The amount of unknowns on the property definitely surprised me. I have been used to working for trained Superintendents that have had their respective golf courses infrastructure, records, and all other aspects of golf course management up to date and in working order. This was not the case at Dinosaur Trail as it pretty much took all season just to get the course functional.
I said I would never be one of those crazy Superintendents that spends the night at the golf course, watching the irrigation system, but by mid May I already had a few night under my belt in the pumphouse. There was a few things I never thought I would do as a Superintendent, but your perspective quickly changes when it is your golf course.
Many people in the past few weeks have asked how my first year as a Superintendent was. I can honestly say I have never learned as much in one season as I did this past season. It was definitely a struggle at times and I can remember days when I wondered what I had got myself into, but with the support of an awesome crew we eventually came out on top. I came into this position deciding I needed to change pretty much all aspects of the turf care operation. We completely changed the cultural and fertility programs, but the biggest change was in the turf care team. With the exception of 2 individuals, with one being the mechanic, the turfcare team was completely overhauled. We had our growing pains at the start of the season, but by August we were a well oiled machine. Without this great team we would have never accomplished the amount of projects we completed. I look forward to having many of our team members return next season.
I was lucky to have two guys on the crew this year with turfgrass education. A big thanks goes out to Colin McKenzie and all the work he put into the irrigation system this summer. You could pretty much find him in a hole or changing out heads on a daily basis. Without his contributions and work ethic the irrigation system would still be a mess. I would like to wish him good luck in his new position as an Assistant Superintendent at the Petroleum Club in Edmonton. He definitely has all the tools to be successful in the business, as I like to think, we gave him tonnes of practice and hopefully he learned a thing or two as well.
Andrew Smith came to Dinosaur Trail this season as a first year Assistant Superintendent. It did not take him long to step up and prove himself to the crew and myself. He was invaluable to the golf course this season, as when I was away from the course he seamlessly took over. I was very proud to see him grow over the season as a turfgrass manager that could pretty much deal with any issue on the golf course. As I write this he is in the process of finishing up his Turfgrass Management Degree from Olds College. I look forward to having him back next season where we can continue to build on where we left off this fall.
I am currently in the process of planning for next season as well as taking some time off. The course is under a nice blanket of snow and happy with how it has wintered so far. The cultural and fertility plans are complete as well as the budget, now I am starting to focus on projects and course improvements for next season. My plans are definitely ambitious for next season as we continue to work towards improving Dinosaur Trail.
Finally I would like to thank our GM, Scott Westman, all other Dinosaur Trail staff members, the board of directors, and the membership for their continued support of the Turf Care Team. The support from the community of Drumheller has been second to none and I look forward to continuing this into 2013. Building relationships is important to me, and I believe it is my job to educate everyone at the golf course about turfgrass maintenance. Feel free to call or email me anytime if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them.
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