Marc Peterson was selected to be the Ottawa Hunt Club’s Head Golf Professional earlier this year.
Marc has been a member of the PGA of Canada for the last 35 years. He started in the golf business in 1986 at the Kingsway Golf Club and he became a Class “A” member of the PGA of Canada in 1991. He moved to the Camelot Golf Club in 1991 where he found his passion for teaching. In 1996 Marc founded the Ottawa Athletic Club (OAC) Golf School which quickly became the largest winter golf program in the country. Marc was also selected as Teacher of the Year in the PGA of Ottawa Zone in 2005 and has been ranked a Top 50 Teacher in America by Golf Range Magazine.
After a very successful stint as Head Professional at the Rivermead Golf Club, Marc returned to the OAC as their General Manager in 2007. In 2018 Marc was the recipient of the PGA of Ottawa Executive of the Year award.
Marc is well recognised for his passion for golf, his enthusiasm, his team building qualities and his utmost dedication to the art of teaching the game.
Flagstick caught up with Marc Peterson on the Thursday preceding the 2022 CP Women’s Open for a brief interview.
FGM – This is your first year at the Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club and your first Women’s Open. What is your role for this Championship?
MP – Having the Women’s Open here is very exciting. When I accepted this position, to be a part of this Women’s Open was definitely a determining factor. It’s amazing as to what’s happened here in the last four weeks. It’s amazing to see how structured and organized this event is. To see everything come together with the stands, tents and corporate facilities is amazing.
Unfortunately we have to close our pro shop the week of the CP Women’s Open as Levelwear is responsible for all of the merchandise being sold on the grounds. So my job as well as my staff is to be on hand to support the tournament. My staff will be here from five in the morning until late in the evening. We’ll make sure the driving range is picked each evening and prepared for the players each morning. We are responsible for fifty-four carts that are out all day long so we have to make sure they are cleaned and charged and ready to go every morning. That’s our main role.
Other than that, we are here to assist in any way that we are needed in daily activities.
We’ll also take this time to do a complete inventory of our merchandise on hand and also plan for the Fall buying show for 2023.
I’ve also sensed a positive vibe from our Members in the past couple of weeks and everybody seems to be excited about the 2022 CP Women’s Open.
FGM – So I guess you’ve said goodbye basically to your wife and family for the duration of the CP Women’s Open?
MP – To be truthful, I think I did that when I accepted this position earlier this year. It’s not just the Women’s Open. It’s also my first year here and the first year where all the Club events are back after COVID-19. I have a brand new team and a phenomenal group that have made me look good all summer long. Most of my staff members have never been part of events here so to go back to a full schedule condensed after we lost seventeen days to the storm has been interesting. We’ve had a lot of twelve to fourteen hour days. But I have a good team and I’m grateful to them for their work.
