A lifetime on the links

Dale Wilder, a lifelong golf aficionado, is the new superintendent at Radium Resort

Some people might have found it overwhelming to be the superintendent of five golf courses—but not Dale Wilder. He’s been on a golf course since the age of 12, working at the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort that his family built. “When I started, I was picking rocks because in those days it was all family business at Fairmont,” said Wilder. “We’d pick rocks and do the raking—it was all built in-house by our family, so we had experience doing everything as we grew up, from picking rocks to mowing greens to driving a Cat. It was a great experience—I enjoyed it then and I still enjoy it now.” Wilder began managing courses at 19, and eight months ago he became one of the owners of Radium Resort. He began working as the resort’s golf superintendent eight weeks ago. For a short period of time, he was superintendent for both Fairmont’s three courses and Radium’s two, until his successor at Fairmont was appointed. h3. Hands-on experience Having been a hands-on manager for much of his life, Wilder has seen many changes in the industry. The most significant has been the shift to environmentally-friendly methods of maintaining the courses. Wilder has been a longtime proponent of employing green techniques. “At Riverside Golf Course, National Geographic (visited) when they were investigating the endangered rivers of North America, including the Columbia River,” he said. “They did a piece on us—they could have found a lot of things wrong, but they found a lot of things right. They were so impressed that they did an article in National Geographic, about eight years ago. I had phone calls from all over the US to help (with) environmental stuff.” h3. Current affairs The current state of the golf industry in the Kootenays has both benefits and drawbacks. The vast number of courses causes a lot of the same people to go between the courses, and the economic downturn was hard on some of the newer courses. However, the high-quality golf found in the area makes Wilder’s long-term outlook exceptionally positive. “Golfing in the Kootenays is one of the most spectacular places you can golf,” he said. “We have some of the best golf courses in the country in our own valley and it gives the people that come here a great golfing experience. If (the golf course management teams) work together and sell together, we’ll do well together. We’re learning to do that better—I think everyone can survive and do well if we stick to those kind of (ideas).”