Page 46 - GBC ENG Winter 2025

Message From The NGCOA Canada Founding President • Mark Seabrook
Jeff Calderwood and Mark Seabrook attending
local meeting for golf course operators at
Fairmont Hot Springs Resort, British
Columbia in 1994.
Jeff and Mark over 30 years later
at the Canadian Golf and Country Club,
Ottawa, Ontario, October 2025.
The
Parting
Shot
There are moments in life that
stick with you, this seems like it
was yesterday. Jeff Calderwood
and I had just spoken to a BC
group of golf course owners at
Hazelmere Golf Course. Our host,
John Nick, treated us like royalty
and Nick was certainly one of
Vision. Leadership. Legacy.
our early raving fans. We were
both extremely excited about the
opportunity that was unfolding as
we slowly spread the word about
NGCOA Canada & Golfmax.
At that point in our
relationship, Jeff’s role was the
launch and administration of
Golfmax Canada, the purchasing
group. Jeff and I had spent some
time together traveling the country
and I could clearly see he was the
complete package: the passion, the
determination, the confidence, the
ease he communicated with
people, and how comfortable he
made people feel. That day, was
a beautiful afternoon as we drove
back toward Vancouver and I
turned to Jeff and said, “You know,
I think you should be the Executive
Director!” We both were realizing
I think it is important to mention that Jeff was already a successful
business owner, and although a small group of Ottawa golf course owners
had a great idea, we had very little money to get this off the ground. Jeff
was keenly aware of this, and we managed to get a mutually beneficial
agreement that worked. Many of us have personally lived through early
years in a business which usually means long hours with little or no return.
Very few realize the unpaid hours Jeff put in.
3+ decades plus later, I can say with the utmost confidence and
conviction, that there is nobody on this planet that could have done a
better job than Jeff Calderwood!
As you have heard by now, Jeff, our first and the only CEO that
NGCOA Canada has ever had, is retiring at the end of this year. At our
conference in Niagara Falls, there will be a Tribute Dinner in Jeff’s honour. I
hope to see you there, so you can personally thank Jeff for his unbelievable
achievement in the creation and success of NGCOA Canada!
Jeff was such a team player that he once lent the shoes he was wearing
so I could dance with this beautiful woman … Yes… she became my wife!
“Thanks Jeff”, doesn’t seem like enough!! For NGCOA Canada or for
the shoes!
while the purchasing group had
teeth and got people’s attention,
the plan for a National Golf Course
Owners Association was going to
be much bigger! And as they say;
the rest is History!
Mark Seabrook
Owner, Canadian Golf and Country Club
Founding President
NGCOA Canada 1993-1999
mseabrook@canadiangolfclub.com
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Golf Business Canada