Man Is a Dog's Best Friend

I recently came accross an article on the USGA website titled 'Man Is a Dog's Best Friend' and I could not agree more with what the article has to say.  I bring my dog Benni to work everyday, Benni is an Austrailian Shepard mix that is 100% deaf, and probably 50% blind.  many times when I introduce myself to new members or see golfers away from the facility they great me with 'your that guy with that deaf dog.'  Having a deaf dog has its perks as well as its downfalls.  Some of the perks include being able give him sign language signs around golfers so I do not have to talk to him while people are hitting, I can sneak out of the office while he is sleeping, and its funny to watch people whistle at him and he just walks the other direction.
Benni is the most obediant dog that I have ever owned, he will sit in my golf cart all day if I need him to, he will stay in the shop yard chasing maintenance equipment while I am out on the course, but it is difficult when I am in a hurry and he is 50 yards up the fairway marking his teritory, I can't just whistle to get him to follow me.
I still laugh when I tell golfers that Benni is deaf, and the first thing they do is whistle at him, acting like he will be able to hear them.
Even though Benni is deaf he is the best listener that I know, and he makes my bad days good, and my good days even better.

Cart Path reconstruction is finaly complete

Eric Porter working his magic in the skid steer

Over the past year we have been converting our road base cart paths to the gray crusher fines pathways.  In the last 12 months we have replaced the paths on 2, 7, 8, 13, 15, 17, and 18.  The path on 13 was the largest undertaking because we needed to re-route the path to new areas that were better for cart traffic and out of the line of sight from the tee complex.  We still have some seeding to do along the edges but it is a great relief to have  the bulk of this project completed.

the new path on 13 after the box blade and before the skid steer

 We also rebuilt the cart exit point by 17 green to better accommodate the large amount of traffic that this pinch point receives. The new paths will be a little bumpy for the next couple of week, but as we continue to smooth them out with the box blade they will get better and better.

17 cart path exit area during construction