One of the pillars of the Canadian golf industry is the people tasked with its administration and operations.
Covering the game from a business point of view for nearly 30 years, I’ve had the good fortune to meet and spend time with club secretaries, general managers, golf professionals, superintendents, chief executive officers and chief operating officers. These are folks who wake up every day trying to make golf the best experience it can be for consumers.
What is remarkable to me are the many I’ve come across who complemented their post-secondary education with golf-specific training and education through the Golf Management Institute of Canada (GMIC).
Never heard of it?
Friend and colleague Grant Fraser founded the online and in-class educational and training platform 25 years ago this month. I still recall our first conversation about it. Fraser alluded to a “gap” in the Canadian golf industry relating to specific management and administration education and how conducting seminars and classes online could fill it.
To say it started small would be an understatement. In October 1999, only 13 students were in front of their computers for the GMIC’s first course in Human Resources Management. From those humble beginnings, the training and educational portal has delivered courses to thousands of students worldwide.
A few years ago, the Canadian Society for Training and Development recognized the GMIC for its excellence in online training.
“From day one that was the objective: to deliver excellence in golf management education,” explained Fraser, president of the GMIC. “I’m proud of the work the GMIC has done in training the next generation of golf managers and leaders. Hard to believe it’s 25 years old.”
Fraser can’t say enough about the folks who have been part of the journey.
Among the golf industry leaders that have served as GMIC board members are Kevin Thistle, PGA of Canada CEO; David Kaufman, Westcourt Capital president; Steve Johnston, Global Golf Advisors president and principal; Joe Murphy, National Golf Club of Canada general manager; and Warren Crosbie, a PGA of Canada and Ontario Golf Hall of Fame member and currently the chair of the GMIC board of directors.
“Truly a remarkable achievement celebrating 25 years of making our industry and the game better for those that work in the business and play the game,” said Crosby. “Grant Fraser’s vision of establishing an online educational platform for the golf industry became a reality with support from leading professionals, national and provincial golf associations and Canadian colleges and universities. The GMIC has made a significant impact on our industry by continually delivering quality education.”
When Canadian colleges and universities got involved the GMIC went to another level.
Establishing unique academic partnerships with Georgian College, Niagara College, the University of Guelph, Wilfrid Laurier University and, most recently, McMaster University proved to be a game-changer. In each of those partnerships, GMIC curriculum and faculty have been used as part of online and in-class golf management programs offered at the post-secondary level.
McMaster University’s Centre for Continuing Education acquired the GMIC’s 10-course online program from Wilfrid Laurier University in April 2017. It’s been there ever since.
“What was always an excellent program is now even better given the resources McMaster has dedicated to it. I’m pleased all of the work that was started 25 years ago by the GMIC’s board members, industry partners and outstanding faculty continues with McMaster University” Fraser added.
Students who complete the online program at McMaster receive a diploma in Golf & Resort Management from McMaster University and a Certificate of Recognition from the GMIC.
Another significant GMIC partnership is with the PGA of Canada.
In 2010 the association of golf professionals in Canada asked the GMIC to design and develop five modules as part of a new Candidate Training Program with a specific mandate to provide independent learning opportunities for aspiring golf professionals.
One beneficiary of that program was Scott MacLeod, a PGA of Canada member, close friend and colleague.
“The program, from start to finish, was a great experience for me,” MacLeod said. “It’s been valuable in my various golf industry roles; not just the knowledge but the connections made with the people involved, students and staff alike. I continue to come across other graduates regularly which shows the program’s impact over the past 25-years.”
Corporate and golf industry support has kept the GMIC on a solid foundation.
Along with its partnership with the PGA of Canada the institute maintains valuable alliances with Burnside & Associates, ClubLink Corporation, Global Golf Advisors, Golf Ontario, the John Dobson Foundation and PING Canada who all provide support for online course development and the GMIC’s Student Excellence Student Scholarship Program.
In some ways, the institute flies a little under the Canadian golf radar as a not-for-profit registered charity (certified through Human Resources and Skills Development Canada), but there is no denying the service it provides. GMIC has been integral to the betterment of the game in this country.
Twenty-five years from now I hope someone else will write those same words.