Page 11 - GBC ENG Winter 2025

After more than three decades
at the helm of NGCOA Canada,
Jeff Calderwood is preparing to
retire from his impressive career,
dedicated to the best interests of
Canadian golf course owners and
operators and growth of the
National Golf Course Owners
Association Canada.
His legacy will be remembered
in Canadian golf history as a very
unique story. A true bootleg
business accomplishment, having
been there from Day 1 of the
NGCOA Canada’s launch.
With virtually no initial
finances, members, programs or
staff, his leadership as CEO built
the Association into the very strong
and established national institution
that it has become today.
From those humble beginnings,
the NGCOA Canada has grown to
approximately 1500 golf course
members coast-to-coast, plus 170
industry partners. Over 80% of the
Canadian rounds played, golf
course revenues, and operational
expenses, are generated by these
NGCOA Canada members.
In terms of member benefits,
the NGCOA Canada has developed
a very long list of valuable
programs. Today’s strategic plan
includes dozens of Marketing,
Purchasing, Advocacy, Education,
Research, Sustainability, Labour
Solutions, Events and Networking
deliverables.
The Association boasts a 97%
retention rate of its optional annual
membership renewal, far exceeding
industry norms for trade
associations. This metric alone
quantifies the exceptional value
proposition that the NGCOA
Canada delivers. The original
vision for the NGCOA Canada was
very much about accomplishing
exactly that.
Financially, Jeff successfully
turned a first year NGCOA
Canada operating budget of
$27,000 into $6 million in annual
revenues today. Along the way,
that financial growth enabled the
NGCOA Canada to reinvest in
funding additional member benefits
each year while establishing the
strong balance sheet necessary for
the Association’s financial security.
As NGCOA Canada members
now gather to honour his pending
retirement, Golf Business Canada
(GBC) sat down with Jeff to reflect
on his amazing journey—the
highlights, the challenges, secrets
to business success, and his hopes
for the future of Canadian golf.
GBC: Jeff, let’s start at the
beginning. What prompted the
launch of the NGCOA Canada and
your role in it?
Jeff Calderwood: Mark Seabrook,
owner of Canadian Golf & Country
Club near Ottawa, and some other
local golf course owners asked me
to explore an Ottawa buying group.
The concept intrigued me, so I
agreed to research the feasibility
and make a presentation. The
business model had merit, but it
became clear that it needed to be
scaled up to be successful. A
national buying group was the
solution, and so the Golfmax
Purchasing Program was born.
Simultaneously, it became
obvious that the national footprint
ought to be leveraged for additional
business services as well. Since
there was already a fledging
NGCOA USA operating in
Charleston, the decisions were
made to expand that same branding
and launch a parallel national
association in Canada.
GBC: What were those first years
like?
JC: It wasn’t easy. Starting from
scratch never is. Having very little
initial resources to work with was
particularly tough. But I was
young, full of energy, confident
beyond what I probably deserved
to be, and I loved golf. In hindsight,
I would also add that I have always
been very driven to succeed. I think
that’s a characteristic that all
successful entrepreneurs absolutely
must have, especially in a start-up
scenario like the NGCOA Canada
was at the time.
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