Homecoming for Galt’s new golf boss
Dave Smallwood parted ways with the Galt Country Club more than a decade ago, with no plans of returning to the place he called home for the first 23 years of his career in the golf industry.
All that changed earlier this year when Smallwood, after an 11-year run at the Golf Performance Center at Whistle Bear, was approached about the possibility of running the show at the storied Cambridge club.
Negotiations ensued and Smallwood signed on as Galt’s new general manager in February.
It’s been full steam ahead ever since, with Smallwood reporting a steady stream of congratulations from longtime members, some of whom he hadn’t seen since leaving the club that opened in 1906 and features a Stanley Thompson 18-hole course and four curling sheets.
“It’s kind of a warm, fuzzy feeling because most of the people I’ve seen so far were members when I was first here,” said the 55-year-old Smallwood, a Kitchener-born Cambridge resident.
“I was here for 23 years, so the majority of members are friends, people who are close to me. I was excited to go to work back then and I’m feeling that excitement again now,” Smallwood added.
Smallwood first joined Galt as an assistant professional, working under former head pro Albert Southgate and helping restore the lustre to a club that he said had failed to keep up with the times. Smallwood was eventually hired on as Galt’s head pro and spent 15 years in that role before moving on to Whistle Bear and shifting his focus to player development.
With Mike Skimson (now at Westmount) serving as his righthand man, Smallood created the highly successful Junior Performance Team for elite young players, oversaw the growth of his business to include 12 teaching academies and served as a tournament director for the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour.
Smallwood, the Ontario PGA teacher of the year in 2012, will continue to work with his elite players this summer but will step back from his other ventures to focus on the numerous projects that are currently underway at Galt.
The new Galt Social (galtsocial.com) is at the top of that list, a program that is offering social memberships with no upfront fees to the first 1,000 people who register. Successful applicants (there is currently a waiting list) can play up to 10 rounds on a pay-as-you-play basis and gain access to ticketed club events such as barbecues, outdoor movie nights and concerts.
The program, said Smallwood, is aimed at bringing new revenue (and possibly new members) into Galt during a trying financial period for the golf industry.
“People are working longer hours, driving further to get to work, young families have mortgages, car payments, braces ... so to sit back as a 30-year-old and justify paying $5,000 a year to play golf, it just doesn’t work,” said Smallwood.
“Galt Social addresses some of those issues ... and we don’t anticipate this being a short-term solution, this is an initiative that could be with us forever.”
Smallwood is also overseeing the construction of the new Golf Learning Centre, an indoor/ outdoor practice facility that will include a 40-yard netted practice range with room for 15 players at any given time. Similar to what Smallwood had at Whistle Bear, the centre will be equipped with launch monitors and offer ball and offer ball and club-fitting services.
Smallwood’s phone and computer were making all kinds of noises during a sit-down interview earlier this week and his enthusiasm was evident as he juggled calls, emails and a sitdown interview that included a guided tour of the various projects underway at Galt.
Everywhere he went, it seemed, a member would reach out, say hello and wish him the best of luck in his new role.
“I’ve been on-site for about a month now and I haven’t had this many hugs in one month in my entire life,” Smallwood said with a laugh.
“I got a big hug from an 80year-old man the other day, who told me he rejoined because I was back. How do you beat that?” CHIP SHOTS: Waterloo’s Luke Moser, formerly of Troy (Alabama) University, earned conditional status on the Mackenzie Tour — PGA Tour Canada at a qualifying tournament in Arizona ... GolfNorth will once again permit well-behaved dogs (and owners) at RiverEdge this year. The program was launched last year and proved to be a success ... Assuming there’s no snow on the ground, Whistle Bear will play host to a Golf Ontario men’s better ball qualifying tournament on April 30 ... Corey Conners of Listowel is in the field for this week’s RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, S.C.