Golf in the Foothills: with PGA Pro David Robinson

What does it really take to fall in love with golf and what makes Okotoks one of the best places in Alberta to play it? 

This episode dives into the fairways, Foothills, and philosophy of the game with David Robinson, head professional and VP of Operations at Heritage Point Golf Club and a 32-year member of the Canadian PGA. 

Carlin Lutzer sits down with David for a wide-ranging conversation that covers the best golf courses around Okotoks and Southern Alberta, the mental side of the game, the evolving culture of golf, and David's remarkable story of switching from left-handed to right-handed play at age 18 during a round at Royal Troon. 

Whether you're a seasoned golfer or just discovering life in Okotoks, this episode is your insider's guide to the sport…and the community that makes this town so special.

LISTEN FOR

1:16 How did David Robinson go from a 25 handicap left-hander to a two handicap in one year?

8:18 What makes Heritage Point Golf Club the crown jewel of Okotoks golf?

10:45 Which golf courses around Okotoks are best for every skill level and budget?

21:08 What does David Robinson say is the biggest mistake Okotoks golfers make?

17:48 How has the changing culture of golf opened the game to a new generation?

Guest: David Robinson, PGA of Canada Member - Director of Golf Operations - Heritage Pointe Golf Club

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Transcript

Announcer (00:00):

Hey everyone. Welcome to the Okotoks Podcast brought to you by Carlin Lutzer Real Estate. Glad you're here.

Carlin Lutzer (00:17):

Welcome back to the Okotoks podcast. Today we're talking golf and trust me, if you've ever golfed with me, you would know that I'm probably the last person that should be giving golf advice. So I brought in someone who actually knows what he's talking about. Today's guest is David Robinson, head professional and VP of operations at Heritage Point Golf Club and longtime member of the Canadian PGA. We talk about the best golf courses around Okotoks and Southern Alberta, the mental side of golf, the changing culture of the game, and even how David completely switched from golfing left-handed to right-handed at 18 years of age. Whether you're a serious golfer or somebody who spends most of the round looking for your ball in the trees like me, this is a fun conversation. Here's my chat with David Robinson. David, thank you for joining me today.

David Robinson (01:16):

Thanks, Carlin. I'm looking forward to talking to the golf.

Carlin Lutzer (01:19):

Yes. And I think my true colors will come out today. I might as well get it out right now that I really don't know that much about golf and I'm a horrible golfer. In fact, some of my friends don't invite me out for golf just because I bring them down a little bit or whatever. So no, obviously I enjoy it when I get out, but I just don't get out that much. So I put the call out there for the Okehooks community for somebody that knows about golf that we can talk about golf courses and you stepped up and my gosh, I think we found the right guy, especially with ... Okay, so here's a little bit of a rundown as to, obviously you know this, but the listeners don't. You were born in Glasgow, you're raised in Sherwood Park, but the cool thing is you cheer for the flames, right?

David Robinson (02:07):

Next question, please.

Carlin Lutzer (02:13):

Okay. We have way too many Oiler fans in this area, David. There's

David Robinson (02:19):

So many Oger fans in Oketoka. It's unbelievable.

Carlin Lutzer (02:21):

I know. I know.

David Robinson (02:23):

Money transplants from upper that's all.

Carlin Lutzer (02:25):

I know. I know. Yes. So anyways, we won't talk about that because I know it stings a litle bit as to what happened this year. Actually, I'm going to go off topic right away. I'm actually missing, because I hate the Oilers, but I miss watching them because of the hate that I have for them. Do you know what I mean?

David Robinson (02:41):

Kind of, yeah. Does

Carlin Lutzer (02:42):

That sound weird? No.

David Robinson (02:45):

I miss watching them too, if that helps.

Carlin Lutzer (02:46):

Yeah, no. Well, during the playoffs, it felt like I had a little bit of a skin in the game or whatever, but now that they're out, I don't really care anymore. It's weird.

David Robinson (02:56):

They just were not good enough this year. It's straight up. So looking for that silver lining, maybe this was the best thing that could happen, kind of a quick shock to the system or maybe a reset.

Carlin Lutzer (03:07):

Yeah, for sure.

