Sundre’s golf courses hosted the sport’s top junior talent from across the province last week.
The Sundre Golf Club and Coyote Creek Golf and RV Resort welcomed about 150 players for the Alberta Junior & Juvenile Boys and Girls Championships. The former had 126 boys, which was narrowed down to a final cut of 77 for the last two days, while the latter accommodated 26 girls. The girls played July 2-4 while the boys played July 3-6.
“Everything’s gone really well,” said Scott Shouldice, the Sundre Golf Club's head professional.
Considering the weather forecast that had earlier last week called for plenty of rain, “we got lucky,” he said.
By Friday, the skies were clear and the sun was beating down hard with temperatures soaring into the high 20s.
“The course is in excellent condition,” said Shouldice.
“We’re getting a lot of positive feedback.”
Hosting such a major event not only benefits the courses by providing them with plenty of exposure, but by extension the community as well. The event brings to town many people — the players as well as parents and supporters — who typically find local lodgings and visit restaurants, he said.
“It’s just great for the whole town to have everyone here.”
Meanwhile, over at Coyote Creek, head professional Dean McBride said many of the competitors had never before experienced the course, and that such an event hopefully further spreads the word about Sundre and potentially generates additional interest for similar events in the future.
Hosting junior golfers from across the province is a great way to showcase what the municipality has to offer, said McBride.
“It’s a pretty big deal for Sundre,” he said, adding that never before has a small town hosted both the junior girls' and boys' championships at the same time at two different courses.
“When we were approached, we thought it would be a good experience.”
McBride was, like Shouldice, pleased that the forecast did not take a turn for the worst.
“It’s never fun to get soaked,” he said, adding Mother Nature more or less cooperated.
“It wasn’t perfect, but it could have been a lot worse.”
Sundre resident Les Swelin, the tournament’s chairman and head rules official, said Friday morning during an interview on the fairways at the Sundre Golf Club that the young golfers performed well and seemed to enjoy both of the courses.
“I think every player and every parent and every spectator just thinks this place is pretty special,” said Swelin.
Nobody minds making the trip to Sundre to play, he added.
“They like it — I had one guy tell me this morning that he was talking with fellow pros and they suggested that maybe this was the best course in Alberta at the moment.”
Both Sundre’s courses are top-notch and complement one another, he said.
“Golfers from Sundre are very lucky to have what we have.”
The top three girls were as follows: Annabelle Ackroyd from Calgary, who won with a strong lead of three under par, Tillie Claggett from Calgary, and Kaitlyn Wingnean from Edmonton.
The top three boys were as follows: Chandler McDowell from Innisfail, who won with a commanding lead of 10 under par, Ty Steinbring from Barrhead, and Korbin Allan from Strathmore.
The top finalist boys and girls earned spots on the respective Alberta junior interprovincial teams. Visit albertagolf.org for more information.
