19th Hole

Baker named CGSA Superintendent of the Year for 2018

Burlington Golf and Country Club (Facebook)

ETOBICOKE, Ont – The Canadian Golf Superintendents Association (CGSA) and Bayer Environmental Science (Bayer) announced Dean Baker from Burlington Golf & Country  Club in Burlington, Ont., as their CGSA/Bayer Superintendent of the Year for 2018.

The CGSA/Bayer Superintendent of the Year award recognizes a member of the CGSA who has held the position of golf course superintendent for a minimum of five years and who has distinguished her or himself through dedication to the profession, performance as a golf course superintendent and contributions to their profession and their community.

“Dean Baker is one of the most influential golf course superintendents in Ontario and truly one of the most dedicated members who instills the importance of involvement and participation in associations,” said Kendall Costain, CGSA President. “Between his teaching at the University of Guelph and all the mentoring he has done; he has had a tremendous impact on an entire generation of turf managers. His dedication to supporting not only the CGSA but also the Ontario Golf Superintendents Association (OGSA) make it clear how  fortunate we are to have him as an ambassador. He genuinely wants everybody to succeed.”

Baker has been a CGSA member since 1989.  He has also been a 25 year plus member of the OGSA and the GCSAA.

“I love my job,” said Baker, who graduated in 1985 from the University of Guelph with a Turf Management Diploma. “There isn’t a day that goes by where I hesitate waking up and going to work.  It’s a job I’ve enjoyed since I was 15 years old.”

Dean  was hired as an assistant-in-training at Glen Abbey Golf Club.  He went on to become the superintendent at Glen Abbey in 1989, a position he held until 2000, when he moved to The Club at North Halton and worked as superintendent from 2000 – 2012.  He moved again in 2012 where he became the Golf Course Superintendent at the Burlington Golf & Country Club, where he still oversees the golf course maintenance today.

He has hosted 12 RBC Canadian Opens and he was recognized by Jack Nicklaus back in the late 90’s as having the best maintained Nicklaus designed golf course (Glen Abbey Golf Club). He has taught for over 10 years at the University of Guelph and he is an Audubon certified member as well as a certified Golf Course Superintendent through the GCSAA.

Baker will receive the CGSA/Bayer Superintendent of the Year award at the 2019 CGSA awards ceremony at the Banff Springs Hotel as part of The Canadian Golf Course Management Conference.

Embed from Getty Images