David Robinson (03:08):

Hopefully a few things here and there. But there's a lot of upcoming for the Flames too. Six overall draft pick is pretty cool. Lots of new blood and it's going to probably be a few years, but there's a lot of talent there.

Carlin Lutzer (03:22):

Yeah, I know. I'm a little ticked that Toronto got the first pick, but anyways, that's-

David Robinson (03:27):

It's unbelievable.

Carlin Lutzer (03:27):

A whole nother podcast. But anyways, back to golf. So born and raised in the Edmonton area, Sherwood Park. Now this is a cool thing. In your golf game, you were 18 when you switched hands.You were golfing left and then you switched to right. Is that correct?

Announcer (03:47):

Yep.

Carlin Lutzer (03:48):

That's pretty rare that that would happen.

David Robinson (03:52):

I was a kid playing hockey in Short Park, left-handed. Everybody was left-handed. Canada has an abundance of left-handed golfers. I had gone back to Scotland on a trip and somehow got a chance to play Royal Troom. And it's a private club and I don't even really know how I got on. Somebody got me on. I was really fortunate. I was like a 25 handicap. I was just kind of running the game left-handed and I didn't have clubs. So I went and asked if I could rent left-handed clubs and they just looked at me like I was a Canadian in Scotland and I said, "Right-handed clubs?" So I took the right-handed clubs and I think the first probably four or five swings at it, I didn't hit the ball. And then the sixth one, I hit it harder than I'd ever hit left-handed. And I went, "What am I doing?" So I played the round and I shot ... It was dangerous.

(04:39):

I had ball swine all over the place, but I was hitting it harder than I'd ever hit it. So I got home, bought right-handed clubs, and I went from a 25 handicap to about a two handicap in a year.

Carlin Lutzer (04:49):

Right. That's crazy. The whole left-handed, right-handed thing is so weird because I right-handed, but I shoot left in golf. I shoot left in hockey. My son is the weirdest. He's a normal glove. He's a goalie. So he's a normal glove, like left-handed glove in hockey, but then he plays baseball and he's a right-handed glove because he throws ... Yeah, so weird. I think nobody really knows. Well, good for you for making that change because obviously your golf game started to really enhance after that.

David Robinson (05:23):

Quickly. Yeah. It took a while to line up and the golf course looks different standing on the other side of the ball, but I was hitting it further and once I figured out how to hit irons, it got a lot easier. To this day, I can still hit left-handed irons really well, but I cannot hit a driver left-handed to save myself. It's just going straight left, right off the toe into the cart.

Carlin Lutzer (05:46):

Okay.

David Robinson (05:46):

No good.

Carlin Lutzer (05:48):

Yeah. So then you went to Grant McCune for the golf program there. Was that a four-year program or two?

David Robinson (05:57):

Three. It was a three-year program. I was at diploma and management studies and then there was an extra year of golf-specific stuff that was ... It was all golf-specific, but the actual diploma was in management studies and then an extra year for content.

Carlin Lutzer (06:12):

Right. Okay. And then it says that your career eventually led you to Calgary. Why is that?

David Robinson (06:18):

Yeah, I worked four years at a club up at Edmonton at Fort View, and then I had an opportunity to come down to Pritis. Worked with a guy named Ron Lower, who actually just retired this year after a stellar career. I love Southern Alberta. I fly fish whenever I can. I'm in the mountains whenever I can. Foothills are always calling my name. So I had the opportunity to come down and work and took the job and never looked back. Calgary's become home. It's been 25 and 28 years now. Is

Carlin Lutzer (06:49):

That right? Okay. Yeah, right on. But then you also then in that same time, was it after Grant McCune that you got carded by the PGA of Canada?

David Robinson (07:03):

Actually, my first year at Grant McEwen, I finished my first year and then got my card that same year, but kind of never looked back since it's 32 years ago. I was just doing the math today. Somehow it's 32 years ago. I can't believe it.

Carlin Lutzer (07:18):

Yeah, for sure. Well, that must have taken you to some pretty cool places and some cool events across Canada, right?

