From leading the charge in player development to the proud home of some of the world’s best courses, golf in Canada is healthier than ever.

Healthy and exceptional, with some extraordinary successes. Golfers playing at the game’s top levels. Courses heralded throughout the world.

When it comes to golf in Canada, there’s a lot to celebrate. The country has two of the best golfers in the world in Smiths Falls, Ont.’s Brooke Henderson and Adam Hadwin, from Abbotsford, BC. Both have commanded the world’s attention over the last year with stunning wins. Of course, they aren’t alone. Listowel, Ont.’s Corey Conners recently challenged for a PGA Tour title, and David Hearn, Graham DeLaet, Henderson and Alena Sharp represented Canada for golf’s return to the Olympics in Rio. Both British Columbia’s Nick Taylor, and Ontario’s Mackenzie Hughes, have recorded victories in the short time they’ve been on the PGA Tour.

Brewing underneath is the next generation of Canadian stars—players whose names we don’t know yet, but are developing at the best Canadian and American universities, honing games that one day will elevate them to the top of the sport.

So much for golf’s decline. The myopic view that golf in Canada is floundering couldn’t be more misplaced. Truthfully, the game is likely as healthy as it has ever been, and it remains the country’s top participation sport, with nearly 6 million Canadians playing more than 70 million rounds each year. That’s more than hockey or soccer, though many might not know that fact.

How big is the game in Canada? Larger than pretty much anyone likely guesses. According to a study of the economic impact of golf, the sport is worth $14.3-billion to the Canadian economy, which, stunningly, is more than 1 per cent of the country’s total gross domestic product. In fact, with more than $5-billion in direct revenue, golf’s overall financial take eclipses the revenue of the facilities of all other sports and recreational facilities in Canada combined.

On the course front, Canada continues to be recognized as having several of the best golf courses in the world. For nearly a century, courses like Banff Springs, Jasper Park, St. George’s, and Highlands Links have stood the test as some of the best on the planet, all designed by a Canadian, the legendary Stanley Thompson. In more recent times, the game’s influencers have recognized the two new links courses in Cape Breton—Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs—as among the best in the world.

These courses attract visitors from all over the world who want to play golf at places that are uniquely Canadian. They want to hit a tee shot on the fabled 16th at Cabot Cliffs as the waves pound the beach below, and they want to test themselves against Banff Springs’ Devil’s Cauldron, heralded as one of the best par threes in the world. They want to smell the fresh air, play through the incredible forests of Ontario, and hit tee shots that hang against the mountain backdrop in British Columbia.

That’s not to say golf in Canada is static. Course owners, equipment companies and the organizations that run the game are innovating and connecting with players in new ways. The game is becoming more inclusive, as new Canadians from all over the world experience a sport where the player’s connection to the natural setting is a key, and where integrity and comradery are central to its essence.

Golf has been part of the sports world for 500 years. In this country it has played an important role in the lives of Canadians for 150 years.

Clubs and courses are hubs of communities, gathering points, places where kids pass the time chipping balls, and their parents connect with lifelong friends. Golf in Canada is part of our social fabric—just witness the thousands who descend on the CP Women’s Open and the RBC Canadian Open each year hoping to see a victorious Canadian.

More than anything, golf is intrinsically linked to the people of Canada. We cheer for Mike Weir, and then take to the fairways with friends to try to shoot our personal best. Canada loves golf—and there’s no indication that’s changing any time soon.