Industry Mourns Loss of Dave Kennedy

Well-known and highly respected throughout the golf industry, Dave Kennedy, long time Golf Course Superintendent at the Vancouver Golf Club, passed away December 31st, 2018. 

On behalf of all WCTA members, we’re saddened to hear of Dave’s passing, announced by Pete Rodrigues, Superintendent at the Langara Golf Club in Vancouver and former assistant super to Dave for many years.

Although he was dealing with health problems since leaving the golf course 2 years ago, Dave attended the 2018 River Rock conference, had been serving on both the WCTA and NTA research committees and volunteered to continue helping with the First Green program.  

The following excerpt from a First Green article written by Dave sums up his passion for the superintendent profession and the importance of giving back:

When I was talking to the kids about what we do, I believe that most of them understood the message that our goal is to provide good playing conditions by creating a healthy environment for our turf.  The kids were fascinated to learn that we move the holes every day, not only for variety, but also to move traffic around so that the greens don’t get worn out.  My Assistant, Pete Rodrigues, gave them a demonstration on pin changing and showed them the white roots of healthy turf.  I showed them our moisture meter and explained that our staff checks the soil before they hand-water the turf so that we’re not watering too much.  A lot of the concepts that we almost take for granted are brand new to most of the kids.

We await and will forward any further information about a celebration of life for Dave.