The National Allied Golf Associations of Canada have launched an economic impact study of the game of golf in Canada. The results from this study will be used to fill-in the research gap on the impact of golf to the Canadian and provincial economies.

NAGA selected Strategic Networks Group as the winning consulting firm to conduct an economic impact study for golf in Canada. The study will quantify golf's "Gross National Product" as well as estimate the economic impact of golf nationally and for each province.

"SNG is pleased to have been selected out of field of international competitors to undertake this important and landmark study of the game and business of golf in Canada. This is the first time there has ever been a Canada-wide study of the impact of golf and our team is looking forward to assessing the impacts of this sport which involves as many as 5.95 million Canadian golfers," said SNG President Michael Curri.

In June 2007, key representatives of the Canadian golf industry gathered for the "NAGA Research Summit" to review the current state of golf in Canada and determined that one of the key priorities was to conduct an economic analysis of golf in Canada because of the information and research needs of the golf industry.

The National Allied Golf Associations represents the seven major national golf associations in Canada:

* Canadian Golf Industry Association (CGIA)
* Canadian Golf Superintendents Association (CGSA)
* Canadian Professional Golfers Association (CPGA)
* Canadian Society of Club Managers (CSCM)
* Canadian Professional Golf Tour
* National Golf Course Owners Association Canada (NGCOA Canada)
* Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA)

"This study is the first of its kind in Canada and will fill a significant gap in research available in this country that will provide us with a much broader and more accurate picture of the economic impact of golf that includes elements related to tourism, real estate, contributions to charity, etc." says NAGA Chairman, Elizabeth DiChiara, CSCM executive director. "This is one of the most important initiatives undertaken by NAGA to support the game of golf in Canada and further demonstrates the value of collaboration among the leaders within the golf industry."

SNG's approach to analyzing the economic impacts of golf in Canada will involve collecting impact data directly from stakeholders in the golf industry (golf facility operators, individual golfers, etc.) to quantify golf's direct impacts to the Canadian economy. Existing secondary information will be referenced to help complement our assessment of direct impacts.

This combined research will be used to construct an economic model that maps-out the economic impact relationships of the golf industry and its related industry verticals in order to estimate the economic impact of golf beyond the immediate stakeholders in the golf industry.

The SNG team has extensive experience with community and regional economic development policy and strategy, which will be applied to the research results and economic impact findings to assess the role and importance of golf to Canada's economic context at a national and provincial level.

The final report, to be delivered to NAGA in February 2009, will be an independent assessment of the impacts of the Canadian Golf industry on employment, taxes, GDP, household income, and consumer spending, across Canada and within each province. In addition, this study will provide a more complete understanding of the economic dimension of golf to supporting industries, consumers and the public, and government at local, provincial and national levels.