Welcome to CanadianGolfer.com. Or for those of you reading my blog today on OntGolf.ca, make note that this is the last new post that will appear on that site. From today on we’ve entered a new era – and we’ve made a bold move to a new domain after purchasing the Canadiangolfer.com and .ca URLs.
We’ve done this for a variety of reasons. Namely, after a lot of discussion with Jeff Lancaster, my partner in our golf sites and the publisher of CanadianGolfer.com and OntGolf.ca, we made the decision that since our editorial and content was hitting a national level, it made sense to have a domain name that reflected that. With that in mind there is no better domain in Canadian golf than CanadianGolfer.com.
But the move is reflective of more than just a name change. We’re revitalizing the site, bringing on new content and new ideas, and presenting a more interactive and adventurous experience for the thousands that show up every day. Last year more than 750,000 people showed up to OntGolf.ca and we’re convinced we can surpass that by offering a well-rounded, opinion rich site that provokes thoughtful discussion and even courts controversy. That’s exactly what I’ve done at Going For The Green since I joined OntGolf.ca in 2006. Now we’re taking it to the next level.
That means more video from “Fairway” Stevie Waxman, the new “Poolside” golf pool blog with longtime poolie Derek Aubrey, a new blog from veteran reporter James McCarten, and our “Leaning on the Counter” blog from Angus Glen Golf Club Director of Golf Allan McDonell. We’ll also have two-time PGA Tour winner Richard Zokol chiming in as a guest every so often, and instruction from Shawn Clement and others. Expect more equipment and course reviews throughout the site.
As for me, I’m looking forward to the move. I’ve always written on national issues anyway, from courses I’ve liked in B.C. and Nova Scotia, to golf issues and players from provinces across this fine country. We’re changing the name of the site, but I’m staying the same. That means I’ll keep expressing my honest opinion, unfiltered by editors or outside influences. Sure it gets me in trouble every so often, but oh well, I’m a big boy.
We’re also launching some new features that we’d love to have you participate in. Though more content, including interactive course reviews, will be added in coming weeks, our hope is that you’ll register for the site, allowing for commenting across the site, regardless of the blog. In order to encourage this, we’ll be giving out prizes to registered CanadianGolfer.com users in coming weeks, from brand new hats at some of Canada’s best golf clubs (courtesy of my ever-expanding collection and my wife’s insistence that I shouldn’t have 200 golf hats), golf equipment and rounds at a couple of neat clubs. This will culminate in the grand prize – a game with me (okay, that’s not exactly a prize for some) at an exclusive private club as my guest. I’ll be traveling some in coming months, so you won’t have to be in Ontario to make this one work. The contests will be posted on G4G in coming days and roll out for the next month or two. So register, get a user name and enter. Pretty easy, really.
More than anything we want to hear what you like and dislike about the new site. In this Web 2.0 world, not everything works quite as planned. Please let me know about the new features you like and what you’re less fond of. Things are a bit of a work in progress at the moment, but there’s lots on interesting content already loaded onto the site, including all of the G4G blog with past comments, and course reviews I’ve done over the years.
You’ll notice a bunch of new content, including the Infallible Test blog from veteran Canadian Press reporter James McCarten and our Poolside golf pool blog that will appear every Tuesday from Derek Aubrey, a veteran of the golf pool wars. Fairway Stevie is also back with more content, especially videos – check out his latest on Turnberry Golf Club in Brampton here. There will be more content coming, including a Western Canadian course reviewer, in the next few weeks. And I don’t think we’ll be stopping there.
G4G was the first Canadian golf blog in 2006. Six years (and damned near seven) later, I still have a passion for writing about my opinions on the game. The blog was started to provide me with an opportunity to comment on golf courses, but it has grown into much more. It is now a place where news is broken and opinion is expressed on everything related to the game of golf. CanadianGolfer.com takes that to the next level, and offers opinions other than my own. I can hear many of you saying Thank God for that.
I hope you enjoy our big move.
A bestselling author and award-winning columnist, Robert Thompson has been writing about business and sports, and particularly golf, for almost two decades. His reporting and commentary on golf has appeared in 
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jeff Lancaster, CanadianGolfer.com. CanadianGolfer.com said: RT @jefflancaster: Excited – CanadianGolfer.com is now live on the air! If you are so inclined, hope you check it out. http://bit.ly/ctNYwY [...]
Congrats on the new site… always an interesting read!
Nice one – things look great. Enjoy your new home.
assuming all of you guys are still in Ontario. Don’t forget finding local content for the “west”
i’m a member…moving on over from the old to the new…..
[...] a tidbits notes from the welcome message delivered by our editorial director Robert Thompson: Welcome to CanadianGolfer.com. Or for those of [...]
RT, looks like a great evolution to expand nationwide. Who owns the site? I hope you & your partner have a stake. If you’re going national, you might want to look for a west coast & east coast journalist to contribute semi-regularly. That would be a first. Congrats on the move and best of luck.
Henry: Jeff Lancaster, my partner in this venture, owns the site and we are indeed looking to add some more national writers.
RT
when you have some one rate a course you should do your home work. see if the course was open that day. example he said he played the course in january. how is that possible. most courses in southern ontario need april and half of may to get into good shape with the winters and wet springs we have. also some of the medium range courses have smaller work groups to make it affordable for the every day worker and player. maybe some of these commentors should just go play at essex golf and country club.