Coffee with... -
Herb Newhook has witnessed a lot of changes to the Gander Golf Club. The club's superintendent saw the course grow from three to 18 holes, watched the construction of a new clubhouse and has taken advantage of numerous advances in maintenance technology.
When Mr. Newhook first worked for the club in 1977, the course only had three holes, and the clubhouse was a small shack, which was also shared with the grounds crew who used it as their storage shed.
Six years into the job, Mr. Newhook was named superintendent, a job he still enjoys doing to this day. This year, 17 of the course's 18 greens were in pristine conditions in late April, and the fairways were a beautiful colour green in early May. Although the area's mild winter had something to do with the club's earlier-than-usual opening, hard work and a knowledgeable ground's crew also played a big role.
Q: When did you start working at the Gander Golf Club?
A: I've been working at the golf course for 33 years. I started as a grounds keeper, and I began work as the superintendent in '84.
Q: What changes have you seen since you started working at the GGC in 1977?
A: When I first started here there were only three holes - what's 14, 15, and 18 now. By far, it's (course conditions) a lot better now. It's more established and more mature. The biggest change has been the size. I watched it go from three to 18 holes. When it was a three-hole course, the maintenance shed and the clubhouse was all in one shack...off to the left of the No. 14 tee.
Q: Do you have to keep up to date with the changes in lawn care and technology?
A: Oh yes, no doubt. Over the past two or three years we've purchased new greens, fairway, tee and rough mowers. We've added quite a bit of machinery as the years went by. We have an aerator for the greens and fairways, and we didn't have that back then. We have a top dresser now whereas one time we used to top dress by hand. We've seen a big difference machinery wise.
Q: Most of the greens were in pristine condition in late April. Is there a secret to getting the greens in such good shape early in the year?
A: You can only do the best you can to prepare for the winter months, but if Mother Nature decides to build an ice layer, there isn't much you can do. The course came out really good this year, and the little bit of ice that was there wasn't thick enough, and wasn't there long enough to do any real damage. We didn't have a heavy snow cover, and since we had a mild winter the frost couldn't penetrate the snow cover...so things went really well. Like I said, you can prepare for it...you can aerate, you can winter dress, you can apply your winterizer and fertilizer, but all you can do is wait.
Q: Are you still working on the course when the snow falls, and everybody else is home for the winter season?
A: I'll come down during the middle of March with a shovel and see if there's an ice layer. If there is, I'll see how thick it is and take a plan of attack from there. I'll decide if we need to come down with snow blowers or whatnot. I'll probably get out of here in mid-October, but I'll come down from time to time to have a look around.
Q: Do you have a favourite hole on the course?
A: Not really, as such. I like No. 2 where you can see Mount Peyton and you're looking up the lake.
Q: How many golf balls have you found over the years? Do you come across many lost golf balls as you work?
A: Not really. If we do come across them, we just cut around them.
Q: What sort of wildlife have you come across over your 33 years with the Gander Golf Club?
A: There are no shortage of rabbits - they're very plentiful down here, especially the past five or six years. There was a caribou down here for the better part of one summer and they had it called Bogey. Very occasionally you'll see a bear, and the scatter time you'll see a moose. A few years back we had foxes here for a week or two.
Q: What's the best thing about being the superintendent at the Gander Golf Club?
A: Now you're throwing hard ones at me (laughs). It's outdoors, and challenging from time to time. There's a different thing that unexpectedly comes up every day. If there's a lot of frost throughout the winter, there's the challenge of getting the course back to par that much quicker. So, because we had a milder winter, we're in regular maintenance mode now. We now have an opportunity to concentrate on the unexpected.
Q: How many rounds do you get in during a year?
A: Five or six maybe. I'll get out during the occasional staff party, and I'll get out for a scatter men's night.
Q: Thanks for taking time from your schedule to do this. Is there anything else you wanted to add about working at the GGC?
A: I have to thank the entire ground's crew for their hard work. If it wasn't for those people, the course wouldn't in the shape that's it in. They do a lot of great work here.
info@ganderbeacon.ca
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