The Tolson legacy at Peaks & Prairies GCSA

This year marked the 40-year anniversary of the Peaks & Prairies Golf Course Superintendents Association. From what I have seen from my five years on the job with GCSAA, the Peaks & Prairies GCSA is a proud association, one of the best in education and networking that I have had the pleasure of working with. Much of it ties back to its founding fathers and how the group was formed. One of those founding fathers, still working today after 44 years in the business, is Don Tolson of the Stock Farm in Hamilton, Mont.
In recognition of the anniversary, the group celebrated Don's 40-year service with a very well done tribute from superintendents Dane Gamble and Don's son Dan Tolson, CGCS. I videoed the last portion of the presentation, but what was really touching was Dan's comments toward his own father. I was in the front row, but I know there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Being able to celebrate your own father's career in front of all of your own peers is quite an honor and Dan hit it out of the park. With Dan's permission, I am posting his comments below this video. I hope you enjoy the moment as did all that were in attendance.

"I am honored to present this award today to a special man whose vision and leadership are largely to thank for us being here today.
Don Tolson began his career at Lake Hills Country Club as the night waterer in 1970. Six years later, as the superintendent at Hilands Golf Club, he stepped out courageously along with a few of his peers to launch Peaks and Prairies GCSA. Serving as the first president of the then Wy-Mont GCSA, he charted a course and set the tone for what has become something that our guest speakers regularly claim to be the best association in the country.
For 40 years since, he has been an industry leader, setting benchmarks seemingly on everything he touched. After 13 years of renovations at Yellowstone Country Club he relocated to Denver in 1990 to build the award winning 27-hole public gem Fox Hollow. While there, he garnished the first ever GCSAA ELGA award for environmental excellence in golf course construction practices and served on the first Rain Bird advisory council.

Back in Montana and at the Stock Farm for the last 18 years, he has set the standard many others hope to achieve for premium playing conditions and Poa free playing surfaces.

Over a dozen trend-setting superintendents across the country have been the result of Don's caring mentoring. Wherever you go, people will say, "I wish I could be more like Don."  His members all want to be like him. His crew wants to be more like him.  His friends want to be more like him. And I've always wanted to be just like him.  His consistency of character and high level of respect for all people are as rare as they are magnetic.

Recently I asked my 10-year-old son what he wanted to be when he grew up. He said he wants to be a golf course superintendent. I was pretty excited. My son wants to be like me. Sensing my pride he said, "no dad. Not like you...like gramps."
So, dad, thank you for setting a great example for us to follow. Thank you for your courage to step out and start Peaks and Prairies. Thank you for modeling an attitude of service. Thank you for giving of yourself time and again to develop new leaders. And thank you for 40 years of committed service to our Peaks and Prairies.
As a representative of the next generation of turf professionals, my hope is that we can continue to walk in your shoes and serve with excellence like you have.
WHENEVER you decide to retire, you will be missed. Here's to a career well-played."

Preserving golf's history

In early September, I had the privilege to visit the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Fla., with my fellow field staff colleagues. This was our annual department meeting in which we get together as a team for a strategic planning session. Tony Parker, Ph.D., the WGHOF historian, gave us a personal tour of the museum. The first thing we saw as we walked in was Jim Furyk's score card from the Travelers Championship depicting his record 58.

Over the years, I have been lucky to view a few private collections including Waverley Country Club's collection of its steeped history in Portland, Ore., and the collection at Ganton Golf Club in North Yorkshire, England, which contained items from the 1949 Ryder Cup and the legendary Harry Vardon.

When I worked at Stone Creek Golf Club, I had the privilege to view one of the largest private golf collections in the U.S., one that rivals that of the USGA and the World Golf Hall of Fame. Our PGA Pro, Ted Westling had told me about Dick Estey's golf collection and he managed to arrange a tour. No words can describe everything that I saw. I attempted to blog about the experience.

...we need to keep an eye on where we came from in order to keep our compass pointed correctly to our future.

I believe the preservation of golf history is one of the most important components of the game. Especially today as many courses start renovation projects and look back to the original design for inspiration. Such was the case with superintendent Joel Kachmarek and Tacoma Country Club. Joel was able to dig through his clubs archives to find some old aerial photos that depicted the original layout and design of the course. Working alongside the late John Harbottle, they were able to perform a complete renovation which brought back the original romantic design of the club. Read Joel's blogs on his club's history.

Tacoma CC's 1923 irrigation as built was useful in their renovation 

As superintendents, we can play a large role in our club's history. Many of you are already doing so in the form of blogs, but if that's not your thing, keeping a secure archive of photos that document major modifications would be the next best thing. Is your pro shop keeping old score cards and items that have been updated? Are you displaying photos and trophies in a case that members and patrons can look at? All of these things are important: it's like keeping a living time capsule at your club.

I truly believe that we need to keep an eye on where we came from in order to keep our compass pointed correctly to our future. It doesn't matter if you are at a daily fee, municipal, resort or private club; keeping some account of where your club has been will be appreciated by those well after our time.