Meet the Staff

 Josh Brumley

Wyndgate Spray Technician

 

Josh is starting his first season in the Maintenance Department as The Wyndgate Spray Technician. He previously worked for a commercial lawn care company, treating residential lawns with fertilizers and some pesticides. He is someone that we will lean on throughout the year with our spraying, as we will be maintaining both golf courses. Because of the weather that we have had this spring, Josh has been asked to perform tasks that he probably didn't anticipate ,however he has performed those tasks flawlessly and without complaints. He is a graduate of Utica Eisenhower High School.

 Justin Tignanelli (JP)

Wyndgate Maintenance Staff

 

Justin is beginning a new chapter in his career and we are happy to have a small role in that. After working at the WestWynd in the cart barn, Justin moved to Arizona to begin classes at a golf school. He graduated in December of 2015 and is now taking steps towards seeing how the daily operations of the different departments operate. Justin has also been a valuable employee during the first part of the spring. He is married and lives in Lake Orion.

Tyler Pattullo

Wyndgate Maintenance Staff

 

First year maintenance staff employee, Tyler Pattullo, is already making a big splash within the department. We have put Tyler on some jobs that, well, aren't so fun and he has completed the tasks with a positive and "go get 'em" attitude. If this is a foreshadowing of what's to come throughout the growing season, Phil and I are in pretty good hands. Tyler hails from Deckerville, Michigan - home of the 2012 8-man football champions.

 

  

 

John Chambers (JC)

Wyndgate Maintenance Staff

 

JC started working for Phil and I on the WestWynd in the spring of 2015. He quickly picked up on how we wanted to maintain the golf course, which allowed us to put him on a variety of jobs, including helping out on the EastWynd Golf Course. His passion for his job and the willingness to learn as much as he can, makes John a valuable employee. JC is as about as friendly as they come, so if you see him on the golf course, don't be afraid to say hello. 



 

 

 

Uriel Leon

Wyndgate Maintenance Staff

 

Uriel has been with the company for over 10 years - having worked primarily on The EastWynd Golf Course. He is typically responsible for bunker maintenance, since he has a real good feel as to how they should/need to look. Rarely does Uriel need to be told about sand depths in the bunkers. Not too many day's will go by before Mr. Leon asks about "getting more sand" because of shallow depths. With Uriel on staff, daily bunker maintenance is hardly a worry of ours. Uriel lives in Imlay City with his wife and children.

 

 

 

Micah Betz

Assistant Equipment Technician

 

Micah Betz joined the staff in March of 2016 and is quickly adapting to the everyday maintenance of our equipment. Because of the amount of equipment we have, the job can be quite demanding and adjusting on the fly. He was a full-time mechanic at a local shop in northern Michigan before making the transition to golf course equipment. Micah is an avid waterfowl hunter and snowboards when he has the time during the winter months.

 

 

 

Charlie Early

WestWynd Irrigation Technician

 

Newly promoted WestWynd Irrigation Tech is starting his 3rd season as a grounds maintenance employee. Charlie has shown great aptitude while "helping out in a pinch" with irrigation. It really was an easy decision for us to promote him because of how quickly he picked it up. With the extensive amount of irrigation and the fluctuation of weather patterns, having Charlie as the WestWynd Irrigation Tech is really going to be a positive for the maintenance department. Charlie currently resides in Capac and has 3 children.

 

 

Jose Juan Leon (JJ)

EastWynd Crew Foreman

 

JJ started working at The Wyndgate in the summer of 1995 when the golf course was being built. This makes JJ an invaluable asset to the grounds maintenance department because we have a source of reference as to the history of the golf course. In 2000 and 2001, JJ was also involved with the construction of the WestWynd Golf Course. He can do any task that he is assigned, which has earned him a great amount of respect from not only his co-workers but also from Phil and I. JJ lives in Imlay City with his wife, Maria and their 3 kids.

 

 

Alex Wilson 

Assistant Superintendent

 

 Alex joined our staff as an Assistant Superintendent in March of 2016. He previously worked on the WestWynd Golf Course for 3 seasons before earning his Turfgrass Management degree from Michigan State University. He has always shown a great amount of interest in turfgrass science so having Alex on our staff is a huge asset for our department. Alex attended high school at Lapeer West where he lettered in football. If you see Alex out on the golf course, feel free to address him as Wilson - it's really the only name that we use down at maintenance.

 

 

 

2016 Masters Leaderboard

2016 Masters Leaderboard

(click on the link below)

http://www.masters.com/en_US/scores/index.html

Golf Course Maintenance Blog

January brings in a new year and frigid temps. We're still a few months away from being able to get out on the golf course; however, we did install some drainage lines on our trouble greens to keep the water from sitting on the surface all winter. As we drove around the golf course last week, we did notice that the drainage lines were working and most of the greens were free of any standing water. We also applied a product on the greens that's used quite a bit on the east coast (where winter kill is rather extensive) to aid the turf in forming sugars, carbohydrates, proteins and amino acids. Without getting into a whole lot of boring information, these are important in building strong, healthy walls needed during hard winter months.

It looks as though we are going to have an up and down weather pattern throughout the month of January. This could mean a lot of snow or rain, depending on the temperature at that time. In the event that this type of pattern does come true, having the drainage installed in the greens will only benefit us as we move forward. Of course, we still have black sand to spread on the greens in case there is a significant amount of ice buildup. The black sand works well in melting down any ice layer that may form on the surface.

We hope that you are reading this blog from a location where you don't have to worry about WIND CHILL!
                                                                                                                                                            





Welcome to The Wyndgate Maintenance blog. There's been much going on within the maintenance department throughout the winter and into the early part of the spring. During the month of January, Phil Hopper and myself (Ron Betz) applied 80/20 black sand to the Eastwynd greens due to the amount of ice that was sitting on the surface. Some areas had greater amounts than others, nevertheless we were able to eliminate any problems that could have occurred. Driving around the golf course, it's evident that the maintenance crew, albeit very limited, has been extremely productive and upbeat during the early part of the year. Cart path repair has begun on the golf course and will continue throughout the season. We also have a plan which will allow for routine maintenance on the paths such as edging and weed/grass eradication. Maintenance building cleanup is also one of our priorities, aside from the golf course, that we are focusing on this spring and will continue to do throughout the season. It's been a slow process but we are starting to see improvements to the yard area and beyond. The office spaces and break room area were treated with a fresh coat of new paint, with the hopes of brightening the place up a little. If you have a minute or two, feel free to buzz on through during the season.

 The design of this is to answer any questions you may have or to get to know the staff a little more and also to receive a little bit of a heads up with our activities that may affect your round, such as top-dressing, aerifying, and verti-cutting. A "meet the staff" section of the blog will be updated as we bring back our employees and it will have a photo and small bio of each employee we have at maintenance. We encourage you to take a look at it so you can have a little understanding of our staff. We will be keeping up with this blog on a daily basis, not just during the golf season but during the winter months as well - winter posting will be on a weekly basis.  "Frost delays" or "conditions too wet" will also be posted on here by Phil or myself when those conditions apply.

We hope that this blog finds everyone well and we look forward to seeing everyone throughout the golf season! If you ever have any questions and you would like to speak with Phil or myself, feel free to contact us by phone, email or as you see us on the golf course.

Have a GREAT day!


Ron Betz                                     Phil Hopper
rbetz@thewyndgate.com            philhopper@thewyndgate.com
(248) 652-3451 ext. 2                 (248) 652-3451 ext.1