The
Marshall's' Page
During the summer
of 2004, I
was given the privilege of serving the members and guests of the
Waterton Lakes
Golf Course in the capacity of Marshall. The job was identified as being one
of
"assisting the patrons in having an enjoyable golfing experience as
much
as possible while enforcing the rules of the course." The animals
that occupy the course and
call the
area home provide additional challenges. The safety of the
golfers and the well being of the wildlife living in the National Park
sometimes present seemingly opposing goals.
My favourite
animals are the bears. I have
enjoyed over
50 years of marvelous memories of encounters with the wildlife and
people who
live and frequent the park, and the bears have always been the most
prolific
memory creators. The bears on the Waterton Lakes Golf Course are
a major attraction in that many of the golfers coming in hope of
encountering one of these impressive animals while on the course.
I would like to use this page to share a few of the views and movies
that I
have collected with you. Please feel free to have a look at the
videos
and pictures that I will post here. I intend to change the
content here
quite frequently to make it more interesting for you. Another
function
for this page will be to help you with the expectations we have for you
on the
course. In order to clarify what the marshal will expect you to
do on the
course, select the following link to "How To
Get Along
With Your Local Course Marshall"
The
following pictures were taken by Mr. Dennis Burton during his time on
the golf course. The first shows a coyote searching for his ball
on
the second hole.
A Good Day For Golf
A picture of a local inhabitant by Dennis Burton.
"Do you think the marshal will
notice we are a group of 7??"
A picture of geese on nine by Dennis Burton.
Sometimes just going to work can be
a wildlife adventure. I am always examining the bush for bear and
other large animals. One morning, my daughter pointed out a moose
crossing the Waterton River just after we had passed through the park
gates. I quickly jumped out of the van and ran across the road
just in time to take the following video.
File
for Fast
Internet
File for Dial Up
Just click on the moose to see the
video
Close the video window to return here.
After getting to work, it is common
to interact with a great variety of animals on the course. The
signature animal is, of course, the black bear that provide a great
number of memorable interactions for both the golfers and staff at
Waterton Lakes Golf Course. One young bear provided quite a
few interesting moments during his two weeks on the course. One
warm afternoon, he decided to relax on the 14th tee box after a hard
morning of foraging for food. I drove my cart up on the path
below him and looked up at the bear to let him know that his presence
was not appreciated with the course full of
golfers.
"You are not
supposed to be here." I proclaimed, not really expecting the
statement to have any positive effect.
The young bear stood up on
all fours and looked inquisitively at me.
I repeated my request,
this time with more clarity "You are not supposed to be here and you
will have to go!"
The bear turned around and ambled to the back of the tee box through
the trees and up over the ridge behind the tee box.
The golfers on the 13th green were nearly as amazed as I at the
sequence of events.
Check back from time to time, as I
will change the shots on the website to give you a look at a variety of
views of the Waterton Lakes Golf Course and the Waterton area.
Thank you for visiting. Click on the bear paw wherever you might
see it to
return to the "GolfWaterton Main Page".
It is important for all of us to understand how to interact with the
bears as safely as is possible so that we all, bears and golfers, can
share the course without nasty incident. Select the following
link to go to a page dealing with how to interact with the animals on
the course and elsewhere in the park.