A Helping Paw
This story appeared in the Summer 2024 Issue of New Jersey Golf. To read more from this issue click here.
The New Jersey State Golf Association was founded primarily upon tournament golf. Over the years it has played host to a wide array of events, but one constant is the demand for well-kept, challenging and impressive venues. Whether it is a Member Golf Day, the Youth Foundation Pro-Am, or a major championship, NJSGA staffers and volunteers encounter people from all walks of life—and some friendly pups, too.
And they have every reason to be friendly, indeed. Right at their disposal are acres and acres of green grass to roam, some treats sprinkled in, and plenty of scratches and smiles from patrons — what more could a dog ask for? But believe it or not, these dogs are here for much more than that. They have a purpose while roving the course — and they are well aware of it.
Golf course dogs are hard workers. Their main objective is to chase unwanted pests, most notably the Canada geese that cause disturbance to golf courses all over the northeast.
Many dogs tend to the golf course alongside the golf course superintendent. You’ll most often see them in the maintenance cart or running right alongside it. The relationship between a dog and his or her superintendent is one of a kind. There’s no doubt dogs make great companions, but they also play a valuable supporting role in creating the great conditions you see on golf courses across the Garden State.
Chief and Lola, of Crestmont Country Club, Rocket, of Echo Lake Country Club, Jett, of Running Deer Golf Club and Rye, of Valleybrook Country Club are among the canines who wander the rough around New Jersey golf courses keeping an eye on geese, a watchful eye on membership, and serving as good company to their owners.
Each day, Chief and Lola, a pair of 8-year-old purebred border collies, can be found up and at ‘em before the Crestmont membership arrives. They work between eight to 12 hours at a stretch at the West Orange club, but the gig isn’t so bad. They know they are large pieces of the puzzle to help the golf course operation run smoothly, and they’ve become a part of the club’s identity.
“Usually, I’ll have them up at the pro shop or at the driving range early in the morning. People often want to come up and pet them, get to know them and get to know their names,” said Patrick Hickey, Crestmont’s golf course superintendent. “Everyone loves Chief and Lola, especially when they are contributing to help keep their golf course nice and clean and not having the geese around.”
As at most courses in the area, geese tend to be a big headache at Crestmont. Flocks travel down from Canada throughout the winter months, migrating in big groups to make New Jersey their home for a few months. While Garden State courses may be barren during that time, they still need to be cared for… and that’s when Lola and Chief shine.
“That’s when they’re the busiest chasing geese,” Hickey said. “In the summer months, you get one or two geese trying to nest here and there, but for the most part their busiest time of year is in the winter. Our routine from December to the middle of March, before the staff comes back on the weekends and weekdays, is to take the dogs for a run fi rst thing, because a lot of times overnight you’ll get the geese fl ying in and trying to take up residence.”
Brian Kahl, Director of Grounds at Echo Lake Country Club, has Rocket to join him in his daily operations. Rocket — or Rock, as many of the staff and membership call him — is a one-and-a-half-year-old American Labrador. He lives up to his name, too. A ball of energy, Rock would run laps around Echo Lake if it were up to him.
“He’s a working breed and he just wants to work all the time,” Kahl said. “I can have him out here all day, whether it is playing fetch, running around, and when we get home he just wants to keep going. He’s nonstop.” Rock is still young and is just getting started with his duties as a goose-chasing pup.
“I’d say he’s more of a member liaison right now,” Kahl laughed. “He’s just starting to get that natural instinct to chase the geese. I had him out here at eight weeks old, a tiny little puppy, showing him the geese. I think for a long time, he was curious if they were going to chase him or if he was going to chase them.”
Rock has been slowly learning the ropes of keeping geese off the property — something that is not as easy as it might seem at first glance.
Prior to Rock joining the staff , Echo Lake enlisted Geese Police, a wildlife control service based in New Jersey, that uses border collies to run off birds.
“People think there should be zero geese out here, ever,” said Kahl. “Even when we had geese chasers, they were coming in at three in the morning and we still had geese. Every few hours they would come back and a few hundred geese would be back on the property. That’s all it takes. It would get to the point where I would have to drive my cart by the fl ock and they would fl y away. I used to do a lot more driving on the grass and walking around. Now, when they see Rock coming out, they know he’s here and they leave right away, which has made it so much easier.”
Rock has also helped the membership and Kahl and his greens staff develop closer ties. The Echo Lake membership is fond of the young Lab, which helps Kahl build a rapport with members he may not know well yet.
“He’s a fixture up around the putting green on Saturday mornings,” Kahl added. “There are some members that don’t want to come talk to the maintenance guy or the superintendent, but they do want to come pet the dog, so it helps me break the ice with members or new members.”
