Turns out dogs are not only man’s best friend, but they can be a golf course superintendent’s best friend too … literally. And the feelings are clearly mutual.\
In an area like Southern California, where you’re not really doing it right if you don’t own a dog and a classic car, it’s not surprising to stack your clubs at a bag drop and be immediately greeted by a four-legged friend. Not only is the dog a key member of the greeting committee, it can act as course mascot, pest eradicator, coyote deterrent and good-times ambassador.
Often, dogs are also under the distinct impression they own the course; the humans all work for them. And 100 percent of the time, they are the constant companion of the course super. Once on the course, they revel in the absolute freedom and unrestrained joy that comes with having the run of a dog wonderland.
As a special snacky treat for its’ members, the SCGA recently combed the region for four-legged golf executives, and encountered these examples.
Baxter
Breed: English Mastiff
Age: 7
Measurements: 30 in./150 lbs.
Golf Course: River Ridge Golf Club, Oxnard
Turn Ons: Food, attention, rocks
Turn Offs: Loud noises, aggressive dogs, dogs/others who mess with partner dog, Olive
Favorite activities: Eating, sleeping, chasing coots
Guilty pleasures: Bacon
Ambitions: None
Doesn’t run away because: He knows who feeds him
Human: Kyle Kanny, 68, superintendent at River Ridge for 34 years, co-owner and president of High Tides & Green Grass, the management company that manages the golf course for the City of Oxnard
Foods he craves: Watermelon. But will eat anything, all the time
First thing in the morning: Walks the golf course
Before he was a regular at the golf course: Has always been a golf course dog. First trip to the golf course was made at nine weeks old
A typical day includes: Works five days a week. Upon arrival, walks or rides the course; then hangs out at the clubhouse to collect snacks
Baxter’s human says: “Based on personality, he gets along better than I do with the players. I’ll hear someone yell, “Hey Baxter!” and I’ll turn around and won’t have any idea who the person is, but they know Baxter. We were going to offer him to the (Dallas) Cowboys (who hold training camp nearby) for speed training. We were going to tape bacon to the wide receiver’s butts and see if they could out-run him. Baxter was sitting out on the cart one day and all the (Cowboys) defensive backs and safeties came over near him, but they gave him a wide berth. Finally, one of them petted him a little, and within seconds they were all petting him and scratching him and saying “Oh man, this dog is really cool!””
With kids, he’s incredible. He’ll let kids do just about anything. What he’ll end up doing is licking them. There was a three-year-old out here one day that had him by the ears and was pretty much yanking on them as hard as he could. So Baxter started licking the kid. And the harder the kid yanked, the more Baxter licked him. Pretty soon, the kid quit because he was just covered in slobber.”
Breed: Schnauzer/Scottish Terrier mix (“Schnottie”)
Age: 2
Measurements: 13 in./22 lbs.
Golf Course: River Ridge Golf Club, Oxnard
Turn Ons: Running, playing, action
Turn Offs: Any other dog (other than Baxter)
Favorite activities: Chasing anything that moves — coots, lizards, geese
Guilty pleasures: Bacon
Ambitions: To catch something
Doesn’t run away because: She knows she’s got it made
Human: Kyle Kanny
Foods she craves: Watermelon, bacon, carrots
First thing in the morning: Gets her morning cookies and sees Kyle and Baxter off to work
Before she was a regular at the golf course: Was a resident at the Humane Society of Ventura County in Ojai
A typical day at the golf course includes: Comes to the course around noon, then cruises the course with Kyle and Baxter. When the cart is in motion, she’ll run until she gets tired, and will then jump in the cart
Olive’s human says: “When she was little, she abused the hell out of Baxter. She bit through his ear, she bit through his tongue with those sharp little teeth, and he’d put up with it for so long before he just pinned her down with a paw. She’d get angry at that point, and try to get out, but he’d just totally pin her. A few years ago, I found another dog out here, it was sort of a reddish-brown poodle. When we took him home he was all matted, and the kids decided to call him Bob Marley. I thought I was going to be in deep trouble, but my wife (Patricia) absolutely fell in love with the dog, and when he died at 17 or 18, she was broken-hearted, and she kept on looking in rescues until she spotted Olive. And when she saw Olive for the first time, she was only around six pounds. When we rescued her and brought her home, I went to put food in her dish, and she just pinned my hand on the wall. She was coming from a rescue situation where she was the smallest, and she was having to fight for her food.
“I can’t bring Olive out here in the mornings because we have too many coyotes. We’re right by the river bottom, and she’s already gotten after one. She chased it over a hill. I’m in a cart chasing her; Baxter is between me and her; and as we got over the hill, I saw the coyote turn around. Then the coyote saw Baxter coming after him, so he turned around and took off. That’s why I usually don’t bring her out here until the afternoons.”
Breed: Australian Shepherd
Age: 4
Measurements: 24 in./52 lbs.
Golf Course: North Ranch Country Club, Westlake Village
Turn Ons: Doggie treats, stuffed animals with a squeaky core, sitting in the front seat of the cart, swimming
Turn Offs: Long runs, Brady stealing her toys
Favorite activities: Swimming, chasing geese and coots
Guilty pleasures: Eating!
Ambitions: Wants to be a better frisbee dog
Doesn’t run away because: Daddy feeds her
Human: Ryan Bentley, 41, golf course superintendent
Foods she craves: Ground turkey, brown rice
First thing in the morning: Jumps on the bed and licks Ryan’s face
Before she was a regular at the golf course: Took long walks and played with the children of her original owner
A typical day at the golf course includes: Morning check of ponds; afternoon office work; late afternoon run/pond check
Bow’s human says: “About the third time she was on the golf course, we’re out at No. 8, and there in front of the green there’s about a five-foot drop off. And she was used to these other ponds, and launching into them. On this particular day, it’s rainy. I let her out and she runs down and does kind of the same thing. She launches, but she doesn’t realize there’s a five-foot drop there. So she went directly underwater and popped back up as muddy as she could be, looking like, “What just happened?” Then she turned around and tried to go up the embankment, but she couldn’t. And she looked a little startled. So I had to reach down and kind of grab her and get her out. She’s never launched off that spot again.
“With the club’s blessing, I started looking into golf-course specific dogs that would help us eradicate coots, widgeon and geese. During that search, I reached out to a breeder who said, “There’s a family nearby that bought these two dogs that are well-trained. But they are getting ready to move, and the dogs were living with a small yard, you ought to reach out to them because I’m not sure they’re going to keep the dogs forever.” They lived literally five miles from here, and they were sweet people, and I explained to them if they would ever considering selling the dogs or making a transition, that North Ranch was interested.
“They set up a visit, and the first time I saw them I thought, “Oh my gosh, these dogs are beautiful.” And they were extremely responsive. It took three visits before we were convinced. I took them out on the golf course with the owners and showed them that they’d be running, and be taken care of. That triggered it. A little later, the folks were going out of town for weekend, and they suggested I take them home and see how it works out. They dropped them off on a Friday, and I wrote a check about a week later.”
Breed: Australian Shepherd (Bow’s half-brother)
Age: 4
Measurements: 22 in./45 lbs.
Golf Course: North Ranch Country Club
Turn Ons: Frisbee, ball
Turn Offs: Plastic shopping bags
Favorite activities: Running, chasing anything
Guilty pleasures: Sleeps with frisbee. Always brings toy when called
Ambitions: To be a better swimmer
Doesn’t run away because