March 28, 2024
Local News | Bureau County Republican


Local News

Ringenberg will retire from Edgewood Park Golf Club Nov. 25

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Larry Ringenberg landed his first job on a golf course when the late Carl Gustafson hired him as a high school freshman in 1967.

His dad, Dick, and Carl bowled together, and Gustafson asked if Larry would be interested in helping clean up the golf course in the spring.

“Kind of liked it and got to drive a golf cart, and you know, had a good time doing it,” Ringenberg said.

Fellow Wyaton Hills co-worker Kenny Pihl convinced Gustafson to bring Ringenberg back the next year and he’s never left the golf course since. That experience launched a long and successful year as golf course superintendent for nearly years, the past 19 at Edgewood Park Golf Club in McNabb.

Ringenberg, who has been at Edgewood since January 2002, will be retiring Nov. 25.

He said it’s been a rewarding career.

“There’s nothing better than being out here bright and early in the morning, no one else around besides you and Mother Nature,” he said. “It’s been nice to work for the people I’ve worked for. I’ve had a good time. And I still like doing it, it’s just time.”

Along the way, Ringenberg has worked at six golf courses, spending 10 years at Wyaton Hills, a year at Twin Orchard Country Club in Long Grove, six and a half years at Baker Park in Kewanee, 14 years at Bureau Valley Country Club, four years at Lacon Country Club and the past 19 at Edgewood.

Keeping up with Mother Nature

The biggest challenge of the job is dealing with whatever Mother Nature may bring.

“Mother Nature kind of rules the roost as far as what’s going to happen. You go from too wet to too dry to too hot. Storm damages, flooding,” Ringenberg said.

“And the diseases you get on the greens can be a challenge to try to keep ahead of them. Knowing when to apply the fungicides and the insecticides at the right time to keep it under control.”

While there are certain things that have to get done every day, there are other days other challenges arise.

“There’s days you come in at 6 o’clock in the morning and, ‘Well, I guess I’m not going to do that today,’ because this issue is screaming louder than that one is,” he said. “My guys are real good at finding water leaks for me (laughing). What are you going to do today? Nothing but dig holes.

“My workers do 90% of the mowing. My job is to put the fires out that they can’t do. … I do the spraying, mechanical work, irrigation work. And whatever else comes up. There’s always something to do.”

Ringenberg has the kind of job that people will know if he’s done a good job or not.

“There’s some people that think it is should be Medinah Country Club that don’t want to pay for Medinah Country Club. All in all, I’ve never had too many people really gotten irate over anything,” he said.

He said some late afternoon golfers may give him hard time about the greens.

“‘Ah, Larry, you know the greens were a little slow last night.’ ‘Well, yeah. They would be.’ They’ve grown for a day,’” he said. “You mow them at 6 o’clock in the morning and by 5 o’clock in the afternoon, they’ve grown for 12 hours. Conditions change even over the course of the day.”

Time to travel

Ringenberg and his wife, Ellen, who will be retiring after 24 years from Princeton Elementary Schools on Dec. 31, are making plans to travel and spend more time in their camper at Condits Ranch.

“We’ve never really been able to travel other than at Christmas time with both our schedules being so far off, me off in the wintertime and her off in the summertime. It was a little tough for me to take a little summer vacation,” Ringenberg said.

He will keep busy and doesn’t plan on sitting around.

“There’s going to be something to do. I’m not going to just go home and sit. She probably won’t let me. And I’m firm believer you’ve got to keep doing something,” he said.

“All the help I have here are all retirees. Mainly to get free golf, get paid a little bit. They’re not out here to make a living just to find something to do for awhile.”

He will likely hang out a bit at Edgewood helping new superintendent Darren Weasel with some mechanical work and occasional mowing.

He hopes he’s able to play more golf, something he never had much time to do even if he spent all day on the golf course.

And he won’t say anything about the condition of the greens or anything, because he knows all about what took it to be ready to play.