Fall 2016 - 69
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also seem to age out of the
profession in their 50s too.
"I don't like that about the
industry, but it seems to be the
way it is," Bagwell said.
"They are the best assistants you
could ever ask for," he said.
Former Idaho Falls (Idaho) Country
Club superintendent Randy Ernst
has been on staff for seven years.
Dylan Wilder returned to Crane
Creek this year after serving a stint
as superintendent at Eagle Hills
Golf Course in Eagle, Idaho.
"My most recent hire started in June,"
Bagwell said. Tom DeGrandi was
superintendent at TPC River Highlands
in Cromwell, Conn., for 23 years.
"It's nice to have them," Bagwell
said. "I have no issue hiring former
superintendents. I'm not job
threatened at all. These guys are
so valuable with their experience
and offering another set of eyes.
Expectations are always outstripping
your budget, so they have new
ideas of how to do things more
efficiently. I don't know what I
would do without them. I've had
a lot of good young assistants
who have come through too."
Crane said there are 12 to 15 full-
time workers on staff at Crane
Creek, and another 20 to 25
people are hired at peak times.
The crew is busy now carrying out
the project on the back nine.
