The Canadian Golf Superintendents Association (CGSA) and Bayer Environmental Science (Bayer) are pleased to announce Mr. Dean Baker from the Burlington Golf & Country Club in Burlington, Ontario, as the 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. 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. I hope all of you will come out and support Dean in Alberta when we recognize him for winning this prestigious award!”
– Kendall Costain, MS, CGSA President
“As part of our ongoing commitment to CGSA and the Canadian golf superintendent community, Bayer is extremely pleased in recognizing Dean Baker from Burlington Golf & Country Club in Ontario as the 2018 CGSA/Bayer Superintendent of the Year! We look forward to interacting with Dean at a number of Bayer and CGSA events over the next year, and wish him our sincere congratulations,” says Brian Rosenberg Head of Bayer Environmental Science Canada.
As the CGSA/Bayer Superintendent of the Year winner, Dean will receive the following:
Registration in the 2018 Fall Field Day and 9-Hole Tournament in September in Alberta, this includes all travel and hotel costs;
Dean and his companion will receive an “All-Access” registration to The Canadian 2019 Golf Course Management Conference in Banff Springs, Banff Alberta from March 4-7, 2019, 4 nights’ accommodation and transportation costs;
A tour of the Bayer Environmental Science research facility and bee care centre in Clayton, N.C.;
A trip for two to the historic Pinehurst Resort, and;
Dean will receive a site visit from a Bayer specialist to discuss his needs to be able to design a $10,000 complimentary plant protection package for the golf course.
Dean has been a CGSA member since 1986. He has also been a 25 year plus member of the OGSA and the GCSAA. Dean says, “I love my job. 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 graduated in 1985 from the University of Guelph with a Turf Management Diploma and was hired as an assistant-in-training at Glen Abbey Golf Course. 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. Dean 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.
Dean has hosted 12 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 Course). 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.
Mr. 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.
