RJH Golf Course Management Services Inc.

"If you're going to do something, do it right the first time so you don't have to do it again." That's the philosophy behind the development of Quebec's LeGeant Golf Course, and one of the principles that keeps Director of Golf and Superintendent Robbie Hellstrom on target.

A part of Tremblant's world-class four-season resort, the golf course includes an 18-hole layout that opened in 1995, and a second one to come. There are many remarkable things about this new course, not the least of which is the fact that it opened for play 40 days ahead of schedule.

"That's 40 days of making money, not costing money," says Hellstrom of the accomplishment. And LeGeant is not, by any measure, a course that was easy to build or get ready for play.

"This is a state-of-the-art course, and no expense was spared nor corners cut to get it ready," Hellstrom advises.

The course is carved out of the Quebec landscape and plays to more than 6,800 yards from the back tees, and slightly more than 5,100 yards from the front tees - providing a challenge for players of all levels.

"When the course was designed, the object was never to cheat Mother Nature. The plan was not to redefine the way the land was, it was to build with the land," Hellstrom explains. "We didn't want to mess up the land by building a golf course, we tried to leave as much of the natural appeal as we could - design elements such as rock outcroppings and natural contours."

Starting from scratch

Developing a course like this, from scratch, gave Hellstrom an opportunity to start fresh with design ideas and equipment selections. He credits having the course ready for play well ahead of schedule to a staff of dedicated people giving an "above the call of duty" effort, and the use of reliable machines that didn't slow the process down for repairs.

"If our equipment had been constantly down, or needing service, we never could have finished ahead of schedule," he says. "I was involved in constructing another course. We went though five sets of five reels each on the machines we used to mow during the grow-in, because they were beaten up so badly. We lost untold man-hours changing and adjusting those reels.

"Here, we're cutting today with the same reels we used during the grow-in, and all we've had to do is grind them," he adds. "Our machines are out there every day. We put 400 hours on them in less than three months getting this course ready to open."

The LeGeant course is using a John Deere 3365 Turf Mower, two 2653 Utility Mowers, and two 3215 Turf System I Fairway Mowers. There are also two tractors; a compact 955 and 5300.

"With my previous experience in mind, we budgeted to replace all the reels this time, too," Hellstrom adds. "Not needing to replace them saved us a lot of time and aggravation, and a considerable amount of money."

On a big scale

The entire project has been conducted on a large scale. The golf layout is built on 500 acres of land - about three times the normal area, according to Hellstrom.

While fairways are bent grass, Hellstrom used bluegrass elsewhere on the course. In fact, he sodded more than 50 acres of bluegrass - the second largest sodding project in the history of Canadian golf! "Once we started sodding and seeding it took us 45 days to go from one end to the other," he says.

With a project of this magnitude, just getting from place to place can be a chore - Hellstrom's office is about a mile from the first tee. That's why there's a fleet of John Deere Gator 4x2 Utility Vehicles on the property. And Hellstrom isn't shy about praising these versatile machines. "They're the best utility vehicle around, bar none," he proclaims.

"One of the most important things about utility vehicles is the fact that they are not operator-specific. Nearly everyone can, and does, run them without special training. I have 27 guys here and they all use the Gators, and trying to cover 500 acres, we're running them on paved paths, over turf, on trails, and through the bush."

The staff of LeGeant likes the Gators, and according to Hellstrom, takes pride in all its John Deere machines. "My staff and I strive to give our guests a better product every day, and my guys take pride in their work," he says. "They also appreciate the fact that we have given them quality tools to work with - and we'd better because we're asking them to go out and use those tools eight hours a day, in all kinds of weather."

At the same time, a staff on a fast track like this one has to be confident that there's more to a machine than good looks. It has to perform, and there has to be somebody standing behind it when it does need work. "Adding to the pride is confidence in knowing that we can get someone here tomorrow - maybe even today if I call early enough - to fix a machine if it needs it.

"Quick service is more important here than in some areas of North America where they have 340+ good days a year. We have 100 days if we're lucky, so we can't give up three or four waiting for a part," he adds. "I've got a JD parts catalogue punched into my computer so I don't have to go running around looking for parts."

Part of the team

Hellstrom and his head mechanic were made to feel a part of the John Deere product development team in 1992 when they attended John Deere's exclusive Feedback session. "We were able to see things firsthand and ask questions of people who knew the answers," he says of the experience.

It was at that Feedback session that he first got a hands-on appreciation for the 2653 Utility Mower.

"I gave it a real tryout, going up a hill nobody thought I would take on," he recalls. "One of the John Deere guys asked my mechanic if I was going up that hill. My mechanic said 'Oh, yeah.' The John Deere guy's response was 'you're not serious.' And my mechanic replied, 'Oh, yeah, he's going up there, and he'll come down, too... one way or another.'

"I gave that machine a real test-drive, and the first thing I did when I got home was order one."