In Drayton Valley, Downturn Meets Determination
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- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2019-07-29
By GORD MONTGOMERY, Inside Golf
DRAYTON VALLEY, Alberta — No one said taking over a new position in the golf industry was going to be trouble-free but perhaps Jordan Murphy expected things to be just a little easier than what he’s faced this year.
Murphy, who is in his first year as a head professional has not only found himself tossed into the proverbial pool, it’s the deep end of the pool he’s ended up in. You see, while much of Alberta appears to be on the road to recovery from the latest downturn in the oil industry, the small community of Drayton Valley, southwest of Edmonton, in particular has been hit extra hard. And the implications of those economic struggles are wide-ranging. Generally, he first funds cut from the family budgets centre around recreational activities, such as golf green fees and/or memberships.
Murphy, now in charge at the Drayton Valley Golf Club, has been in the industry for a number of years, working at Cardiff, Whitecourt, and Stony Plain before landing his first leadership job in Drayton. He said he knew keeping his head above water in this new position was going to be a challenge but even as prepared as he was it has been an eye-opening experience. With oil and gas being the key component of business in this town of 7,000, the spinoff from those financial losses have impacted almost every businesses in town including hospitality, lodging and recreation among others.
“It’s definitely been tough coming up here, seeing the impact the oil industry has had on the town,” began Murphy of how he has dealt with the day-to-day issues he’s encountered. “It’s slowed things down here, for sure. It’s certainly been a tough start in my first job in the head professional role.”
As for how he’s approached what’s going on, Murphy noted, “We just try to find new ways to attract people to the golf course by making it more affordable and then attracting players from outside of the area,” to come and experience his semi-private 18-hole course. “The amount of people in town (playing) has dropped significantly so we’re trying to attract players from out of town as well.”
The 18-Hole Course In Drayton Valley Offers A Great Play, With Fast Greens, Great Par-3 Holes And Several Tree-Lined Fairways. (Photo/Gord Montgomery)
To that end, Murphy has come up with some special rates to draw the attention of anyone looking to save a dollar or two on fees yet wanting to play a good course. First off, he’s tabled some outstanding rates for kids to play here, with side-benefits following on their heels.
“The junior (rates) are something that draws people out here. A junior membership, for kids under 15, is only $50. From that we get a lot of parents who buy green fees to play with their kids,” and which helps boost his bottom line.
Surprisingly, adult memberships are holding almost steady at the course, the pro continued. “We haven’t seen a huge drop or decline in our adult memberships over the past few years but green fee traffic is certainly down. People who aren’t dedicated enough to the game of golf to buy memberships, you don’t see them quite as much. People who maybe came out five or 10 times a year we’re maybe seeing them once or twice now. But our memberships haven’t been too impacted. We have a lot of dedicated members who still come out and play.”
Murphy said he really hasn’t been able to put a financial finger on hard numbers from the past given the fact the course put in a new POS system this spring, so he’s only guesstimating how much revenues have fallen off but he suggests the oil downturn has had a major impact on his business as well as others in Drayton Valley.
So even though it’s an uphill battle in his first role as head pro, Murphy has a positive mindset, feeling he’s held his own so far and that things can only get better.
“We’re doing OK,” he stated, even given the miserable weather the course has gone through this summer. “Our revenues this year are pretty much up to par compared to last year,” so there is that bright spot on what has been a gloomy few years for this entire area. And that, along with how he’s been treated in his first head pro job have kept him pushing forward and looking ahead to brighter times.
“Definitely,” he stated about being pleased with is decision to take over this rural Alberta track. “It’s what I desired and a position I’ve desired since I got into the industry. It’s been a great thing for myself so far,” and while he’s been paddling like crazy to keep his head above water, especially with all the rain Alberta’s had this summer, Murphy is content and happy where he is. And, he ended, there is some sunshine on the horizon with the talk of the TransMountain pipeline soon becoming a reality.
“Just chatting with people coming in who were in the oil industry and this being a heavily oil-based town, there is a lot of hope that things are going to turn around here in Drayton Valley. I think the more people we get back in town, working, we’ll see a lot more people coming back to the golf course and playing here,” which is all any head professional, new or well tenured, wants in the summer in Alberta.
For more on this fun, interesting 18-hole layout that offers up some great green fee deals, go to www.draytonvalleygolf.com.
About the Writer
Gord Montgomery is a member in good standing of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada. He is now in his 10th year of writing for Inside Golf. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. He’s also on Twitter at @gordinsidegolf and on Instagram at gordinsidegolf2.