Atkinson filling big shoes at Clear Lake

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This article was published 26/06/2018 (2830 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WASAGAMING — Craig Atkinson knows he’s filling a big pair of shoes.

The 46-year-old Hartney native is in the midst of his first year as Clear Lake Golf Course’s superintendent, a title that was held by reigning Canadian Golf Superintendents Association/Bayer superintendent of the year Greg Holden until the end of the 2017 season.

“There’s no doubt I am and I’ve thought about that a lot,” Atkinson said. “At the same time he (Holden) is a team member and hasn’t gone anywhere and people here know that I’m a hard-working guy, and I will do my best to fill those shoes.”

Although Atkinson is the new superintendent at Clear Lake, there’s nothing about the Riding Mountain National Park golfing destination that’s foreign to him.

He came to the club at the age of 15 and has worked at the course in some capacity for 29 of the past 31 seasons.

Atkinson’s introduction to Riding Mountain came when he took a job at a local restaurant. He parlayed that into a position with the clubhouse at Clear Lake for two seasons.

After that he spent a decade in the pro shop, which at the time was nothing more than a small shack beside the short par-4 opening hole, before joining the grounds crew.

“I fell in love with the place and couldn’t seem to not come back,” Atkinson said.

Twelve years ago he hopped into Holden’s truck and the two of them went on a drive. Before he stepped out of the cab Atkinson, who had worked as an irrigation technician at Clear Lake to go along with an array of other duties as a member of the grounds crew, had a new title.

“He said he was going to hire an assistant superintendent and he hired an assistant that day in his truck,” recalled Atkinson, who used to live and coach hockey in Neepawa.

In addition to a larger pro shop that’s been constructed, he noted the addition of a back tee on the 18th hole, several drainage projects and other smaller renovations have taken place since he first arrived at Clear Lake.

Over the last several years the course has been a leader in forward-thinking environmental programs, which Holden pushed so hard for. This includes being the only course in Manitoba that collects upwards of 10,000 litres of used cooking oil from around Wasagaming to make bio-diesel to run seven pieces of maintenance equipment.

The program is in a brief hiatus because the reactor that was used in Rapid City was sold. There’s ongoing discussion with Parks Canada about building one on the golf course to get it back up and running.

There’s also the composting toilet system that was installed on the golf course that saves Clear Lake 300,000 to 400,000 gallons of water per year.

Like Holden, Atkinson wants to keep a green thumb on the course.

“We’re certainly going to continue with our environmental program,” Atkinson said. “We’re very proud of that and the condition the course is in proves that it works. You don’t do it the other way and we’re going to expand on that.

“Tree planting is in our future as well. We are a mature forest all around our golf course so trees do go down somewhat regularly and we do hope to plant more of them, protecting the saplings along the way to help it grow naturally.”

And if he has any questions, Holden is still at Clear Lake — working five days a week — for Atkinson to pick his brain.

“We talk every day and bounce ideas and talk about general things on the golf course,” Atkinson said. “He’s the best assistant in Canada to have on your team. I’m pretty fortunate to have that guy around.”

DIVOTS: Neepawa Golf and Country Club’s senior men’s open, which has a $55 registration fee, is July 9. Call the pro shop at 204-476-5711 to sign up … Boissevain Golf Club’s 60-plus tournament, which costs $35 per player, is July 9 while its Turtle Derby Classic, a four-person scramble, is July 14 and costs $45. For more information, contact the clubhouse at 204-534-2365 … Pleasant Valley Golf Club’s ladies open is July 11, with a shotgun start of 11 a.m. The cost is $40 and to sign up call the clubhouse at 204-537-2487 … The Westman Dreams for Kids McDonald’s Classic will take place on July 12 at the Wheat City Golf Course. For more information, contact the course at 204-729-2177 or Westman Dreams for Kids at 204-729-8898 … A senior open in Hartney is scheduled for July 12. The cost is $25 per player to play in the tournament, which has a shotgun start of 10:30 a.m. Contact the clubhouse at 204-858-2011 for more details … Carberry’s senior men’s open takes place July 13. The cost is $40 per player with a shotgun start of 10 a.m. with its Big Hole event the next day. It starts at 10 a.m.and costs $160 per team. For more details, call the clubhouse at 204-834-2325 … Killarney Lakeside Golf Club will have its night golf tournament on July 13, with its three-person scramble happening the next day. Call the pro shop at 204-523-8277 for more details … Glenboro’s senior men’s open is July 16, costing $40 per player. To register, call the clubhouse at 204-827-2856 … The Dan Halldorson Memorial senior men’s and women’s tournament will take place July 31 at Oak Island Golf Resort. For more information, contact Barry Mymko at 204-728-1510.

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