OLDS — Randy Brown, the Olds Golf Club’s new pro/manager, is busy learning the intricacies of his new job before outgoing pro/manager Wade Bearchell retires Dec. 15.
Bearchell’s retirement was announced a couple of months ago. He had been with the club for nearly 20 years.
Brown, who served as assistant pro for the past couple of years, was promoted several weeks ago, but his official start date in that new position was Nov. 1.
Brown says the search is now on to backfill his old position.
He anticipates a major learning curve in his new position.
“We’ll be going over all the ins and outs and he’ll be walking me through some of the stuff that I haven’t been involved in,” Brown said during an interview.
“We’ve got about six weeks of a transition period to really go over some stuff.
“And he’s definitely offered also that I can call him whenever I need to, which I’m sure I will,” had added with a short laugh.
“Some big shoes to fill in Wade's shoes and I’ll do my best to do that, moving forward.”
Brown is also in the middle of a term on Bowden town council.
He’s confident he can juggle his new job and his duties on town council.
“I mean that is the one thing about Bowden council, it’s definitely not a full-time job,” Brown said.
“It’s always been something in the last term-and-a-half that I’ve had to juggle -- work and council -- and I’ll continue to do that.”
Before becoming assistant pro at the golf course, Brown was general manager of Golf Town in Red Deer.
He said that was a similar position to his new one, and he managed to juggle both jobs, yet still be there for his family, so he’s confident he can do that now.
Brown said it’s a bit early for him to determine if he wants to make any changes to the way the club operates, but at first glance he doesn’t see anything that needs to be altered.
"We have a great product here; the golf course is great," he said. “It’s a matter of continuing that upward climb that they’ve definitely been on for several years. No big plans or splashes of any kind, they’ve been doing a great job up to now.”
Along with its regular club tournaments, the Olds Golf Club will be hosting a provincial event next year – the Mid Masters.
Bearchell may be moving on in mid-December, but Brown said they’ll still keep in touch.
“Wade and I will continue to play some golf and enjoy each other’s company, for sure.”
