A few months ago, I made a significant, career changing decision to work a few days a week on the Grounds Crew (Blades Down), in addition to my one, regularly scheduled day a week in the Pro Shop (Behind the Counter). The decision made sense on a number of levels. First off, I wanted to lend a hand to my new friend, David Court, Director of Golf Course Maintenance. In addition, I enjoy being outside, I enjoy yard work and I was certain I would enjoy the peace and tranquility of a 2,100 acre property at 6:00 in the morning.
It all started with a casual conversation, asking David if he could use some part-time assistance on the course. I didn’t bring an expansive resume to the party however I know how to start a lawnmower, I mow in dead straight lines, I am handy with a weed-whacker, I use my gas powered blower more often than I brush my teeth, I have reliable transportation and I have been known to be punctual. Hired!!!!!! Okay, okay, our county has a fairly shallow labor pool!
I wasn’t sure what was in store for my first day, however, I set my alarm for 5:00, packed my lunch in my Playmate Elite Cooler by Igloo and headed to the Maintenance Department for a 6:00 tee time. As I sat off to the side in the lunchroom, anxiously awaiting my assignment, I watched countless new colleagues punch-in, stroll to a white board and with little or no conversation, turn and head out the back door of the Shop to start their day. Where they were going and what they were going to doing was an absolute mystery to me!
Once David completed his early morning obligations, he turned his attention to the lone warm body in the lunchroom. It was time to get to work and hop on some sort of manly tractor, mower or other motorized equipment. With great anticipation, we headed out the back door of the Shop and walked to an area that houses a number of Club Car Turf 2 Carryall work carts with small dump bodies…so far so good! After selecting a cart, we checked the oil, I pulled the choke, backed the cart out of the storage area and followed David, in his cart, to the Tool Shed. David took the lead, pulling a shovel off the rack as well as an odd rectangular shaped metal implement on a wooden handle, both carefully loaded in the back of my Club Car, which I immediately nicknamed Olde Buttercup!
Olde Buttercup found herself in hot pursuit of David’s cart, finally heading out onto the golf course.
I was excited with the possibilities, wanting to make a difference on my very first day. Seemingly a half hour later, I backed Olde Buttercup into a sand pile in the absolute bowels of the golf course. I was subsequently encouraged by my supervisor to utilize my company issued shovel to fill the back of my Club Car dump body with sand. As I furiously “done did diggeded” into the pile, I made the obvious assumption that the Club’s mini-front end loader was temporarily on assignment. Once loaded, we headed straight for our 23 acre circular driving range with eight sizable stations, a total of nine stations if you count the Iron Range. Upon arriving at one of the stations, I was given detailed instructions on the fine art of filling and leveling divots. With the mini-front end loader still on assignment, I loaded and unloaded six dump bodies full of sand, filling and leveling the divots on four of the nine stations! Day one complete, in quite a lather, I found myself oddly proud of my accomplishments and my craftsmanship.
It would appear my star is clearly on the rise!
Note: Based on the amount of time I have spent on this range over the past twelve months and the amount of earth I have moved in my quest/zest for an improved swing, somehow my first assignment was poetic justice! In addition, after asking a few questions of a colleague, I found out that there is not a mini-front end loader on the property!
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The back nine can only get better!
Congratulations on the career move! Be careful out there.