// GOLF
Michael Ho, owner of Unique Golf Vacations in Calgary, says golf tours can range in price from $4,000 to more than $6,500. Ho’s packages have included trips all over the world including China.
Belonging is closer than you think
“I deal with the different golf pros here in town. I create a program for them that they offer to their memberships to travel with them in the wintertime. The golf pro will go with a group of 16 or 24 people,” says Ho. “We don’t sacrifice cultural enjoyment. So when we go to a country, we will see and experience what there is to see. And I just slot in the golf.” At the end of February, a group from the Winston Golf Club in Calgary was headed to Malaysia with a side trip to Borneo to spend two nights in a tropical rainforest. Shawn Lavoie, general manager at the Winston, has worked with Ho over the years to organize trips for club members to places such as South Africa, Vietnam and Cambodia. “We’ve looked at New Zealand and I can see that being a destination at some point but it’s expensive. We’ll let the economy recover before we start pitching that one I think. Australia might be a possibility. Argentina might get a look. Colombia – there’s some opportunity there. What we’re doing is trying to put together unique trips,” says Lavoie.
Only 15 Minutes from Downtown Calgary Exquisite Food & Hospitality Scenic Event & Meeting Spaces Affordable Equity Memberships Available Now *Ask about our one year trial memberhip
Contact:
Dennis Schmidt and his wife, Ruth, have been on many golf vacations organized by Ho over the years. “Golf courses are one of the better places to spend a lot of time because they’re nice and green,” he says. “They’re quiet. I haven’t run into a golfer yet who wasn’t friendly…. We like it because it’s a break from the traditional sightseeing you might do, but also while going to a golf course you see a ton of countryside.” David Gottlieb loves to golf in British Columbia and is part of a small group that spends about four days each year at the Radium Springs course or the Mountainside and the Riverside courses in Fairmont. And like many Calgarians who have embraced closer destinations in the U.S., Gottlieb tries to get down to Georgia and Phoenix to golf. “The Georgia trip and the Phoenix trip break up the winter. But I do love the golf for sure. I absolutely love the sport. I find golf a real challenge and I just have a passion for it,” he explains. Calgary business professional Dan Moro says most of his holidays are planned with his family and he’ll pick up golf along the way. “Any time you can get onto a golf course with shorts and a golf shirt … you can’t beat the feeling. To be walking outside for four hours and chasing a white ball is just something great,” says Moro.
jon@silverspringsgolfclub.com www.silverspringsgolfclub.com
88
MARCH 2018 // BUSINESS IN CALGARY // BUSINESSINCALGARY.COM