New Deerpath Golf Pro Looks Forward to Sharing His Experience

Working in the golf industry has always been more than a job to Rick Walrath.

"Doing something you love is not quite as much work." he said.

Describing himself as an "avid" golfer, the 42-year-old Walrath recently was hired as the new operations manager at Lake Forest's Deerpath Golf Course.

Eight years ago, Walrath enjoyed a successful career in another field but decided to attend the Golf Academy of America to pursue his true passion — golf.

Now as the new golf professional and operations manager at , Walrath believes that he has found a unique relationship that offers the best of both worlds.

"Not all golf courses have this setup," he said. As "the golf professional, I help with the golf course and your game. It's not a big corporate cookie-cutter, it's just me. Kemper will be a great resource for me to put customers first, and I'm extremely excited about working with the city."

Walrath plans to have an open door at his office and looks forward to meeting fellow golfers and residents, along with getting further input from the Golf Advisory Board. Residents are invited to meet Walrath at an open house from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20, at . A second open house will be scheduled in January.

Walrath said that with KemperSports staff's experience in working with hundreds of golf courses, he'll be alerted to things that worked, or didn't work, at other golf courses, freeing him up to concentrate on determining how best to help grow the local golf course economy.

One advantage he brings to the job is his background of nearly a decade working in the golf industry.

"Having worked at two public and private courses, I have a nice breadth of experience to draw on," he said.

While one of the city's conditions in its contract with KemperSports was that the city had to approve the choice for operations manager, Lake Forest Parks and Recreation Director Mary Van Arsdale said. Golf Commission members were unanimous in their approval of Walrath.

"We all felt he was a great fit for Lake Forest, having experience in a situation where there was a big change in community operations status from a private to a public course," she said. "It's kind of what our situation is and we felt he had some great experience and great experiences in other areas. We were very pleased with the candidate. He's very personable, and really seems to enjoy knowing people and focusing on the customer."

Walrath comes to Deerpath after serving as general manager overseeing all aspects of operations at the privately owned, daily fee Riverside Golf Club in Menominee, Mich. Before that, he was the head golf pro at the private, member-owned Wynstone Golf Club in Barrington.

He also was first assistant golf professional at Crystal Lake (Ill.) Country Club from 2005 to 2008, and assistant golf pro at one of Arizona's top public courses, Western Skies Golf Club.

In Lake Forest, he sees his role not as a fixer, but as an enhancer who can bring a fresh set of eyes to the golf course operations.

"By no means do I think anything at Deerpath is out of order," he said. "I'm also looking forward to junior golf. It's nice to be back in an area where they have a high level of activity."

While golf revenue is down almost everywhere, he said, "Deerpath is a different animal; they've actually done better than a lot of others, and in the area I think we have a true success story. What we need is to flatten out the rounds and service. We have a nice base."

Walrath and his wife, Colleen, who is a pastry chef and has a background in restaurant facility management, have two daughters, Delaney, 3, and Gabrielle, 1.

The couple have property in Lake in the Hills, but are considering their options. "We would like to be in the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff area and be part of the community," he said.