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While this is the start of their busy season, or what some might call their crazy season, you won’t catch any golf professional complaining.

As Matt Johnson, the general manager at Royal Mayfair and president of the PGA of Alberta’s Board of Directors, put it: “This is the start of a pretty heavy sprint, but we all look forward to this time of year. There are no bad days when you’re open in April.”

As April gives way to May, most courses across the province are now up and running for the 2024 season.

“No matter how many years you’ve been doing this, it’s always exciting,” said Tiffany Gordon, who has 35 years of experience in the golf industry — probably just as many awards and accolades — and is now the director of clubhouse operations and membership ambassador at Carnmoney. “You grind down and you do a bunch of work through the winter and you’re always working on new ways to do things or ways to make things better or to keep things going. But you miss the people, right? It’s exciting when you open the gates, and you get everybody out playing golf again. I think that rejuvenates everyone.”

The people are the best — and the biggest — part of this business, which is why the PGA of Alberta has launched a new season-long storytelling campaign to help you get to know the more than 670 golf professionals across the Wild Rose Province.

There are plenty of great, and inspiring, stories to tell.

There are familiar names, those who have chased birdies on some of the biggest stages in the sport, and compelling family connections — spouses, sons following their fathers, a set of twin siblings. There are life members eager to share their years of experience and wisdom and not-so-long-ago junior golf standouts who are now growing the game as mentors and role models for young girls and boys.

Whether at a top-end private club, a dedicated fitting or practice centre or an off-the-beaten-path rural course, the common bond for all PGA of Alberta golf professionals is a passion for this great game and a tremendous pride for their place in it.

“We wear a lot of hats, and we do a lot of things, but most importantly we’re ambassadors for the game,” said Gordon, the PGA of Alberta’s national director. “We could be doing anything from teaching and coaching to running events to managing facilities to playing to heading up associations or being involved at the Board level. There’s really nothing that we don’t touch, and that’s pretty special.

“There’s a number of opportunities for us to lead in the game and what you do is you just promote how good this game is for people, in general. Whether you’re at a private club, a public club, a resort, the most important thing is we’re encouraging people to play the game. Because it’s good for them. It’s good for families. It’s good for couples. It’s good for women. It’s good for every aspect of your community. That’s the great thing about being an ambassador, too, is all that community-driven opportunity that we have.”

Because as the 800,000 golfers across the province — all of them ready to be digging divots rather than shovelling snow — return to their favourite courses to tee up a new season, it’s likely the first face they will see is a PGA of Alberta professional.

“We’re kind of the front desk for your experience at any club,” Johnson said. “We feel like we’re leaders in understanding what the expectation of the golfer is. Nothing against the other departments at the clubs, but we deal one-on-one with the golfers more than anyone else does and so it’s up to us to promote the game of golf, engage people in the game of golf, make it fun, make it enjoyable, and knock down barriers for all to feel welcome and enjoy this game.”

This responsibility is not taken lightly by any of Alberta’s golf professionals – even those cutting their teeth in the business, including Dillon Batsel who is in his sixth year as an associate professional at Desert Blume Golf Course down in Medicine Hat.

“I think all golf professionals understand we are integral to developing a positive culture for people who play golf and enjoy the game at our facilities,” said Batsel. “For me personally, it is all about the people. I love seeing, helping and spending time with people who share my passion for the game.”

Inspired to chase a career in golf by his junior program coordinator, Terry Meidinger, while playing as a youngster growing up in Medicine Hat, Batsel is keen to pay it forward and positively influence a new generation of birdie seekers.

“Watching Terry run our junior program, he cultivated a lot of why I was drawn to golf (helping me understand the role of working in a pro shop) – you have to work hard, play hard because I think while we are busy, it is important to carve out a little time to play. That is important for people to see us playing,” added Batsel, who also particularly looks forward to the return of the adrenaline rush felt while helping guests improve their games.

“I think that is what we all teach for. We strive to put a smile on the face of the person taking the lesson, seeing someone new to the game hit their best shot, or helping someone struggling with a certain aspect of their game overcome it. It is great when you feel like you are marginally responsible for giving them hope.”

That positive sentiment of golf being back is felt by golf professionals opening the tee sheets at public and private courses all around Alberta.

“It’s exciting to be a golf pro at this time of year,” added Johnson. “You wake up in the morning and you look forward to going to work because it’s usually a positive environment. You see people with huge smiles on their faces, especially when they’re coming back to golf. That energy, it’s infectious.”