This kind of golf course doesn’t just happen…
A lot of heart, time and sweat goes into maintaining this island treasure.
A lot of heart, time and sweat goes into maintaining this island treasure. There are a number of folks who dedicate precious time to preserve the greens, clear brush and trees after a storm, manage the course finances, weed the sand traps, mow the fairways and maintain and fix the structures and machinery. These are the islandteers who make it happen.
The Fairways
Tom Weeks is skipper of a dedicated crew of fairway mowers, riding “Big Red” to keep the grass under control and the course looking great. Not much work for this crew in winter but almost a continuous process in spring and fall. By the time we’re done mowing #9, #1 has grown three inches…
The Margins
Dave Bateman is weed-whacker-in-chief, with a pretty much unlimited length of fairway edges, green surrounds and berms to keep under some measure of control.
The Features
Seth Pratt is the go-to person for maintaining tee boxes, sand traps, and other structures. There are plenty of these so it’s another open-ended set of tasks.
The Annual Wide Open & Potluck
Randy Stricker has been the master-mind behind the tournament since 2004 and will be stepping down after 13 years of service! Thank you for your commitment to bring the community together every year, Randy!
Tom Weeks will be stepping in as tournament director from 2023. He’s already played a pivotal role as the Skipper of the Fairways and now will manage our treasured annual event that draws hundreds to the greens every Independence Day weekend. Thank you for your stewardship, Tom!
The Greens
Glenn “Speed” Barrett is the lead greenskeeper. He is also the coach of those who have adopted various greens and are working to fertilize, level, aerate, lime, irrigate and mow. Who knew you have to do all that to make a green? Check out his own, No. 4, “The Tiller”. It’s the gem of the course.
The Community
Sarah Jones is working with a small team that will be making every effort to keep the community informed about, and engaged with, the course and the Wide Open.
As well as these important groups and individuals, others are busy in the “back office” keeping the bills paid, the spare parts ordered, and the lights on.
We’re determined to continue as an informal group, taking care of our wonderful community asset without a complicated structure or any individual having to be “in charge.” But help is always needed and welcome. If you are interested in volunteering in any of these areas (or others that we haven’t thought of), by all means reach out to any of the individuals mentioned above to offer your assistance. Or head to the Contact page to send us a message. Or simply respond to occasional calls for help with work parties.
Be a Decatur Islandteer!