The early mornings superintendents face running equipment that only allows for a single operator can get lonely. With 18 holes to conquer, golf course maintenance is a team project, yet it mostly comprises tasks that need to be completed alone. Rock can be of assistance in these moments. If he could talk, I’m sure he’d say the same, too.
“It’s nice to have him as a companion, but even more so at a superintendent level,” Kahl said. “We spend a lot of hours on property when no other employees are here — even when I’m in my offi ce to get some work done when no one else is around. It’s great for the staff ’s morale, too. Even on a cold, rainy day, when they come in for a break, Rock will be out and about in the shop and he brings a lot of extra joy to the guys. He’s a positive distraction.”
Travis Lock, general manager of Running Deer Golf Club in Pittsgrove, has had Jett, a short-haired border collie, since 2018. Unlike many clubs, Jett, 6, reports to Lock instead of the course superintendent. However, his mission is the same as at other clubs — track down those geese.
Jett started his career at RiverWinds Golf & Tennis Club, located on the banks of the Delaware River in West Deptford. This setting meant Jett had his paws full. Geese are attracted to water, so there were plenty of honkers for him to chase. When Jett’s services became necessary at Running Deer — another facility within Ron Jaworski’s family of courses — Lock got the green light to transfer him over.
“I made a comment to my boss about getting a dog,” Lock recalled. “I asked him, ‘If I get a dog, could I bring him to work?’ He said, ‘Only if he chases the geese.’”
New to the Valleybrook Country Club team, Rye, a two-year-old border collie, has the job title staff directory page. Unlike a fully private facility, a semi-private course like Valleybrook has diff erent patrons visiting daily. For a dog, that can be overwhelming and chaotic. Outside of his duties on the golf course, Rye serves as a member of the inside operation staff and is a consummate professional.
“He works here and he’s an employee,” said Tom Concannon, Valleybrook’s general manager. “He’s got his own little vest and name tag. He’s a big hit with people here and just a good dog.” Rye’s name? That’s a story in and of itself.
“His name was originally Nye, but we wanted to rename him Rye,” explained Concannon. “That name encompassed a lot of what we have at the property. We have rye whiskey available in the bar, rye bread available in our pub for sandwiches, rye grass on the property and our bar’s name is Riley’s Pub.”
Although a young pup, Rye is very obedient and has already made a big impact at Valleybrook during his short tenure at the course.
“The feedback from our membership and public play has been dramatic,” Concannon said. “The comment I keep hearing is that it’s been night and day since he came on board here with us. Similar to Jett, Rye is a very friendly dog that gets along with other dogs and gets along with people, too.”
As we know, golf is not an inexpensive game. Regardless of whether one visits a public or a private facility, the demand for a fi rst-class experience is always high. The golf boom that began during the COVID-19 pandemic has shown no signs of abating, and in such an environment, golfers can and will vote with their feet, heading to another course if their expectations are not met.
“We want to create as best of conditions as we can out there on the course,” said Concannon. “People come here and they want to have a good time and they’re spending their hard-earned money. They spend over four hours out there; they should be greeted with the experience they anticipate. Whether they’re here for a golf outing or just a day on the course, having the nuisance of the geese — it changes the outlook. It’s been monumental just elevating the conditions out there.”
The golf course dog has yet another valuable role to play in modern golf. How does “social media influencer” sound as a title?
“I walked into the vet’s offi ce and there was a woman in there,” Kahl recalled with a smile. “She said, ‘Is that Rocket?’ I said, ‘Yeah, how do you know?’ She said, ‘Oh, I saw him on Instagram. He’s all over the place.’ He’s a little bit of a local celebrity around here now.”
Jett (@jettgoosedog) and Rye (@ryegoosedog) have their own social media accounts, while Rocket is
a mainstay on the @elccgrounds account.
“He’s got a big personality. I don’t think you’re allowed to work for this company without having some kind of social media presence,” Lock laughed.
They’re a part of their club’s daily life, and the dogs and their owners have a bond unlike any other.
“It’s hard to put into words just how much they mean to you,” Hickey said of Chief and Lola. “They’re such a big part of your life and most days they’re the only person or thing that won’t give you a complaint or a problem. When you have some issues on the golf course or with the membership or your own staff , your dogs are always there to comfort you and to help get you through some tough times.”
While it may not look like their job is too demanding... who else loves chasing geese before the crack of dawn?
“I’m not sure people have an appreciation for it because they may not see it,” said Hickey. “They see them running a lot of times on the golf course when they’re playing, primarily after the work of herding and chasing the geese and getting them off the property has been done. The work never really stops because the geese population is so large — it’s constant.”
Rigorously guarding the grounds, patrolling the course, and occasionally stopping for some scratches; Chief, Lola, Rocket, Rye and Jett make up just a handful of dogs in New Jersey who spend their lives making their own contribution to the game.
It reminds one of an old saying: Find a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.
That rings true for golf course dogs. This is their happy place.
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