Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)
The Brown Deer Park Golf Course has been a favorite autumn gathering place for Canada geese for years.
Unfortunately, where geese gather, golfers suffer.
"The geese themselves are not really a problem, except a few of them each year would get hit by a golf ball," said Scott Evans, the PGA professional at Brown Deer. "The problem is what they leave behind.
"It's just disgusting."
Evans said geese droppings "ruined our falls. We'd start seeing the effects around Labor Day. It's been a problem since I got here eight years ago, and it's gotten steadily worse."
This fall, however, has been different.
The Milwaukee County Parks Department hired Wild Goose Chase Inc., and the geese are gone.
Wild Goose Chase, based in La Grange, Ill., uses well-trained border collies to scare off geese. The dogs have been at Brown Deer every day since Sept. 7.
"Basically, the geese are gone," Evans said. "The feedback from our customers has been fantastic. They're amazed."
The dogs roam the course in the morning and again in the afternoon but are trained not to interfere with golfers.
"They know their stuff," Evans said. "They're almost invisible."
According to the parks department, the number of rounds played at Brown Deer in September was 4,790, up 12% from 4,275 last year.
Otto dies
Funeral services were Tuesday for Wayne D. Otto, 65, a respected leader and mentor in the field of golf course management who died after battling cancer for several months.
Otto was the golf course superintendent at Ozaukee Country Club for 35 years.
He was the first superintendent in Wisconsin certified by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. He was a graduate of the Turf Management Program at Penn State and a member of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses.
Otto is survived by his wife, Joann, and two children, Cami and Erik.
Memorials are being accepted in Otto's memory by the Wee One Foundation, P.O. Box 94, Juneau, Wis., 53039.