Some superintendents end up in the business by chance. And there are others for whom the profession is a calling. Ian McQueen, superintendent of Islington Golf Club in Toronto, is the latter."I fell in love with this industry at 14 years of age," McQueen said. "It's all I've ever done and all I ever wanted to do."
After receiving a turfgrass degree from Penn State and completing an internship in the Baltimore area, McQueen became superintendent at a private club with a single owner. Fast forward to now, McQueen answers to 500 members at Islington ? a job that can be just as challenging as managing bentgrass in tundra-like conditions.
"Working for a board was a learning curve for me because you have so many different opinions," McQueen said. "Sharing information with our board and members has been a great way for them to really understand what we do and our unique needs."
McQueen says social media has been instrumental in fostering a great relationship between the members and turf staff.
He frequently posts on his turf blog and Twitter (@IanMcQueenIGC) to keep members aware of course updates.
"We had a flood in early July of last year and then an incredibly challenging winter," McQueen said. "We lost a green to the flood and the rest were decimated by an ice storm in December. But our members knew about it from our constant flow of communications. They could see with their own eyes from the pictures just how bad things were. Because they were well informed on what we were facing, the board voted to completely rebuild our 90-year-old push-up greens at a $1.1 million price tag."
Renovations are under way at Islington, which is getting all-new USGA greens. It will be an important upgrade for the course as it competes for members with other Toronto-area courses.
Islington's membership of 550 play about 30,000 rounds of golf during its six-month playing season. That number is down from 36,000 a few years ago.
"We're changing some of the sloping of the greens to keep up certain green speeds," says McQueen. "Now that the height-of-cut is much lower than twenty years ago, the slopes that are about six degrees need to be changed to two or three while maintaining the general shape of the green as a whole."
McQueen uses a fleet of Jacobsen Eclipse2 122F greens mowers to maintain his greens.
"I've had Jacobsen walkers for about a decade because I think they're the best on the market," McQueen said. "I love that you can control the frequency-of-clip. During peak season, we set the FOC and HOC the same, about .110. This gets us a pretty consistent roll of 10-10.5 feet, which is ideal for members.
"We use the Jacobsen SLF-1880 fairway units to mow the traditional half-moon style. I really like the light weight of the SLF-1880. They can mow right up to the approaches without a problem. I have three but plan to get two more.
"I think the keys to success here at Islington are consistency and communication. If you can present consistently good conditions and communicate everything you're doing to your members, you create a winning environment."
- Courtesy of Jacobsen