Nick Nate leaves Chikaming

As you may or may not know Nick Nate has been the 1st Assistant here at the club since the spring of 2008.  Over the years he has proven to be a huge asset to our grounds department through hard work, dedication and diligence.  He will be missed.

Two weeks ago Nick accepted the Superintendents position at South Bend Country Club.  This will work out well for Nick and his family, who live Granger, IN.  For the past 6 years Nick has driven an hour each direction without a complaint and has had impeccable attendance.  Amazing.

A quick background on Nick.  He attended Rutgers University and did an internship at St. Andrews in Scotland.  After graduation, he became the assistant superintendent at Medinah on their championship course #3 for three years.  While there he helped prepare the course for the 2006 PGA Championship.  Furthermore, Nick has volunteered and worked at many US Opens and PGA Championships around the country.

Below is Nick (on the right) at the 2012 US Open.

If you are at South Bend CC sometime, please look him up and say hello.  I know he'll appreciate seeing you.

Good Luck Nick!  The crew and I know you'll do great things at SBCC.
 

2014 Tree Trimming coming to a close.

Winter has been winter this year.  We have had snow cover since Christmas and it has been great.  Currently, it is raining and 37 degrees, but we still have snow on 95% of the course.  The forecast is calling for more cold weather next week.

Up until today snow depths ranged from 1 to 2 feet depending on the location on the course.  This has made getting around the course to trim/remove trees challenging at times.  Fortunately we have a rental lift on tracks that makes getting around relatively effortless.

I always like taking pics of the course from 60 feet in air.  It's a viewpoint rarely seen.  Below is a view from 16 tee toward the green.