David Robinson (07:28):

I've been very fortunate to play golf in a lot of really cool places. Still, Alberta calls me. I love what we have around, particularly in Southern Alberta and the Edmonton area has a ton of really good golf courses too. But yeah, I've been fortunate to ... I've never played east of Toronto, but lots in BC, lots in the States, lots and a little bit in Mexico and the Dominican.

Carlin Lutzer (07:55):

Yeah, right on. Yeah. So one thing I want to talk about is the golf courses in the area, because then you now for the last seven years, you are the head professional and VP of operations at Heritage Point Golf Club. You've been there seven years, it sounds like you wear a lot of hats there in the golf season.

David Robinson (08:18):

Yeah, it's a busy place. I love the place. I love Heritage Point. Every day I drive in here, I feel blessed to be able to come work here. The fact that it's only 50 minutes from the house is even better. I do. I'm the director of operations, so I kind of serve as a general manager here, sort of oversee the operation on the golf side. Golf, food and beverage, maintenance, just kind of the day-to-day operations of the golf course falls under my watch.

Carlin Lutzer (08:49):

Right, for sure. Yeah. And is Heritage Point, is it a private golf course?

David Robinson (08:55):

It's public. It is public. We do have members. So I have a call it semi-private. We have about 250 members or so. We do have 27 holes. So we have a big inventory of teetime. So 250s is a pretty small membership given the size of the golf course, but we have a very tight-knit fun community here that is a really fun thing to be a part of, but it's also open to the public.

Carlin Lutzer (09:18):

Right. Okay. Yeah. So obviously with Heritage Point being the number one golf course, if we can just talk about, because we have a lot of people new to Okatoks, new to the Foothills area and maybe some are looking at getting into golf, maybe some are really into golf, but they haven't golfed this year at all because they don't necessarily know where to go. I'm wondering if we can talk about some of the local golf courses in the area. Obviously Heritage Point is a beautiful golf course. I end up there more at Launchpad

Announcer (09:57):

Than

Carlin Lutzer (09:57):

Anything. That's no doubt been a great addition for Heritage Point. It's a blast. It's ridiculous that somebody can market hitting balls the way that they do, but it's so fun to go there and anytime of the year you can go to the driving range, so to speak, play some games, eat some great food and Launchpad is a great addition to the golf community. But when we look at other golf courses in the area, can you walk us through some of the golf courses that you've ... Because you've golfed at them all, no doubt, especially the

Announcer (10:34):

Local

Carlin Lutzer (10:34):

Ones. Yeah. And walk us through some of the highlights, which ones you love, which ones are easier, which ones are tougher and those types of things.

David Robinson (10:45):

Well, yeah, we are so lucky in Oaktoaks. I would say within 10 minutes, there's probably six or seven great golf courses within 10 minutes of Okatoks. Obviously, Heritage Point is great. Saracco is a great golf club. The RC Ranch right in town is probably one of my favorite places to play. Just scenery vibe, looking at the mountains is always fun for me. Turner Valley is a great golf course. They have an awesome junior program there. You seem like you're quite a ways away from town when you get to Turner Valley and always in good shape, good greens. Same with Hywood. Yes. Highwood and Higher is a great golf course. And then right in town we have Crystal Ridge, which is, it's nine holes, but it's a really good nine hole golf course. Really challenging. Rivers Edge is great too. Also right in town. I mean, we've got literally six courses and in every kind of budget too, which is great.

(11:42):

There's lots of opportunities for every golfer to get out and play. And there's even the mini golf at Crystal Rich, which is great, introduced to the game.

Carlin Lutzer (11:50):

Right. Yeah. So is it kind of understood that the further you go, the cheaper the golf gets? If someone was to ... I know there's a lot of people that end up going to Nanton to golf. Is it because they like the golf course or is it a bit cheaper there?

David Robinson (12:05):

Probably a litle bit of both. It's a great golf club. I've only played at probably been 10 years since I've been down there, but the thing I remember was the staff for Grave, really welcoming, really. It's a smaller town, a little bit slower pace, quieter, a lot of fun. Even the one in Clerson, the bridges in Clares Home is a great golf course. I think as you get out of town, it's a little bit harder for them to attract some of the green fee play. So prices might reflect that, but that's not to say that they're not great golf facilities or well run. They're typically in really good shape and always kind of a treat to get out there and play.

