MEET OUR STAFF...PAUL ACEVEDO

Now that we will not have to report any tournament results, I'd like to take a new direction... I want you to meet all of our golf course staff.

Usually, our frequent golfers, only get to meet the pro-shop staff and even know most of us on a “first name” basis. However, most of you seldom have the opportunity to meet those guys “behind the scenes”, those not too visible, but those who truly make things happen, so that you can have an enjoyable round.

These people, who work under Bob Weekes, our greens and maintenance superintendent, one of our most recognizable people by the golfers, go unnoticed by the majority, but never by us! It is easy to admit that we truly appreciate them and that we know how important those “little things” really are for you and for the smooth running of the operation.

I’d like to start with Paul Acevedo, one of the newest members of our outside crew. Paul, is one of our “cart people”, but believe me, driving and taking care of carts is far from all of his responsibilities. You can spot Paul among most of the people around for two main reasons: 1) he usually wears something with either the Dallas Cowboys logo or with something patriotic, and 2) most importantly: he always displays the biggest smile of all people.

Most likely, Paul will not care to understand on whether the greens putt to an 11 or a 7 on the stimpmeter, whether the hazards are too penal or not; whether you take the risk of going for the green in two on a Par-5 hole or for the green on a short Par-4 hole… He just goes about his job, always with that big smile of his, and I would be surprised if he puts any weight on all those little things that many golfers live and die from, like “too many ball marks”, “the green is too dry”, “the group in front is too slow”, or “the group behind is too fast (and I don’t like to be pushed)”, but I know that when Paul is around, his smile is contagious and helps each a one of us not to take everything so seriously.

Not that he would understand, since I’ve never seen him play golf, but one thing for sure, you will never see him sitting around. He is always busy, whether taking carts back and forth, helping players exchange carts when one needs to be changed, helping the pro-shop staff, or picking the water jugs and flagsticks before dark… and, of course, putting them back in the morning so that golfers can aim at the hole, the last of which, he probably does not realize, is of little help to the average golfer (believe me, I am a true believer that if we played with no flagsticks, most people would play better by just aiming to the center of the green).

Originally from Gallup, Paul moved to Albuquerque for a few years, almost got married there, and recently moved back to his home town. Now, “turning a new leaf”, he works at the golf course…. and we hope he makes it at least another ten years… we can use some of that enthusiasm that he is always displaying!

See you around Paul, and thanks for the smiles, we can all use them!