'This is his happy place': Golf course superintendent marks 50 years at Riverside Golf and Country Club

A longtime employee of one of Canada’s best golf courses is being recognized for a special milestone.

For Riverside Golf & Country Club greens superintendent Doug Campbell, coming to work for the last 50 years hasn’t felt like work.

“in the morning I drive around when the sun's coming up and look down the river valley, and I pinch myself sometimes at how lucky I am,” Campbell said. “And I get to bring my dog to work, so it's really neat.”

Campbell was recognized for his years with Riverside Golf and Country Club on Saturday, but it’s not the first time he’s been singled out for excellence.

The greens superintendent is the first from Saskatchewan to win the Canadian Greenskeeper Superintendents Association’s(CGSA) Greenskeeper of the Year award in 2016.

For Campbell, it’s a family tradition. His father Don was the general manager until he retired in 1996.

“My brother, sister and I all worked here when we were young,” Campbell said, who has passed his passion along to his wife and stepchildren.

“One of the board members asked me to come cover a maternity leave, so I came and did some accounting, and I got to know the people out here,” Campbell's wife, Kim Larsen, said. “I fell in love with the place. I cut greens part-time. I’ve done that for 15 years, and it’s my favourite part of the day.”

Riverside Golf and Country Club was recently ranked 75th on the Top 100 Courses in Canada in 2020.

For Campbell, who’s been on the golf course his entire life, he’s got no plans of retiring anytime soon.

“I haven’t really given it a lot of thought yet,” he said. “I’m thinking another 10 years as long as my health is good.”

Seeing the generations grow up and share their passion for golf keeps Campbell tending the course.

“The members have always treated me like family, so I haven’t got an end in sight,” he said.

“I just love watching him enjoy going to work every day because so few people really enjoy going to work all the time,” Larsen said.

“He comes on his days off. This is his refuge, and he just does a little cruise around and it settles him. This is his happy place.”