Carlin Lutzer (12:46):

Yes. So in Alberta, which golf course would you say is absolutely worth the drive to?

David Robinson (12:54):

Jasper. Jasper. Yeah.

Carlin Lutzer (12:58):

Really?

David Robinson (12:58):

Okay. It's always been my number one and I've been fortunate to play a lot of golf except for not accounting Heritage Point.

Carlin Lutzer (13:09):

Yeah, absolutely.That's always the basis. Heritage point, number one.

David Robinson (13:12):

Yeah. But if I had to pick one, there's just something about the Town of Jasper that I just love. I love being there. I love the scenery. I love the golf course was pretty heartbroken when that fire swept through there two years ago, I guess now. Dramatic changes to the appearance of the course, but the bones of the course are still there and it's just awesome. It's so much fun to play.

Carlin Lutzer (13:36):

Have you golfed there after the fires went through?

David Robinson (13:39):

I have not. No. Okay. I do. I'm fortunate to play in a Ryder Cup event that it's a north-south thing where it's kind of Evanston versus Calgary and it's hosted at Jasper and we've had to postpone it for the last two years and it'll fire up ... Sorry, terrible choice of words. It'll at least start two year, or sorry, next year. And I can't wait to see it. I love the area. Jasper Park Lodge, when you're just wandering around that place, it's so special.

Carlin Lutzer (14:08):

Yeah, for sure.

David Robinson (14:08):

Absolutely. Yeah.

Carlin Lutzer (14:13):

Which course in the area presents the toughest mental challenge?

David Robinson (14:19):

All of them. Every single one. Mental challenge. Wow, that's a great question. I would say Pritis is probably one of my favorite to play, but also is a little bit scary off the tee on a few holes, especially on their new nine. They've got a couple holes there that are 430, 450 off the back tee with water down the right, carries over more water to the green that makes it hard. All the while being in this beautiful setting, you look one direction, it's, "Oh, that's beautiful." You look the other way and it's like, "Oh, it's terrifying." It's a really good test to golf.

Carlin Lutzer (15:00):

Yeah. If anybody ever gets an opportunity to go to Pritis, you have to do it because that's a private club, right? And you'd have to be invited. There's no way that you could just walk up and say, "Pay the green fees and away you go.

David Robinson (15:12):

" I believe you need to be invited by a member to play there. Now when I played there, it was only 27 holes. Now it's 36 and it's just a world-class golf facility, great staff, great members, just a really, really fun place to play, but I think visually intimidating. There's some scary looking tee shots there.

Carlin Lutzer (15:31):

Yeah, for sure. Is there anything on your golf course bucket list, like someplace that you just absolutely love to golf worldwide?

David Robinson (15:42):

I would love to play Pebble Beach. I've never had a chance to play there. Obviously Augusta, but Augusta is kind of ... I've been fortunate enough to go to Augusta for the masters, but I've never played there and that's a tough invite to get. But I would love to play with Spyglass, anything down the Monterey Peninsula and I guess Central Western California is probably one of my favorite places on the planet. And the scenery and the history and the lore that Pebble Beach has, I would love to go play there.

Carlin Lutzer (16:11):

Yeah, for sure. The golf culture, I guess, it feels like it's changing a little bit. Even the crowd, the things that are going on. It seems like maybe the ... What's that one in Phoenix? Oh,

David Robinson (16:29):

The waste management?

Carlin Lutzer (16:30):

Waste management. Yeah, the waste management one. Seems like it's kind of changing. It's awesome. It seems like it brings a lot of life to it, but it's also I'm sure there's a lot of purists that don't love necessarily what's going on in the waste management.

