After spending the last five years away from Cooke Municipal, Ryan Wells is back as the head professional.
Wells was the head professional at Cooke from 2012-2019 before spending the last five years in Grande Prairie Alta. and Elk Ridge Resort.
In an interview with the Daily Herald, Wells says he is looking forward to the upcoming 2025 golf season.
“It’s very exciting. It’s pretty much coming home. My wife (and I), we have three kids here all in Prince Albert. Coming back here to a lot of family, friends and some familiar faces, it’s very exciting. To come back to Cooke, spending eight years there previously, is exciting. I’ve learned lots and to come back and to implement this into Cooke and continue its success.”
With a young family at home, Wells says it was important to him to be able to spend more time with them and he says that will be possible working at Cooke where he will not have to commute as far.
“It comes down to family, being home every night has a big thing to do with it. My relationship with Darcy Myers, friends and the course itself. There are lots of great people and a lot of good memories I’ve had here. I worked here for eight years before, it’s an easy transition to come back to.”
Over the last five years, Wells has gained experience at several golf courses. Elk Ridge operates as a resort compared to Cooke which relies heavily on its membership players.
With the nature of the golf industry constantly evolving with new technology coming out every year, Wells says he is looking forward to adapting and helping Cooke in whatever way he can moving forward.
“You’re learning new things every day in the golf industry, every day is a new day. Being away from Cooke going into a different province up in Grand Prairie and seeing what they do up there. Then going over to a resort, there’s a lot of different things if it’s a resort base or if it’s member base that you can all bring together and bring to Cook Municipal. When it comes to the teaching aspect, it’s continuing to grow. More families are getting into it, the juniors are getting into it more so it’s just great to see.”
