Gordon Witteveen, 1934-2010

One of the very first superintendents I ever spoke to as a member of GCM's editorial staff was Gordon Witteveeen.

I started at GCSAA in March of 1998, and the very first feature story assignment I received was to write about a new book that was hitting the shelves called "Practical Golf Course Maintenance," authored by Witteveen and Michael Bavier, CGCS. For a rookie in the business who hardly knew his cup cutter from his bunker rake at that point, interviewing a pair of industry heavyweights like those two, with more than 70 years of golf course management experience between them at that time, was an intimidating task.

But they both took it easy on me during our interview, and the story, "A magical experience," was published in the September 1998 issue of the magazine. I kept both gentlemen near the top of my contact list after that, and we'd chat occasionally over the years as both men finished their long, storied careers in the business and eased into retirement.

I was reminded of that first encounter last night, when I got the sad news that Witteveen had died in his hometown of Toronto, succumbing to complications from a battle with leukemia. He was 76.

Witteveen was a well-known figure in the industry who was an active GCSAA member and supporter. He was a 50-year member of the association, served as a member of the national board of directors from 1973 to 1977, and won GCSAA's Distinguished Service Award in 2004. His impact was also widely felt in his native Canada as one of the founding members of the Canadian GSA.

He also established a reputation as one of the most prolific superintendent authors in the business. He won GCSAA's Leo Feser Award for the best superintendent-written story published in GCM in 1983. He helped create The GreenMaster, the publication for the Canadian GSA, and served as its editor for five years. He authored several other books — "A Century of Greenkeeping" for the Ontario GCSA in 2001; "Keepers of the Green: A History of Golf Course Management" for GCSAA in 2002 (co-authored with Bob Labance); and "Keeping the Green in Canada: A History of Golf Course Management" in 2008 — and at the time of his death was writing a regular column at TurfNet.com called "The Last Word."

A private funeral will held in the next few days in Toronto, with a memorial service planned for after the holidays at Board of Trade CC in Woodbridge, Ontario, the course he served as superintendent from 1973 until his retirement in 1999. You can read more about Witteveen's life and his career in the February issue of GCM.

Comments

[Jip Nipius]

Gordon Witteveen's book Practical Golf Course Maintenance was the first Greenkeeping book i red when i made a career switch from showbizz to greenkeeping in 1995.
It was a great inspiration for me. It felt like i found someone who did what he did from the heart. I wish his family strenghth in the days to come.
yours sincerely
Jip Nipius
Greenkeeper Holland

[Leonard Berg]

Gordon, Thank you for being there during the growth of the image of the Golf Course Superintendent. You were always the "Greenskeeper" and a dam good one. Through Canada and the U.S.A., you were very much the reason for our professional developement. Thank you Gordon for your many contributions to the golf industry. I enjoyed listening to you at the conferences.
Thankyou and God Bless

[Mark Kann]

I was deeply saddened to hear of Gordon Witteveen's passing. I had the pleasure of meeting Gordon while GC Supt at Meadow Oaks G&CC in Hudson, FL. He stopped by the maintenance building one day and introduced himself to me. I had no idea of his accomplishments at that time, but I began to learn more about him during the next couple of years. I would often see him out golfing or enjoying a drink or two in the clubhouse, always willing to buy me one. I had to turn him down for a drink more often than I liked, mostly because it was during working hours. However, I never missed an opportunity to sit down and talk with him. He was a very pleasant man and an extraordinary pioneer of the industry. I feel extremely fortunate to have met him.