When Kris Bryan learned he had been named a finalist for the Golden Wrench Award, he never thought he actually had a chance to win. It wasn't because he didn't believe he wasn't "good enough."
"I didn't think I was old enough," said the 29-year-old Bryan, who has been equipment manager at Pikewood National Golf Club in Morgantown, West Virginia since 2005.
"I found out a few weeks ago I'd been nominated, but I never thought I'd win it."
Dispelling the myth that there is an age requirement for winning the Golden Wrench Award, Bryan was named the 2016 TurfNet Technician of the Year, presented by Toro.
Bryan prepped as an auto mechanic before making the switch to golf course equipment.
"It means a lot to be recognized. That's for sure," he said. "There are days when you sit back here 16 hours a day in front of these grinders. The guys bring equipment in that just went off a tree, or something. 'No one cares about me.' It definitely feels good. That's for sure."
Bryan was chosen by a panel of judges from a list of three finalists that included Elias Matias of Pronghorn Golf Club in Bend, Oregon, and Jori Hughes of The Wilderness at Fortune Bay in Tower, Minnesota.
Previous winners are (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. No award in 2008.
As the winner, Bryan receives the Golden Wrench Award from TurfNet and a weeklong training session at Toro's Service Training University at the company's headquarters in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Criteria on which nominees 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.
Criteria considered by Pikewood National superintendent Brett Bentley when he nominated Bryan center around his ability to keep equipment in top shape under extreme conditions, routinely going above and beyond the normal scope of his job and his ability to do just about everything under the shop roof and a lot outside it as well.
Located atop a mountain in northern West Virginia, Pikewood National occupies about 200 hilly acres of a 700-acre parcel. Navigating those hills is a challenge for a gas-powered utility vehicle, much less a fairway mower. That terrain and dramatic elevation changes provide golfers with stunning view. They also create tremendous wear and tear on mowers and other equipment.
"Kris has a great preventative maintenance program," Bryan said. "He does a very good job keeping equipment running.
"He is a perfectionist, which is what we need."
He also does a pretty good job at operating that equipment.
During the height of the golf season, Pikewood National employs a staff of 20-25 people, many of whom are college interns. During the spring and fall, when those interns are in school, Pikewood National often is understaffed, and Bryan fills in, operating a mower when needed and helping during aerification and topdressing - the latter of which can a lot to ask of an equipment manager.
He often serves as the club's plumber and carpenter - he helped plan and build a housing unit for the club's interns - and makes himself available to fix cars for his co-workers.
"Chris will do things that a lot of equipment managers won't do," Bentley said.
"Chris will come out and help us mow, help on the driving range tee, he'll fix stuff in the clubhouse," Bentley said. "He deserves some recognition."