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Inside GCM |
To the victor
go the spoils
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It would be a monumental overstatement to say that the Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards saved Alan Andreasen’s career.
Credit for that would have to go to one of Andreasen’s former assistants, Ray Davies, CGCS, who rose from that position to the top of the ranks at management company CourseCo Inc. and who hired Andreasen as the superintendent at Los Lagos Golf Course in San Jose, Calif., five years ago, giving Andreasen a taste of career stability that had been missing from his life for some time.
“I was pretty much washed up until Ray gave me a second chance,” says Andreasen, a CGCS himself and a 26-year member of GCSAA.
But last year’s overall ELGA winner isn’t about to minimize the impact the honor has had on him, or the impact it will have on the four men who claimed the top national and international awards in the 2006 program, featured this month in GCM (see “Coming of age” on Page 48).
“Even if you downplay the award beforehand, it’s incredibly flattering and rewarding,” Andreasen says. “You’re on stage in front of a lot of people at conference and show, getting this big award — it’s nice. There is quite a sense of professional fulfillment, a sense of accomplishment and a pride that you did something that earned an award and made your employer happy at the same time.”
That last point shouldn’t be overlooked in Andreasen’s case. His employer, CourseCo, has long taken a very public stance that environmental stewardship will have a prominent place in every course it manages. The company has been honored by the California state government for its sustainable practices in golf course management, and Andreasen knew what was expected of him when he took the job at Los Lagos.
“I always believed in the ideals of environmental stewardship and practiced those at courses I managed, but never took the time or effort to enter award programs,” like the ELGA, he says. “But those things were important to CourseCo, so they became important to me. I did the work, submitted the proposal and, lo and behold, I got the award.”
He also has a new job, and he can thank his employer’s environmental focus — and maybe last year’s ELGA? — for that new opportunity. In September, Andreasen headed south to Corona, Calif., where he took over maintenance operations at Green River Golf Club, a county-owned facility that contracted with CourseCo for course maintenance and the completion of a major flood-control project.
On more than one occasion, Riverside County officials indicated that CourseCo’s strong environmental track record had pushed it to the top of the heap during the bidding process. And did Andreasen’s award-winning ELGA performance ever come up?
“Maybe it had a small part in that,” he says laughing. “Maybe a small part.”
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