf in Edmonton?” Coulter continued. “I see the EGA’s role becoming an important resource for everyone. We can work in partnership with Alberta Golf to get information to the public not only about our tournaments, but also junior clinics, learn to golf programs, where to buy equipment, and so much more.”

This is a lot of work and Coulter has some very knowledgeable and experienced people on the EGA board to help with the process. “The EGA has divisions for men, women, juniors and for tournaments,” said Coulter. “Donna Finacune is one of our vice-presidents and is the Centennial Committee Chair. Robin Laurie is the Men’s Tournament Chair and I double up as the Junior Division Chair in addition to being the president. We have several other men and women all pitching in to help run things smoothly.”

One of the major events on the 2021 schedule is the Edmonton Men’s Amateur Championship, scheduled to be held at the prestigious Royal Mayfair Golf Club on July 18 th & 19 th . The EGA has also scheduled a full slate of ladies, senior and junior competitions. Details of their events can be found on their website at

“We are also very proud to announce the return of The Edmonton Open,” Coulter boasted. ”The Edmonton Open was a major part of the EGA tournament schedule for many years, with all the top amateurs and club professionals in the city competing. Now titled The BMW Edmonton Open Championship, the tournament will return to The Ranch Golf & Country Club on August 22 nd and 23 rd,” Coulter said.

Another very enjoyable event on the EGA schedule in previous years has been the EGA Scramble, which returns this year as the Centennial Scramble in a mixed men’s and women’s format at Victoria Golf Course on June 20 th and 21 st . The Edmonton City Junior Championship is confirmed for Northern Bear GC on August 3 rd and 4 th .

Coulter is also working diligently to establish a new match play competition in Edmonton patterned after the wildly successful Riley’s Best Ball tournament that has been a staple of the Calgary Golf Association’s program for decades.

“The Riley’s Best Ball match play event in Calgary has grown to the point where they now have men’s, ladies and senior men’s divisions,” said Coulter. “We are working hard to have at least a men’s division up and running for the 2021 season here in Edmonton.”

The EGA Centennial promises to be an exciting year.