David Robinson (16:47):

That one's a different animal. That one might be a little bit over the top. I think that the golf has changed and I think it had to change, but it absolutely had to. I placed the start of it kind of like Happy Gilmore and Tiger Woods. They came out a couple years apart and Happy Gilmore made golf was a lot different than the norm and then you just brought it to the masses and just every year it's gotten a little bit more accessible to people, a little bit less hoity-toity. Nowadays, when you go out and play, almost every cart has music playing, which is somebody you've ever heard before. And it took me a little while to warm up to it, but the reality of it is that if somebody's going to go spend $150 or $200 to go play golf and they can enjoy themselves and be in their environment, provided the music's not like a concert.

(17:43):

You don't want to be hearing people's music from a couple fairways over, but

(17:48):

The relaxed attitude that golf has kind of adopted has really benefited the game and it really took off right around COVID and it never stopped. So the relaxed vibe and the accessibility is something that I think Dolph fought with for a long time. If you think of it like skiing, you buy a lift ticket, you don't have to do 35 runs and have somebody chasing you around making sure you're going fast enough. You could go and buy your ticket and go up to the lodge and have a beer and sit on the patio and sit there all day to do that. And that's your recreational money. Golf kind of falls ... It had a lot of barriers. It had a lot of rules that you had to follow and a lot of things where you have to do this. And I'm a traditionalist. I believe in the traditions of the game, but I think a lot of those barriers have kind of been broken down and the next generation coming up.

(18:43):

We see a lot of 25 to 35 year olds out there playing golf now, which we didn't see 10 years ago. And that's incredibly for the future of the games.

Carlin Lutzer (18:53):

Yeah. Well, is it the Rider Cup where we saw a little bit of tension this year as well with some of the golfers and I guess just the blood starts to boil when you're playing for your country and it seems like the tension certainly got a little bit high there towards the end as well. And I think it's a gentle person sport, I guess we should say. But I think that they ... I do like the rules that are in there, but it does seem like things are changing a little bit, but sometimes things do have to evolve to open the doors up to younger generations and them being accepting of what's going on. But at the Masters, the rules are really different at the Masters compared to other tournaments, right?

David Robinson (19:42):

They are. One thing I will say, having been to Augusta, very fortunate to be there in 2017. I went to Saturday and Sunday. I was surprised at what you don't see on TV. There's a lot of concessions. There's a lot of people holding beer. There's a lot of drunk people going to run. It's not quite the waste management. It's a whole different animal. But there are people that you don't really see on TV and there's a lot of people there. They're very careful what they show with their camera angles and they don't show the huge concessions behind the bleachers and that. But golf is a game of tradition and I love that. I personally love putting on a nice shirt and hopefully this is a nice shirt and going out and following the rules so to speak and enjoying it and the course. But we have to do that, I think, with an eye on the future, knowing that for the business of golf to continue and the game of golf to continue, that it's important that there's some growth there and we accept change as it comes and kind of grow with the people that are driving the game forward.

Carlin Lutzer (20:53):

Right, for sure. Now, when you're working with a client, you're working on someone's golf game with them, they want to get better, what's the most common thing that you're dealing with with people that are struggling in their golf game?

David Robinson (21:08):

I would say every person, almost every person wants to hit it further. They want to hit the ball further. To me, your game will improve just a little bit if you hit it further, but if you can hit it straighter and you can find your ball, that's always a positive. I really believe that golf is not how good you hit it, it's how good you miss it. And if you miss it better than the next guy, you're probably going to beat him. And if you were to ask somebody like Tiger Woods in his prime, how many perfect shots did he hit in around? You might say zero or one. How many acceptable shots? Well, probably 63 and how many poor shots? Maybe one or two. And the difference at that level is he misses it better than everybody else. They can all drive it, they can all hit it, they can all put and chip, but he would just be a little bit better than everybody else every time he played.

(22:09):

As you see with mid-handicaps and maybe people that are new to the game, they're so focused on trying to hit it further that they miss that really trying to get the ball in the hole matters more, being able to put and chip and score well around the greens is where you really can improve quickly.

Carlin Lutzer (22:28):

Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Last year it was the first year that my son and I, we signed him up for the junior league at the Highwood

(22:39):

And they got the spitzy course there, which is great. So Monday nights, it's an incredible deal that they have going on there. I think it was like 375 bucks for the year and him and I can golf together on Monday nights. But the golf was a bit of a breath of fresh air coming off team sports in the winter and even with my girls, they're playing team sports as well and it's nice to have a sport like golf that you do basically individually. Yes, you are playing against other people or whatever, but really it's an individual sport.

