It often is said that the business of golf turf is one of relationships. That might sound cliche and even corny, but as it relates to Ryan McCavitt and Evan Meldahl, it also happens to be true.
Shortly after taking on the task of building a new golf course at City Park in New Orleans, McCavitt, the director of golf course operations at Bayou Oaks, needed a new equipment manager. He turned to Meldahl, a former colleague with whom he had worked in the Chicago area.
"I told him I needed a mechanic, someone I could trust," McCavitt said.
Trust and relationship management never has been part of the criteria for determining a winner of the TurfNet Technician of the Year Award presented by John Deere. Deciding factors historically have included principles such as managing money and crises, shop neatness and ability to keep equipment in top operating condition. After Meldahl received this year's award on Wednesday, July 8, it might be time for an update.
Trust, indeed, has been a big deal for both McCavitt and Meldahl, especially at Bayou Oaks. The task they would undertake together, building a new Rees Jones-designed course on the site of a multi-course property pretty much wiped out 15 years ago by Hurricane Katrina, is about much more than just golf.
The new South Course, which opened in 2017 on the site of the park's former East and West courses, is the centerpiece of an urban revitalization project that includes involvement from local, state and federal agencies. Revenue from operations helps fund the Bayou District Foundation that is overseeing revitalization of the city's Gentilly district. Those efforts include projects like affordable housing, schools, an emergency clinic for area residents and other services.
Pumping golfers through the system at Bayou Oaks is imperative and requires a coordinated effort to ensure conditions there continue to attract players. The course, which is affiliated with the PGA Tour's TPC network, is owned by the City of New Orleans and is managed by the Bayou District Foundation. Clearly, there are a lot of eyeballs on Bayou Oaks, and Meldahl fully understands the role he and his colleagues play in helping ensure its success and the impact it has on the local community.
"The dedication not only to his craft, but the people he works with sets him apart," McCavitt said. "Not only does he care about the product we are producing and the experience for the golfer, but the people he works for, the management group he works for; he really cares about the people and being in this special situation giving back to the community, and working for the Bayou District Foundation really takes it to a whole new level of giving back and giving a greater purpose to his career. He embraces that and wants to be part of that."
Meldahl was chosen by our panel of judges from a list of three finalists that included Doug DeVore of Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, and Brandon Hoag of Glens Falls Country Club in Queensbury, New York.
Criteria on which candidates are judged include: crisis management; effective budgeting; environmental awareness; helping to further and promote the careers of colleagues and employees; interpersonal communications; inventory management and cost control; overall condition and dependability of rolling stock; shop safety; and work ethic.
As the winner, Meldahl received the Golden Wrench Award from TurfNet as well as the opportunity to further his education as an equipment manager either by volunteering at next Year's Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, or attending a training session at the John Deere factory training center in Morrisville, North Carolina.
Meldahl had no idea he had won the award until Wednesday.
"I found out a few weeks ago that Ryan had nominated me," Meldahl said. "Just to have your work noticed was enough, but to be a finalist, wow, I was blown away. Now, to win? I was just really surprised. I never expected this."
Meldahl had been helping care for his mother when McCavitt offered him the Bayou Oaks job. Shortly after Meldahl accepted the job and moved from Illinois to New Orleans, his mother died.
"This was a good opportunity," he said, "and she told me she didn't want anything to stand in the way of that opportunity."
For the next two years, until a new maintenance facility was built at Bayou Oaks, Meldahl worked first in a tent and then a structure that today serves as the cart barn. Both lacked the room and things Meldahl needed to do his job correctly, like air movement and a lift, and in the case of the cart barn a concrete floor.
Conditions were especially brutal in the summer.
"I never thought about leaving or going back (to Illinois)," Meldahl said jokingly. "But I did ask myself 'what have I gotten myself into?' "
That trust factor always lingered in the back of McCavitt's mind. Nominating him for the Golden Wrench award seemed like a small gesture to repay that trust and show that it works both ways.
"Evan has been a big part of my golf life and my personal life, and there is not enough I can do for that man for the effort he has put in to further this golf course and my own career," McCavitt said. "Coming from Illinois to New Orleans and taking a gamble on me, it's a small thing I can do to pay back and show him I appreciate him and what he brings to the operation."
Previous winners include (2019) Dan Dommer, Ozaukee CC, Mequon, WI; (2018) Terry Libbert, Old Marsh Golf Club, Palm Beach Gardens, FL; (2017) Tony Nunes, Chicago Golf Club, Wheaton, IL; (2016) Kris Bryan, Pikewood National Golf Club, Morgantown, WV; (2015) Robert Smith, Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, PA; (2014) Lee Medeiros, Timber Creek and Sierra Pines Golf Courses, Roseville, CA; (2013) Brian Sjögren, Corral de Tierra Country Club, Corral de Tierra, CA; (2012) Kevin Bauer, Prairie Bluff Golf Club, Crest Hill, IL; (2011) Jim Kilgallon, The Connecticut Golf Club, Easton, CT; (2010) Herb Berg, Oakmont (PA) Country Club; (2009) Doug Johnson, TPC at Las Colinas, Irving, TX; (2007) Jim Stuart, Stone Mountain (GA) Golf Club; (2006) Fred Peck, Fox Hollow and The Homestead, Lakewood, CO; (2005) Jesus Olivas, Heritage Highlands at Dove Mountain, Marana, AZ; (2004) Henry Heinz, Kalamazoo (MI) Country Club; (2003) Eric Kulaas, Marriott Vinoy Renaissance Resort, Sarasota, FL.
