Teejay Alderdice - 2023 Executive Professional of the Year

On the surface, it sounds a little strange to hear that Teejay Alderdice’s experience as one of Canada’s top skiers prepared him for his career and successes in the golf industry.

A Past President of the PGA of Canada and most recent recipient of the PGA of Ontario Executive Professional of the Year Award, Alderdice makes a lot of sense, however, when he explains it.

“Skiing and golf are both individual sports so it was easy to take my training, work ethic, and desires from skiing and implement them towards success in golf,” he says.

“That was the easy part. Learning all the nuances of the game was the hard part.”

The Thunder Bay native originally poured all of his competitive energy into skiing and became quite good at it. He was on the provincial and national ski teams and ranked number one in Canada when he was 16 and 19 years old.

“I had big aspirations in skiing until they were derailed by injuries,” says Alderdice. “I had a nice run, in skiing, though, and traveled the world which was pretty cool.”

Skiing taught him a valuable lesson: some things aren’t forever, and you need to be ready for change.

“Skiing had always been my first priority and when that was derailed, I had to come up with a Plan B,” he says.

That plan, it turns out, was golf.

Alderdice was introduced to golf when he was around twelve years old but didn’t have much time for it at first. As he grew a older, he was able to balance skiing in the winter and a little more golf in the summer.

So, when injuries ended his skiing career he moved to Orillia for the Georgian College PGM program. He was doing his co-op at the Hawk Ridge Golf Club in Orillia when he was encouraged to attempt the PGA of Canada playing ability test.

“That was in 2000 and I was probably too naïve at the time to know too much about it or what I was getting myself into,” says Alderdice.

“It was my first-ever competitive experience in golf. The first time I put the tee in the ground for competition was my PGA playing ability test.

And he passed.

If golf was going to be his career, Alderdice decided that he had to learn all aspects of it.

Hawk Ridge had provided him good insight into how a busy 36-hole public facility operates. Then he was introduced to high-end private golf, working at the Devil’s Pulpit. And in between he worked for Titleist for three years to experience that side of the business as well.

Alderdice says his time at the Devil’s Pulpit (now the Pulpit Club) convinced him that the private club experience is where he wanted to be.

In 2014, at the age of 35, he became the General Manager and Director of Golf at the Muskoka Bay Club in Gravenhurst. He was there until 2018 when business mogul Michael De Groote lured him to his Port Carling Golf and Country Club where for the past five years, Alderdice has implemented his philosophies on operating a successful high-end private golf facility.

“I’ve been there five years now and we’ve had a nice, successful run,” says Alderdice.

“A lot of courses experienced gains during Covid, as did we, but we’ve been able to re-establish Port Carling as the premier private facility in Muskoka.”

Alderdice likens his philosophy as General Manager at Port Carling to building a successful sports franchise.

“We’ve put a playbook together so when some of the players change, we’re still capable of winning,” he explains.

“My long-term goal is to ensure that no matter what facility I'm at, I hope it's in a better spot when the day comes for me to leave.”

Alderdice has always been a believer in giving back to the sport that has been such a big part of his adult life. He has been on the PGA of Canada Board of Directors for the past eight years, serving as President from 2020-2022 and most recently as Past President last year.

Among the organization's achievements during his term as president, Alderdice is particularly proud that the PGA of Canada established a Benevolent Fund to help members in financial need, as well as his work on a task force for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion that brought forward 88 recommendations.

His work on the National board, particularly as President, has impressed many PGA of Canada members.

"I’ve been in the golf business for over 45 years and met thousands of individuals who contribute to this great game,” said Kevin Thistle, CEO of the PGA of Canada.

“I can honestly say that Teejay is one of the most impressive individuals I have encountered.”

Alderdice, his wife Jenna, and their children Jax and Piper make their home in Port Carling.

If you are interested in contacting Teejay, he can be reached here.

Written by: Garry McKay

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