Our Mission & Vision

To plant, promote and grow true, accessible park golf across Canada and beyond — educating, empowering, and uniting communities by fostering 愛好 (Aiko), an affection or deep fondness for the sport, each another, our nations and our planet.

What iPGA Canada Stands For

Every letter in our name carries intention. Every detail in our logo tells a story.

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International

Fostering awareness that Park Golf is enjoyed by more than 1.5+ million people across 14+ countries. The dot on the “i” is a nod of respect to Japan, where the sport was born.

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Park

Played on under-used park spaces, golf courses, recreation areas, and open green spaces — wherever there’s room to play. Fresh air, nature, and community

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Golf

A sport born with golf in its DNA — but this laid-back cousin from Japan is something wonderfully unique all on its own. Simpler rules, one club, one ball, and designed for everyone regardless of age or ability.

愛好

Aiko 愛好

愛好 (Aiko) — a Japanese term for the affection or deep fondness one develops for a sport or hobby. For us, Aiko is the shared love of Park Golf that connects players to each other, to nature, and to the joy and spirit of the game.

Parkair

Meet Parkair — Our Mascot (Park + Air… get it?)

Here in Canada, our mascot Parkair is a Pileated Woodpecker — one of the most iconic birds in Canadian forests. Why a woodpecker? In Japan, players noticed that the sound of a Park Golf club striking a ball sounded just like a woodpecker tapping on a tree — and Parkey, Japan’s official Park Golf mascot, was born. With 15 species of woodpeckers tapping away across every province and territory in Canada, Parkair is Parkey’s distant cousin. Together, these two woodpeckers represent the bridge between Japan, where Park Golf began, and Canada, where we’re growing it together.

Discovered in Japan. Planted in Canada. Let’s grow it together

Alixe & Jean-Pierre

Alixe discovered Park Golf during her six years living in Hokkaido, Japan, where she set the record for Best Foreign Female Player at Makubetsu’s annual international tournament — a title she’s held since 2006. What started as a love for the sport grew into a deep appreciation for the way Park Golf brings people together — across ages, abilities, and backgrounds.

After twenty+ years of professional careers and a recent food truck business, the love of Park Golf only grew stronger — and so did the desire to play again. When the timing felt right, Alixe and Jean-Pierre founded iPGA Canada — to bring the fun, inclusive sport they’d fallen in love with in Japan home to Canada. Now in the afternoon of their lives, and conveniently living on Vancouver Island where you can play year-round, they plan to enjoy every swing of it 🙂

“Japan opened the door for me… now Jean-Pierre and I are opening the door to Park Golf for Canada — starting Spring 2026.”
— Alixe

Story Continues

Park Golf 愛好 Aiko Stories – Around the World

In 2004, in Kamishihoro, Hokkaido, I crossed paths with Alixe — and years later, life brought us back together as neighbours in Parksville. When she introduced my family to Park Golf, my dad remembered playing it while visiting me in Japan. After only one hour – each of us with one club and one ball at Parksville Community Park – we were all hooked 🙂 The Portable Pop-up course was fun and we’re looking forward to playing on a real course some time soon.

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Kajsa & Family Parksville, BC Canada

Bringing Park Golf to Canada was a dream back in 2003, when I travelled to Japan to visit Alixe and we borrowed clubs and balls from the town office and toured Hokkaido for two weeks — staying in free municipal campgrounds, eating fabulous food, and playing Park Golf in the communities we stopped and visited. Back then, we joked about building a Park Golf course in Canada for our retirement. Now we’re working to make that dream a reality — for course owners ready to build and players ready to play 🙂

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JP Parksville, BC Canada

“I started playing around 25 years ago. I would always play a few times a year. However, in the last 10 years my kids have gotten into it. Now the boys and I will play throughout the summer months. The oldest is 18 and the others are 10 and 7. I have always been an interpreter for the annual Nippon Park Golf Association’s International Tournament of Goodwill and I have met so many interesting and avid players of the sport there. The atmosphere among players is so friendly. It is truly a joy to play. “

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Clinton - Makubetsu, Japan

Park Golf was like JP — love at first sight, only I took him far more seriously than the sport at the time! I remember being in my 30s, so impressed by how many seniors were out playing at 5 AM and coming back after dinner for another round. Now that I’m in the afternoon of my life, I see this sport through different eyes — and with it, the privilege of sharing the joy of gathering with friends and family to enjoy this beautifully simple game. If Park Golf can travel from the shores of Japan to Vancouver Island, we’re looking forward to the day it travels from Canada’s Pacific coast to our Atlantic and Arctic shores too.

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Alixe Parksville, BC Canada

My husband remembered playing Park Golf while visiting our daughter in Hokkaido, but I’d never tried it. That’s what made this so fun — I’m not a golfer, but I picked up the basics quickly, while he had to figure out how to slow down his swing! Our two grandsons loved connecting with the ball and the game, and we loved having something we could all enjoy together — outdoors, full of laughs, and just the right length. Not too long, not too challenging, and certainly not boring. We’re looking forward to playing again — maybe next time on a permanent course with real holes, the chime, and the challenge of a hole in one!

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Patricia Sicamous, BC Canada

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