We just had a meeting of We Are Golf, also known as the National Allied Golf Associations, and have decided that May 1 will be National Golf Day in Canada in 2019.
Last year, we had a successful launch on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, where we had the Golf In Schools program on the front lawn, and several golf courses across the country did different events.
This year’s event is a call to action across the country to encourage people to go out and golf, whether it’s nine holes, or taking the kids or friends out, not necessarily a scramble that starts at noon.
This year, we’d like to see golf pros, golf courses and casual golfers promoting the health benefits of the game and people celebrating it wth friends and family.
This year, we’ve aligned with the American We Are Golf Day, which is also May 1 and receives a lot of media attention.
Between the PGA of Canada, Golf Canada, the National Golf Course Owners Association of Canada and the Canadian Society of Club Managers, we’ll all be calling on our members to promote National Golf Day.
We’re also hoping manufacturers and other companies within the industry will get involved this year.
Last year in Ottawa, we had a chance to speak with MPs and other government officials about the health benefits, financial benefits and tourism benefits of golf and we’re planning more such meetings on May 1.
There’s plenty of work to do between then and now and we feel that by aligning out date with the Americans’ to make it a North American golf day and inviting manufacturers to participate, we can make progress in 2019.