“I couldn’t believe my face could hurt from smiling.”

That’s how Wayne Harper sums up a recent round of golf.

The retiree was supposed to play with his usual foursome at the Greyhawk Golf Club in Ottawa. But when Harper went to tee off he and his friends Don Verge, Raymond Gay and David Pratt, were told there was a mix-up. They weren’t playing Greyhawk after all.

 They were playing Glen Abbey – home to the upcoming RBC Canadian Open.

“All of a sudden out comes this limo and camera guys, sound guys,” says Verge.

Unbeknown to them, the four had been tapped to star in a new promotional video by WestJet. The limousine quickly whisked them away to a private plane to Toronto. After a few hurried phone calls to wives the foursome were off on an adventure of a lifetime.

“What just happened? It took me a day or two just to realize how incredible that experience was,” says Raymond Gay.

The change of location was just the beginning. The four arrived at Glen Abbey to find personalized nameplates on lockers filled with new golf clothing. They received custom-fitted clubs by TaylorMade in golf bags stamped with their names. It turns out this was a surprise months in the planning. The few people at the Greyhawk Golf Club who were in on it called it “Operation Albatross.” “We were going around their bags figuring out what clubs they have, their size of shoes, their size of pants,” says Greyhawk’s Henri Monette.

And then came the first tee, crowded by dozens of cheering spectators – mostly WestJet employees. There was an official announcer, personal caddies, and plenty of video cameras.

The four golfers were being treated just like the pros.

They admit that, in the end, they didn’t exactly play like pros. But as far as thrills of a lifetime go they may well have set a course record. “It was truly overwhelming,” says Harper.

The day happened in June. But WestJet only released the finished video this week, a perfect lead-up to the Canadian Open. In addition, they’ve announced a contest for viewers. Anyone who watches the video and shares it on social media can win their own trip to the Open July 20th to the 26th.

But for this Ottawa foursome, one trip is already enough. “It’s really something I’ll never forget,” says Gay. “It’s a lifetime experience.”