Features Profiles
Golf/business outing a chance to meet new industry people

Because our office is located in southern Ontario—the most densely populated area in Canada—it has been relatively easy to make several industry contacts over the years with golf associations, educational institutions and other agencies, all within a two-hour or less drive.

Our proximity to these organizations’ territories, including a couple of chapter associations of the Ontario Golf Superintendents Association, has allowed me to become directly involved in their monthly meetings and golf outings. Such direct contact has allowed personal relationships to develop.

It would be nice to have this type of direct involvement with other groups outside of southern Ontario, but there are certain geographic limitations which make it virtually impossible.

In late July, however, a door opened for me to spend a day with members of the Ottawa Valley Turfgrass Association and the Montreal Region Superintendents at the Camelot Golf & Country Club in Cumberland, near Ottawa. Selected members of each organization took one another on in a match play golf challenge put together by Syngenta Canada. An educational component beforehand allowed the participants to enjoy a day of business with pleasure.

As fate would have it, I was invited to not only report on the educational presentation by Cornell University’s Dr. Frank Rossi, but to play golf that afternoon. It was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss.

I was placed on the OVTA’s roster and got the chance to meet these other individuals from both participating organizations. I recognized some from past conferences of either the OGSA or the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association, but most I met for the first time. It’s always great to meet new people in this industry and learn what is happening in their respective necks of the woods.

They, too, thought it was pretty cool that I made a trip of some significant distance to join them in one of their functions. If only I could do more of these in other distant locations and provinces.

Interestingly, my playing partner was bilingual and so were our opponents from the Montreal side, even though their mother tongues were French. Occasionally, the three would speak French to one another, and my limited high school and university French came back to me, and I could understand some of what they saying.

Unfortunately, I brought my “C” game with me that day (perhaps my “B” game by the back nine), but it was a fun outing in the field nonetheless.

Coverage of this event will be published in our September/October issue.