Ju n e / Ju l y 2 0 11
FORE YOUR INFORMATION T R AC Y S H AN A H A N — D ED I C AT E D LEADER OF DARKHORSE
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
By Dave Wilber President’s Message
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Meeting Schedule
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Government Relations Update
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Are You Prepared for a Disaster
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Wilber News
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NCGA Updates
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Field Day X 2011 Scholarship & Research Tournament Details
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SNGCSA Web Site Update
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Dates to Remember July 18, 2011 Annual Scholarship & Research Tournament The Ridge Golf Club
Sierra Nevada GCSA An Affiliate Chapter of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
You only have to take one look at Tracy Shanahan to know he’s serious. Serious about family. Serious about sports. Serious about work. But when you talk to Tracy, that serious side gives way to a young man with a big heart and big passion. Serious? Ok. But the better word is Dedicated. Dedication to the game of golf began in Tracy’s home town of Pasadena, California at Brookside Golf Course. Famous for lots of play and for being a place to park cars during The Rose Bowl, Brookside is one of those places where lots of people learn the game. Shanahan and his friends spent their teen years playing golf together and you might think that this would lead to high school and even college golf. You’d be wrong. Baseball became the object of young Tracy’s dedication and he ended up playing in High School and College until an injury got in the way.
By this time, Tracy’s parents had relocated themselves to the Auburn area and it was a chance meeting with Mike Phillips, then the super at Auburn Valley CC that helped Tracy find dedication to growing grass. Classes at American River College’s hort program and work at Auburn Valley led to being one of the first NCGA Interns after the program had been revived. Tracy’s dedication to all of this led him to spend 4 years at Almaden CC, again with Mike Phillips as he finished the NCGA program as the assistant super at Almaden. Looking for their own version of dedication, Saratoga CC made a great decision, hiring Tracy and for just over 9 years, his first superintendent’s position was a challenge. “I learned that I had to keep learning”, Shanahan recalls, “ I had two greens that were poorly drained and they made me crazy”. But his stint at Saratoga was well under control, with long hours and again,
dedication. The 25 acres of turf on the 9 hole track required a strong leader, the expectations being high. “The budget for Saratoga’s 25 acres was the same as the budget I have now at DarkHorse for 100 acres,” Shanahan relates. That says a lot. In 2005 being close to family brought Tracy back to Auburn as he was selected to bring his brand of hard work to DarkHorse. “I love the property and the design,” says Tracy, “It’s one of those places that I can’t get tired of.” Shanahan now finds himself in the often tough foothill climate making the best of keeping A-4 greens. DarkHorse isn’t so new now and with that come the challenges of keeping things in great shape with the limits of our economic times. But hard work pays off and Darkhorse gets rave reviews. Tracy’s dedication to family shows through in his current assistant su(Continued on page 4)