David Robinson (23:19):

Very much so. There's no cowboy coming to save you. Golf is going to be whatever you come up with. And if things are going sideways, there's really only one person who can stop that. And that's probably the biggest appeal to the, because it's a bit of a metaphor for life. Yes, you've got people around you and family and friends, but you have to do you. You have to be you. And golf's very much that way. You have to be the one who puts better. You have to be the one who chips better. Nobody's going to come and do it for you. So at the end of the day, if you didn't perform as well as you would like, there's only really one person to blink. If you did perform as well as you like or even better, that's super gratifying. There's only one person to blame for that too.

Carlin Lutzer (24:09):

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. It's such a mental game. Momentum in sports has always been fascinating to me. You watch hockey and you can switch up the lines, but those lines still carry the momentum of the game, even though you have a completely different team on the ice than you did three minutes ago, they're carrying this momentum. And you think of the momentum that you have when you're golfing a good game versus golfing a bad game and how psychological it is. In team sports, you can hide. You can hide a little bit. The goalie can't, so to speak, in hockey, but in other sports you can hide for a while, but gold, it's pretty raw. It is what it is. If you're having a bad game, there's no

David Robinson (24:58):

Hiding.That is very much the nature of the game. And it's I think something that draws people to the game too, because it's a good personal test. It's a good personal test for your physical ability and your mental ability, your honesty,

(25:18):

Your ability to follow rules and understand rules, but still thrive. And when you see people new to the game who get out there and they're just out enjoying themselves and whacking it around and having fun, it's perfect. That's how you start. As you start to improve and as you start to set goals, it starts to become harder. And as you go from 90 to 80 to 70, whatever your goals are, it's breaking that wall and then often you'll find somebody there, all they got to do is make a bogey to shoot 89 and they make 11 and shoot 94. And that's all mental. There's nothing physical about that. That's just you got uncomfortable. You put yourself in a spot where you weren't really familiar with and didn't hold up quite as well as you'd hoped. But every time you get there, it gets a little bit easier and a litle bit easier, a little bit easier.

(26:12):

And then once you break through whatever barrier it is, once you've broken that barrier, it's a lot easier.

Carlin Lutzer (26:19):

Yeah, for sure. What are things that you can say to Canadians that are ... I know there's some really good kids that are great golfers, ones that want to continue to grow, but we have the struggles of six months of the year, we have the white stuff on the ground, we can't golf. What are things that you can encourage young listeners to do in order to enhance the game in the off season?

David Robinson (26:45):

Yeah. You mentioned Launchpad earlier. That's something that we just didn't have when I was a kid. I remember when the Golf Tones opened, that was pretty exciting. There's a big bubble. You could go hit balls and see it go 80 yards or 100 yards, however long those domes were. Now there's obviously Launchpad here at Heritage Point. There's one up at Mickelson. There's indoor simulator places. There's lots of great instruction that carries over all around town. There's so many good golf coaches in town in Oak Tokes and in Calgary You can basically hit balls year round, which is something that is new. And I think it's actually starting to show a litle bit more because there are more Canadians on tour now. When I was a kid watching golf growing up, we had Richard Zolkal and we had Dave Barr. Those were the two guys and Dan Halderson.

(27:33):

Now you've got obviously with guys like Mike Weir getting big and famous in winning a Masters that did a lot for the game here. Now you've got Corey Connors and Mackenzie Hughes, Taylor Pindreth, Nick Taylor. There's four guys right off the top of my head that are in the top 100 on tour now. Adam Hadwin was another great player. I think it's encouraging for Canadian golf that we have more opportunities to hit balls. There's places to play, whether it's indoor, a dome, launchpad, whatever.

(28:01):

It's really changed a lot in the last, I'd say 20 years where you can hit balls 365 now or we just weren't able to before.

Carlin Lutzer (28:10):

Yeah, for sure. What do you think of this new golf simulator league? What do they call that?

David Robinson (28:18):

The indoor golf league?

Carlin Lutzer (28:19):

Yes.

