Page 12 - GBC ENG Winter 2025

At the NGCOA Canada 25th Anniversary in Ottawa, 2017, Jeff celebrates with
NGCOA Canada Past Presidents (from left to right): Reto Steiner, Don MacKay,
Steve Spratt, Bill Brown, Gilles Debut, Mark Seabrook, Neil Kapp, Jeff, Scott Atkinson,
and Don Seable.
GBC: What were some of the early
challenges?
JC: The Canadian economy was in
a severe recession. High inflation,
high interest rates, and high
unemployment were hurting both
golf courses and golfers. Sounds
familiar, doesn’t it? In addition, we
didn’t have much value to offer
yet, so it was very much about
selling the vision of what an
NGCOA Canada could do if we
had enough golf course members
to make a go of it. That’s not really
a very strong answer when
potential members ask, “What’s in
it for me?” There was also pushback
about having yet another golf
association. I frequently heard
“there are too many associations
already, so why do we need another
one?”
GBC: How did you overcome those
obstacles?
JC: By negotiating a few of the
earliest Golfmax Programs, I was
able to position NGCOA Canada
membership as part of the solution
to the recession concerns through
those expense savings. I was also
intentional about differentiating
the NGCOA Canada from all other
golf associations. The focus was
supporting the business side of
golf and those who had the most
financial investment. There was a
void there and we filled that need.
I was quite persuasive in
articulating all the future benefits
that a strong golf course owners
association could deliver, meaning
“trust me with your membership
dues and I’ll then be able to deliver
the value later”. There were still
lots of “no thanks” but fortunately,
enough golf course owners
believed in me that we reached the
critical mass to make that vision
come true.
GBC: Who were some of the golf
course operators who helped you
set the foundation in those
formative years?
JC: I already mentioned Mark
Seabrook in Ottawa, who sparked
the initial concept and volunteered
as NGCOA Canada’s Founding
President. In BC, John Nick, GM at
Hazelmere Golf Club, and Don
Seable, owner of Fairmont Hot
Springs were instrumental. In
Alberta, it was Scott Atkinson,
owner of Heather Glen Golf Club,
who later became our second
President, and Ron Ehlert, owner
of Elbow Springs Golf Club.
In Southern Ontario, Henry
Schmitz, owner of Brookfield Golf
Club, converted his local owners’
association into our Southwestern
12
Golf Business Canada
Ontario Chapter – often flying
Mark and me to meetings in his
plane, affectionately dubbed “Air
Henry, Official Airline of the
NGCOA Canada”. In the GTA,
Mac Frost, Dalt Hicks and Larry
Ungerman were all very successful
golf course owners and emerged
as the NGCOA Canada leaders. In
Quebec, Neil Champagne, GM of
Mont Ste. Marie and then
Tremblant was there from the very
beginning and a respected Quebec
voice who helped us gain traction.
GBC: What about the early
pioneers who joined the NGCOA
Canada staff team in its infancy?
JC: Harvie Cocks, who is no
longer with us, was our part-time
bookkeeper and database
manager for those early years. It
was so important to have that
solid infrastructure support. To
introduce NGCOA Canada to the
GTA, I brought in Brian Sambleson,
a retired IBM executive, who did
an amazing job establishing our
Central Ontario Chapter. I am also
grateful to my counterparts at the
NGCOA USA office, Mike Hughes
and Anne Lyndrup, as we
mutually shared best practices
while both Associations grew.
The real unsung “staff hero”
in the early days was my wife,
Lynn, who though never on
payroll, handled much of the
behind-the-scenes administrative
work.
GBC: NGCOA Canada grew from
a start-up home office into a
coast-to-coast association. How
did you balance building national
consistency with addressing
unique regional needs?
JC: Delivering full value at both
provincial and national levels is
essential. Our strategic plan
clearly defines those objectives,
initiatives and KPIs in one
comprehensive strategic plan.