By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Jeff Ciecko’s love of golf evolved into a passion for the golf business and he devoted much of his professional life to helping golf clubs improve their bottom lines.

Ciecko, who started CK Golf Solutions with his wife Tara in 2008, died March 10 after a battle with cancer at the age of 49. He is being remembered by his many friends in the golf community as someone who made a huge contribution to the health of the golf business.

“I think Jeff helped transform the golf business in terms of what he and Tara did with their company,” said Troy Peverley, vice president of the West Coast Golf Group and a close friend of Ciecko’s.

“The golf business prior to Covid was certainly challenging for a lot of operations and I think he and Tara turned around a lot of operations they were involved with.”

“He put in a lot of accountability, checks and balances, that some operators didn’t have,” added another close friend, Tom Doull, the director of golf operations at Morgan Creek Golf Course in Surrey. “Jeff and Tara really identified those things and helped clubs implement them.”

Ciecko grew up in Manitoba and won that province’s assistants championship before moving to B.C. Peverley and Doull both worked with Ciecko when he was general manager of Salmon Arm Golf Club more than 20 years ago. Ciecko also worked at Rivershore in Kamloops and Nicklaus North in Whistler before starting CK Golf Solutions.

He was a past president of the PGA of BC, was a finalist for the PGA of BC Head Professional of the Year Award and a two-time winner of the National Golf Course Owners Association’s British Columbia chapter Four Seasons Golf Professional of the Year Award.

Jeff and Tara worked with golf courses all over British Columbia and throughout Canada. Their company’s website includes testimonials from several of the courses they helped over the years.

Tara Ciecko, who plans to continue CK Golf Solutions’ work, posted an emotional message on social media after her husband’s passing.

“Even as I write this, the last 11 months does not seem real,” she said. “From having a sore back in California, to an ER in Las Vegas, to a short battle with cancer, I’ve lost my partner in everything. Jeff had told this to everyone he could, but now I implore you. . .'Live Your Best Life'…not next month, not next week, today.”

No memorial service is planned.