David Robinson (28:21):

I can't remember. It's a tough one for me tried watching. I love watching professional golf, but I love

(28:31):

The look of it, the feel of it, the trees, the ball rolling down the fairway, the comment gallery. That is a litle bit more kind of American Gladiator for me. It's a little bit more, it's different. Clearly there's a market for it because some people are watching it, but if I was to pick, I would want to watch golf on the course versus golf on the simulator. Now, playing a simulator, different story. If any chance you get to hit balls and play golf is great, but watching it on TV, it's not quite as good to me as.

Carlin Lutzer (29:04):

No. What's the marketing idea behind that? Is it to get the audience up close with the professionals or

David Robinson (29:14):

... Yeah, I think they are. They're all micd up, which is different. You get to hear what they're saying and thinking and they're playing it like a real golf course. They're playing it as if they're out playing. I think a lot of it came from Liv when LivGolf took a bunch of the top players away. The team aspect of Live is something that I think the golf league kind of thrives on because I think if I'm not mistaken, they're based on the city they're from or the city they live in. I think LivGolf kind of changed how, or at least kind of pushed them along to try something different. Live golf it sounds like is kind of falling apart and isn't going to-

Carlin Lutzer (29:52):

Yeah, that's what I hear.

David Robinson (29:54):

And that's going to be interesting to see what happens when some of those players are looking to come back and have to re-earn their cards and There was a lot of chatter when they left. I'd be curious to see what happens when they try to come back. But I think that it seems to be somewhat popular, but I don't think it's as popular as regular golf.

Carlin Lutzer (30:14):

Right, for sure. Now before we hit record, you said something very interesting. In order for someone to get carded in the PGA, they also have to have an education as well. That's something I didn't know.

David Robinson (30:26):

You'd never guess talking to me, would you?

Carlin Lutzer (30:29):

No.

David Robinson (30:30):

Yeah. I have a diploma in management studies from Grant McEwen and then an extra year of golf specific stuff. If you're joining the PGA now, you are required to at the very minimum, I believe, be in post-secondary if not graduated. And before you can get to what we would consider class A, which is where you could become a head professional or the head professional role, you would need to have it completed your post-secondary. Right.

Carlin Lutzer (30:55):

Yeah. So how did Happy Gilmore get in?

David Robinson (30:59):

I think just based on his clothing, I think, based on his Broston Bruins jersey and based on being able to hit it so far.

Carlin Lutzer (31:07):

Yeah, for sure.

David Robinson (31:08):

Terrible

Carlin Lutzer (31:09):

Fun. Yeah. Go home. Go in the hole. All right. So biggest golf pet peeve. What drives you nuts out on the golf course?

David Robinson (31:19):

I would say slow play. Slow play is just, it's one of the things that is a barrier to people playing golf. A normal round of golf at a good pace here I would say was probably four to four and a half hours. Four and a half hours on a Saturday. If it gets beyond that, that's a lot. If you have to wait every single shot and you kind of hurry up to slow down and you kind of lose the rhythm of the game, you get stiff, you get a little bit bored. I think slow play is a big thing. If you're going to leave the house, hit a few balls, play golf, have a bite to eat or drink after, drive home, that's six, seven hours. And that's a big commitment for a lot of people. That's one of the things I loved about Crystal Ridge right in Okatokes there.

(32:05):

Nine holes. You could get out, play two and a half hours, you're done. Sitting on the patio having a beer, there's a lot to be set for that. For sure. I still love 18 holes. Everything in golf seems to compute around par of 72 to me. So when I'm playing, I always try to play 18 holes, but just the ability to get out and play is great. But if it's going to take all of a day, then that's a big ask.

Carlin Lutzer (32:32):

Yes, for sure. Yeah. You wonder when AI is going to become a big part of that and you're not going to have a Marshall out there. You're going to have an AI robot kind of cracking the whip out there and saying, "Here's where you need to be. "

David Robinson (32:44):

I don't think they're going to be as soft as Marshalls and ambassadors we have now. They may be a little bit more robo-cop than what we have now.

Carlin Lutzer (32:54):

Yeah. Maybe electric prodders or something to get them moving or some punishment.

