In all, 38 golfers from all over Alberta were at Dinosaur Trail Golf and Country Club to play in the Alberta Net Amateur (Stableford) Championship.

This was the second time in the last five years that the club has hosted the Alberta tournament and golfers were impressed with the landscape and the challenging course. In the end, Mike Ross of Riverbed in Red Deer was the men’s champion. The women’s champion was Betty Fisher of Stony Plain and the Marg Ward (higher handicap) champion was Sandy Tougas of Fort Saskatchewan.

Phil Berube CEO of Alberta Golf was happy with the outcome, which included five local golfers, including Carl Palomaki, Vince Low, Tony Johnston, Greg Morrow and Ian Southern, taking on the course. He says despite being a later addition to the schedule, it was a good turnout.

“It is a revision of format to try and get back into the domain of supporting the average golfer, moving away a bit from just focusing on competitive golfers,” said Berube.

“There is momentum here, and it is great to come to Drumheller.”

He adds they are looking at featuring destination courses to collaborate with organizations to drive golf and tourism.

“It is part of our long range plan to try and get into local small communities in Alberta, work with our provincial government on getting tourism and travel throughout the province, to bring people in from other provinces and using tournaments like this to draw them in,” he said.

This model could help build a relationship amongst competitors.

“The courses may be an hour and half from home, but once you are here and stay the night, you find there is lots to do in town. We are trying to focus on building camaraderie among the participants, and you can do that when everyone is staying over in the same place, as opposed to everyone taking off and going home,” said Berube.

A Delia ballplayer has her sights on Team Canada after she helped lead Alberta towards a national bronze medal in last weekend.

Outfielder and pitcher Saige Hall, 17, led Team Alberta in batting average at .444 as they claimed bronze at the Baseball Canada Senior Women Invitational Championship in Red Deer from August 25-29. Team Alberta beat Quebec 8-5 on the last day of the tourney, with BC beating Ontario to finish first.

“We were happy to bring home some hardware,” she said.

Hall, who regularly plays midget AA boys baseball with the Strathmore Reds, contributed to Alberta’s third place finish by notching four hits in nine at-bats in four games. It was the first time she was invited to represent the province and had to chance to play with experienced players as old as their early 30s.

“I learned a ton from them. Just kind of how to be mentally prepared for games and how to take what you learn on the field and use it in everyday life,” Hall said.

“They’re a really big inspiration for me, too. Seeing how they worked with the program to get where they are today. Two girls on the team were doctors, and just seeing them succeed in their careers, as well as baseball, was cool for me to see. They were encouraging and pushing me throughout the weekend.”

Scouts for Team Canada were in attendance and Hall is hoping to fulfill her dream of representing the country one day.

“Ever since I kind of realized there was a Team Canada Baseball, since I was 13, it was what I wanted to do.”

“There were a couple of 17-year-olds who got chosen, but I guess I need more experience after playing with and against the girls that made Team Canada. It’s definitely an eye-opener for me to see where I need to be development-wise and training-wise to make Team Canada.”

With fall here and the baseball season over, Hall will be putting what she learned to use over the off-season and plans to play for Team Alberta, and hopefully Team Canada, next year.

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