Issue link: http://pgaofcanada.uberflip.com/i/834072
18 Golf Facilities in Canada 2017 Edition © Golf Canada and The PGA of Canada G O L F I N C A N A DA continues to be very popular among the 5.7 million enthusiasts who enjoy 60 million rounds annually. With the total number of golf facilities in the country now exceeding that of Japan, Canada has the second-most of any nation on earth. Of note, there has been 26 documented openings since 2010, or slightly more than 1 percent of the overall supply. Recent openings include Aspotogan Ridge in Nova Scotia (which had nine holes open in 2016 while nine holes remain under construction); Lebovic Golf Club in Ontario (18 holes opened in May 2016); and West Hills Golf Club in New Brunswick (nine holes opened in 2015 while nine holes are expected to open in summer 2017). The majority of those openings have occurred in Alberta and Ontario, two of the biggest centres for golf in Canada. Nova Scotia has also seen the opening of its highly antici- pated golf resort, Cabot Links, and both courses (Links and Cabot Cliffs) have already appeared in the "Top 100 Golf Courses in the World" list, per Golf Digest. There are 22 golf facility projects that are currently in various stages of development (in planning or under construction). Among those new developments, 8.5 are in Alberta while four are in Ontario. British Columbia has three projects under development. Although small in size, both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have 1.5 projects under construction, the same as both Québec and Manitoba. Four golf facilities opened between 2015 and 2016. In C A N A D A G O L F D E V E L O P M E N T S C O R E C A R D GOLF FACILITY CLOSURES PROVINCE FACILITIES Alberta 4 British Columbia 7 Manitoba 3 New Brunswick 0 Newfoundland & Labrador 0 Nova Scotia 0 Northwest Territories 0 Nunavut 0 Ontario 19 Prince Edward Island 2 Québec 11 Saskatchewan 5 Totals 51 NEW COURSE DEVELOPMENT BY STATUS (18-HEQS) PROVINCE IN PLANNING UNDER CONSTRUCTION Alberta 1.5 7 British Columbia 2 1 Manitoba 1 0.5 New Brunswick 1 0.5 Newfoundland & Labrador 0.5 0 Nova Scotia 0 1.5 Northwest Territories 0 0 Ontario 2.5 1.5 Prince Edward Island 0 0 Québec 1.5 0 Saskatchewan 0 0 Yukon 0 0 Totals 10 12 Nova Scotia one new facility opened in both years. Ontario and New Brunswick each had a new opening in 2015. Currently, there are 22 (18-hole equivalents) new golf projects in development either in planning or under construction and provided all these projects came to fruition over the next five years, Canada's overall golf supply would increase by 1 percent. CLOSURES: Since our last report in 2015, 51 facilities have been recorded as closed (some closures may have occurred in prior years). The exact dates are not known, but the majority has ceased operations in the past five to ten years. Ontario's 19 facility closures represents 37 percent of the total Canadian closures since 2015. As with many major market cities, a number of course closures reflect pressure towards residential development in city centres and major markets with soaring real estate valuations It is not surprising that although Ontario, Québec, Alberta, and British Columbia have combined for 70 percent of all closures, they also combine for 77 percent of Canada's total golf supply. As with many major market cities, a number of course closures reflect pressure towards residential development in city centres and major markets with soaring real estate valuation. Most of the closures were stand-alone, public courses. Nine-hole facilities were closed at a rate of more than 2 to 1 as compared to 18-hole facility closures. G O L F F A C I L I T I E S R E P O R T 2 0 1 7