Remembering Walter Mattison, CGCS

There have been just a few that have come into my life and have had a significant impact on the direction of my career and have left this world way before their time. One in particular was Walter Mattison, CGCS. Walter moved to Central Oregon with his wife Nancy, and his two sons Brent and Sean. Previous to the move, he was the superintendent of Makena Beach and Golf Resort on the island of Maui. His new job was the construction and grow-in of what is now called Widgi Creek Golf Course in Bend, Oregon. The construction was complete in 1991. It didn’t take Walter long to fit into the Oregon GCSA. He became active in the chapter and was the chapter president by 1997. Shortly thereafter, Walter’s life was cut short by cancer, and he passed in December 2000 at the age of 44.

..."if he were still alive today, he would have been President of GCSAA well before me."

My first run-in with Walter was when I was working for Farwest Turf Equipment as a supply truck driver and salesperson. My route would take me through Central Oregon. Walter always told me to make his stop the last of the day so we could play nine holes. Looking back at those times I spent with him, it made me look forward to the day that I could become a superintendent and manage a construction project such as his. Little did I know that I would eventually be hired to be the construction manager at Stone Creek Golf Club and I would be able to tell Walter the great news just before his passing.

Walter was a man of great ambitions. His foremost was to serve his Lord, and by doing so, be the best father that he could be. This spilled over into his professional life. He garnered so much respect and adoration by the way he interacted with his employees and his peers. Past President Sean Hoolehan, CGCS, was one of Walter’s closest friends. Sean said that if he were still alive today, he would have been president of GCSAA well before him.

Another one of Walter’s ambitions was to create a giant flag assembled out of golf flags from golf courses around the world. It would be called the Brotherhood Flag. Walter would eventually accumulate 750 flags from around the world, all to support his brave battle against cancer. This was his way to show his appreciation and commemorate 75 years of GCSAA’s brotherhood. He worked on this adventure clear through to his last days. Below is a picture of a poster of the flag which can only give you the relative size of it.

The flag was displayed at the Dallas Golf Industry Show and now resides with his wife Nancy. Nancy would love to find a permanent home for the flag, where it could be displayed every once in a while and people could appreciate who Walter was and what he meant to our industry.

In May, at the Oregon Golf Course Superintendents Association’s annual meeting, Walter was inducted into the Oregon Golf Course Superintendents Hall of Fame. Nancy and her boys were able to attend and receive the award. Now in their 30’s, Brent and Sean have grown into outstanding men and spoke eloquently of their time with their father. Since Walter’s passing, Nancy had been unable to even consider playing golf again. She's now met a wonderful new husband who has brought her back to the game, which is exactly what Walter would have wanted. Also in attendance at the ceremony was Bill Dierdorff, Walter’s assistant who is now the superintendent at Loomis Trail Golf Club in Blaine, Wash., and Russell Dooge, CGCS from Kahului, Hawaii. Russell and Walter were very close and once it was known that Walter was to be inducted, Sean Hoolehan, CGCS, called him and he immediately booked his plane ticket. Nancy was taken by the outpouring of support from the association and his close friends which lead to not a dry eye in the room.