Feature Story: Heart Award Winner Webb A Golf Lifer And Mentor
by Jeffrey Reed, Editor, LondonOntarioGolf.com

From the mid-1970s to early-1980s, the Baby Boomer generation made their presence known in a big way at London’s Fanshawe Golf Club, just a cast away from popular fishing and boating adventures in what is now the city’s furthest northeast corner. Back then, the municipal golf club rested just outside the city limits where every summer day Mike Olizarevitch played the roles of head golf professional and babysitter. Moms and dads dropped off hundreds of boys and girls at the Fanshawe clubhouse for lessons, and then 18 – and sometimes 36 – holes of golf.

For most of those youngsters, golf at Fanshawe was simply another day without school. But for Londoner Tim Webb, golf superintendent at London’s private Sunningdale Golf and Country Club since 1987, it was the beginning of a life-long passion which now sees him honoured with the 2023 London Ontario Golf Heart Award.

Established in 2011, the Heart Award honours members of the Southwestern Ontario golf industry who have grown the game and who have unselfishly given back to golf. Olizarevitch, the inaugural Heart Award winner, was instrumental in establishing the Parkside Nine at Fanshawe where the very young, the elderly and the physically challenged – even those relying on wheelchairs for mobility – can still enjoy the game they love.

Webb, 59, who began his golf career working in the Fanshawe back shop in 1977, is the 13th winner of the Heart Award. His dedication to his craft and career, meeting of a myriad of turf maintenance challenges at a prestigious and historic club, and role as mentor to London and area turf maintenance professionals all make him a most deserving winner of this year’s Heart Award.

Early Days

Tim Webb and Montcalm Cougars 1980 golf squad teammates

At age 5, Webb began hitting golf balls in a vacant field near his home west of Montcalm Secondary School, where he would later play as a member of the Cougars golf squad. His father, George, who was a Sunningdale member, instilled in him a love for the game. Tim’s brother, Chris, also a life-long turf maintenance pro and currently golf superintendent at the City’s Thames Valley Golf Club, would join him in the field and at the original 18-hole layout at Fanshawe.

“Our mom (Ruth) would drop us off at Fanshawe before work for lessons. We’d play 18 holes on the days we were working for Mike, and 36 holes on the days we weren’t working. Those are great memories,” said Webb.

As a junior golfer at Fanshawe, I played many rounds of golf with both Tim and Chris, and recognized then that the Webb boys had golf in their blood. They were worthy opponents, but more importantly had a deep passion for the game.

At age 16, Tim moved to the pro shop, but shortly afterwards found his true love while working in turf maintenance under Fanshawe’s head golf superintendent Al Stoyles. Chris remained in the pro shop a littler longer than Tim, but he, too, eventually discovered a love for maintaining a golf course while working at Fanshawe. Chris worked at Fanshawe, then Thames Valley, and then was head golf superintendent at the City’s now-closed River Road Golf Club before assuming the same role at Thames Valley. Both brothers say they’re a few years away from retirement.

“Once you work outside, it’s hard to work inside. The change is drastic,” said Chris. “I think Tim always knew that’s what he wanted to do. He has enjoyed a great career. And he certainly is a great mentor to others in the industry.”

Tim completed his Turf Management apprenticeship at Fanshawe through Toronto’s Humber College, and later graduated with a Turf Management certificate from the University of Guelph.

In 1986, as he watched one of his boyhood idols, Jack Nicklaus, win his record sixth Masters Tournament, Webb left Fanshawe for an assistant golf superintendent position at Sunningdale under head golf super Murray Finch. When Finch left the club in 1987, Webb took the reigns and today enjoys his 37th year as Sunningdale’s head golf superintendent.

Mentoring On Webb’s Mind

Over the years, Webb has worked with a number of head golf professionals, including Jim Windsor, Ron Healey, 2013 Heart Award winner Patty Howard, Pat McDonald and current head pro Jason Wyatt. And while meeting the many demands of a 36-hole private club which, under a multi-year metamorphosis will soon be home to a single, re-worked 18-hole championship course, Webb said his greatest pleasure has come from mentoring other turf maintenance staff at Sunningdale.

“That’s how you know you’re getting old!” he said, laughing. “Many of the people who have worked for me when they were kids are now superintendents or assistants, many in the GTA. It’s funny, I’ll attend an industry conference and talk with some of those people, and I get excited about how far they’ve come with their own careers.”

Across town at the private RiverBend Golf Community, golf superintendent Kevin Collier said Webb is one of the main reasons why London is a special golf destination.

Tim Webb

“I have known Tim for the 13 years I have been at RiverBend, and he has been an amazing source of support to both my career and the club during that time. More importantly, he is also a great person. I am very excited to learn that Tim is receiving the Heart Award as he closes out his great career.

“Tim is a staple of the local golf industry,” said Collier, a director on the board at the Ontario Golf Superintendents’ Association (OGSA). “He is to be commended for his part in the many renovations at Sunningdale. We’ve enjoyed many conversations together about that piece of property. He takes the changes in stride, which is amazing. He’s so low-key, easy going, and always has a smile on his face. Tim has definitely been a mentor to me, and one of the first to reach out to me when I took on my current role. I know he has done the same with others, too.”

Webb is member of the OGSA, Greater London & Area Golf Superintendents (GLAGS) and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA). He was instrumental in seeing Sunningdale achieve Audubon Society environmental stewardship designation. And as if pleasing private club members and staff at a 36-hole club has not been enough of a challenge, in recent years he has worked tirelessly as Sunningdale has worked with golf course architect Doug Carrick to change the face of the historic venue.

Historic Sunningdale

Three generations of the Thompson family have helped solidify Sunningdale as an important part of the London community. In 1932, J. Gordon Thompson – known simply as the “Colonel” and founder of the Supertest chain of automobile service stations – purchased a 100-acre farm then three miles north of London’s city limits.

