Watching what was happening in Calgary with all the snow that fell earlier this week reminded me of something that happened when I was working at Angus Glen in Markham, Ont., back in the late‘90s.
The snow came early and it never left. Our superintendent, the late Ernie Amsler, did something that I had never seen done and used a snow blower on our fairways to get his applications down.
Like any superintendent, Ernie would do whatever it took to make sure the course was in good shape the following spring for the public or members and the next year, it was in great shape.
I was out in Calgary just a couple of weeks ago for the PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada at The Winston Golf Club. I got there on a Sunday and the Thursday before, people sent me photos of snow on their cars and houses, but it was gone by the time I got there.
It’s not unusual to see snow in Calgary in September, but it pales by comparison to what they got this week. The snowfall not only broke one-day records, but it shattered them. It’s mind-boggling that the city could get that much in one day.
I had been in Calgary in March and they had an incredible amount of snow then. They had a late start to the season and this ends it early and we hope that they can somehow get a stretch of warm weather so they can at least get their golf courses properly put to bed.