David Robinson (32:59):

Hey, if it speeds up playing.

Carlin Lutzer (33:01):

Yeah, for sure. Okay. Last question. Which golf course?

David Robinson (33:06):

Other than HeritagPoint.

Carlin Lutzer (33:07):

Other than Heritage Point, sorry, we know Heritage Point has, but which golf course has the best food? If you're going to go for dinner at a golf course, where would you go other than Heritage Point, because that's our first choice.

David Robinson (33:20):

Mickelson National.

Carlin Lutzer (33:21):

Is that right? They have good food out there.

David Robinson (33:24):

Their chef Cam is just fantastic.

Carlin Lutzer (33:26):

Really?

David Robinson (33:27):

Yeah. They're awesome. Every single meal I've had there, and I've been fortunate to have a few. Their food is phenomenal. And the banana bread that they make at the in- house and they sell at their little comfort stations, roll clouds.

Carlin Lutzer (33:42):

Okay. Do you find it interesting that Nicholson chose to choose the Calgary area to build a golf course?

David Robinson (33:50):

No, I think that when he came onto that project, it was quite a ways along. The scale of that property and the amount of dirt that was moved and just the grandeur of that place, it's quite something. And when he had the opportunity to get involved, I think that it was really exciting for Calgary Golf. I think it's a golf course, unlike anything that we've really seen around here. If you get back there on the back tee box there and play from the very, very back, it's a beast. It's a Montserrat. I played in the Michelson Invitational a couple years ago and unfortunately I'm kind of the 280 to 300 yard guy off the tee and the guys that I was playing with are in the 340 to 360 off the tea. Geez. That's a little bit different. So it's a beast. But I think back to your question about the food, I think that's the best I've had in Calgary.

Carlin Lutzer (34:46):

Is that right?

David Robinson (34:46):

Yeah.

Carlin Lutzer (34:47):

No, that's awesome. Well, my friend, thank you for your time. Thank you for your advice on the golf courses. And yeah, we do certainly do have a lot of great golf in the area. Do we talk about Rivers Edge? Did you mention River's Edge as well?

David Robinson (35:04):

Yep.

Carlin Lutzer (35:04):

Yeah.

David Robinson (35:05):

I haven't called you in a few years, but

Carlin Lutzer (35:07):

I've never golfed there. I live so close to it, but I've never golfed there. That's horrible.

David Robinson (35:12):

I recall two really distinct nines. Up top, it's a litle bit more open and a little bit more visually open. Down below some really good tee shots, tree line fairways. You got to hit the ball pretty straight and be able to find it. And it's right along the river, right along the Cheep River, so it's really scenic and it's two minutes from town.

Carlin Lutzer (35:34):

Yeah. Well, I probably need to go for a round with you because my slice is horrible. I play my slice. People are wondering why I'm lining up. If there's houses on either side, they're wondering why I'm aiming for the houses, but I know my slice and it's terrible.

David Robinson (35:51):

The thing about a slice is you're losing a lot of yards because the ball's traveling more that way, then it's going that way. So if we could figure that out, it might make the game a little bit easier.

Carlin Lutzer (36:01):

Yeah, for sure. David, thanks for your time.

David Robinson (36:05):

Yeah, you're very welcome. Thanks for having me. I really enjoyed it.

Carlin Lutzer (36:08):

Yeah, we'll do it again.

David Robinson (36:08):

You bet.

Carlin Lutzer (36:19):

Thanks again to David Robinson for joining me on the Okatoaks Podcast. We are incredibly lucky to have so many amazing golf courses around Okatoks and Southern Alberta. And this conversation was a great reminder that golf is just as much about the people, the mindset, and the experience as it is about the scorecard. If you enjoyed this episode, please like, follow and subscribe and share the Oktoaks podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and social media. Remember, you do not need to be good at golf in order to enjoy golf. I'm living proof of that. Thanks for listening and we will catch you on the next episode.

Announcer (37:03):

That's a wrap on this episode of the Okotoks Podcast. Thanks for tuning in and thank you to our sponsor, Carlin Lutza Real Estate.