Sunningdale G&CC clubhouse

Renowned golf course architect Stanley Thompson was enlisted to design a championship golf course – the Thompson Course. Nine holes opened for play in 1934, with a complete 18-hole layout open the next season. Another golf course architect of considerable fame, Clinton “Robbie” Robinson, designed the Robinson Course.

James G. Thompson, son of the club’s founder, used his engineering background to design and build Miss Supertest, the legendary Canadian hydroplane of the 1950s and ‘60s that dominated the international racing scene. The Supertest Classic was staged at Sunningdale in 1966 and ’67, and was the first LPGA Tour event held in Canada.

James Thompson’s son, Gordon R. Thompson, continues a third-generation success story. He has been instrumental in implementing numerous course improvements, and the opening of the new clubhouse in May 2003. As the golf and housing industries continue to change, the Sunningdale community has embraced both – with the addition of new homes, and the newly-created 18-hole course featuring new and traditional holes.

“The process has been a work in progress for many years,” explained Webb. “Changing a 36-hole irrigation system and adapting it to accommodate an 18-hole course has been a big challenge. Changing the route of main lines, cutting off part of the system, changing the pump house at the irrigation pond and changing and adding drainage lines have all been part of this difficult process. In fact, there are still many changes to come.”

Industry Challenges

Webb faced additional challenges in 2013 and ’14, when Sunningdale hosted the first and second London-hosted PGA TOUR Canada’s season-ending tournament, the Tour Championship of Canada, played on a Sunningdale 18-hole hybrid layout. But re-routing the championship course wasn’t the biggest challenge faced by Webb and his crew those two years. In particular, a horrific storm battered the course during the Wednesday pro-am in 2013. Then Golf Canada director of professional championships, Bill Paul, called it “something out of the Wizard of Oz.”

Tim Webb

Paul wasn’t lying. I was on the course during that pro-am and witnessed the storm’s destruction with my foursome from the clubhouse windows. Most of the mature trees that were downed littered the course’s valley holes not in play during the tournament. But the entire course was covered in branches, leaves and debris, which saw Webb and crew work around the clock to prepare for Thursday’s opening round.

“The golf community in London and area is a closely-knit group,” said Webb. “We had 100 outside staff show up to help us clean up the course and prepare it for tournament play. We lost about 20 mature trees in the valley, but fortunately a lot of those were not on the course layout for the tournament. When I think back on it now, and how other superintendents and their staff just showed up out of the blue to help, that was impressive.”

Certainly, Tim’s status in the community and the respect the golf industry has for him were big reasons why so many crews from other local clubs answered the call.

“London is fortunate to be such a great golf community, and Tim has definitely made a huge impact on it,” said Collier. “He is such an asset for the turf industry. And when there are difficult times, he’s the first guy to contact you.”

Webb said he has faced numerous challenges at historic Sunningdale, which has hosted many big tournaments over its close to 90 years of golf.

“Government regulations and environmental regulations surrounding turf management have been two the biggest challenges I’ve faced during my career. Of course, there are always demands from member golfers – in particular, for faster greens and improved overall course conditions. And let’s not forget about Mother Nature – there are always challenges faced with weather conditions,” he said.

Tim Webb with LondonOntarioSports.com publisher and editor Jeffrey Reed

“But most importantly, we have a great membership here at Sunningdale, and they’re excited about the changes we’ve made and the changes to come. Our membership is a golfing membership – no matter what the weather, they’re golfing and we’re busy.”
“During his long tenure as course superintendent at Sunningdale, Tim has accomplished much, including the continuation and progression of two championship golf courses, countless course renovations, rebuilt greens and even the development of six newly-designed Doug Carrick golf holes. His wealth of knowledge for agronomy has kept Sunningdale’s property vibrant and lush for decades,” read a statement from the club.

“But more than this, Tim is an excellent individual. He is honest, hardworking and has a genuine care for others and their daily work experience. With every interaction, Tim keeps it lighthearted and has an unbelievable knack to make the most difficult conversations and topics enjoyable. He is always there for his team, in good times and bad, and is a great role model for many in the industry. Congratulations to Tim in this achievement as the 13th Heart Award winner. He is well deserving.”

Webb and his wife, Lynn, have two children: son Brandon, 30; and daughter Kaitlyn, 28. When he’s not fighting Mother Nature at Sunningdale, he volunteers as a firefighter with the Middlesex Arva fire station crew who honoured him with a service award in 1998.

“I am honoured and delighted to win the Heart Award this year,” said Webb. “Above all else, it is great to see the golf course superintendent’s side of things recognized as providing a significant contribution to the golf industry.

“The job itself is so rewarding, and you become part of the community. Just here at Sunningdale, to see so many changes come to fruition – well, not too many golf course superintendents have an opportunity to stay at one course for so long and to see it mature like Sunningdale has,” Webb said.

Webb has advice for men and women who wish to enter the golf course superintendent side of the Canadian golf industry. He said, “It’s a rewarding career because every day offers a unique challenge. You must remain flexible with your schedule and efforts, because there really are daily challenges stemming from membership demands, staff, tournaments and, of course, the weather.”

Recognizing Webb as a true life-long turf management professional, a mentor and a staple of the London golf community, LondonOntarioGolf.com is proud to honour this hometown boy with the 2023 Heart Award.

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Covering local golf since 1980, award-winning journalist Jeffrey Reed has captured three writing awards from the Golf Journalists Association of Canada. The three-time author penned the 2018-published book, The Canadian Seniors’ Golf Association, Celebrating 100 Years of Seniors Golf in Canada 1918-2018. Reach him at jeff@londonontariogolf.com.