After almost a decade, Quarry Oaks Head Pro Darren Hayden will be moving on, leaving the famed course with a heart full of memories and life-long friendships.

The journey

Having had a few days to reflect, Hayden says it’s been quite the ride when it comes to his golf life. “It’s a long journey,” he says with a chuckle. “I’ve been in the golf industry for over 30 years, actually. I kind of started out in the private sector, working at St. Charles Country Club, which was close to home in St. James for the first nine years of my career. I was only 15 and a half years old, working in F&B (food and beverage), and then I moved over to the golf side of things when I showed some interest in that side. Then I worked at Southwood, a private club, for a few years under Tom Kinsman. My first head pro job at Elmhurst. So the start of my career was all in the private sector. After that, I spent some years on the public side of golf courses and finally landed at Quarry Oaks for the last nine seasons.”

Private vs public

When it comes to the difference between private courses and public, Hayden says he leans toward public, because of the relationships that he can build. “I certainly know that Quarry Oaks built a relationship with all of our members,” he says proudly. “A lot of the league guys, too. It’s the people you see more often on a regular basis. You get to know them on a first-name basis and what they do for a living. A little bit about them, and some of them become good golf friends. I kind of missed that over the years at the private sector. Quarry, being a public facility, you get a lot of first-timers there. Certainly, there are regulars, but there’s also a lot of people who walk in the door, and I don’t recognize them. So, whereas at a private club, it’s the same faces every day, you really get to know everyone on a much greater scale. That would probably be the biggest difference that I find.”

How things have changed

When Hayden first set foot at Quarry Oaks, he says things have changed in leaps and bounds, and he’s very proud to have been a part of it with some amazing people who really cared. “I feel like our current management team, which includes our superintendent, beverage manager, events manager, and myself, we really built something there in the last, well, nine plus years they were there before me, and we’ve really turned it around. The course was struggling. It’s no secret, golf wasn’t in the best place ever pre-COVID. There was obviously a boom there, and I think certainly it took a turn for the better, and we reap the benefits of that. Since COVID, we’ve really managed the course well. We’ve added tournaments, more members, and more leagues. Everything’s just grown. We try to do our best to create a level of service that accommodates it was really important to us. The owners really are community-based people, and they wanted to make sure that we felt like we were involving the community and letting them know this is a place they can come, visit, and enjoy. Not just for golf, but for dining. It’s such a beautiful landscape there. I mean, as a whole, that’s a big part of it, is we just really built something special, and I think that’s going to continue to grow over the next decade or so.”

Cherished friendships

“I’d like to think that I’m going to remain close to several people,” Hayden says with a little emotion in his voice. “I’ve met so many in my nine years at Quarry Oaks. Definitely developed some strong relationships. People I’ve taken holidays with, played a lot of golf with, and that’s not going to change just because I’m leaving. Manitoba isn’t that big, and the golf community in Manitoba is even smaller. So we’re all connected by one or two degrees of separation there. So, you know, I’m looking forward to staying in touch with a lot of people.”

Memories

When it comes to events or even days that have stood out for Hayden, he says there are a couple that come to mind. “There are a few for sure,” he says with a grin. “A couple of big, big events, a couple of business decisions that we made that really stand out in our mind. We hosted the NextGen Prairie Championship. Competitors from all across Canada, that was an awesome part to be a part of. Saw some elite juniors playing golf. We hosted the Canadian Tour Stop Monday Qualifier. That was really cool to see and set up the golf course for those elite players, and boy, can they sure play. From a business standpoint, we made an executive decision with the ownership. To invest in a new cart fleet, we have a hundred golf carts at Quarry Oaks, and buying them was no small dollars there. But it was a super important decision and probably the best decision the club’s made in my time there. We certainly needed that, especially after the COVID boom.”

Final recommendation

If there were three holes on the golf course that Hayden would tell any level of golfer to experience at Quarry Oaks, he has his three favourites and all for different reasons. “I would start with the hardest hole on the course, Quarry hole number eight. It’s not the longest hole in the world, it’s only about 365 yards. 320 from a very back tees, but it’s a very difficult par four. You can’t lose focus for a split second. A tee shot’s super important. Water and trouble everywhere. Same for the second shot. So I love that hole. You can see it right from the clubhouse. It’s very close by. A lot of times, there’s a gallery watching. My favourite par 3 is actually the Desert 8 hole. From the back tee box, the black, it’s a completely different angle where you’re sitting over the entire pond. That’s a fantastic hole as well. The last one, I’d probably say our starting hole. Oak 1, so one from each nine. Oak 1 is a challenging opening hole. It’s a little intimidating, trouble on both sides. It doesn’t look like there’s a lot of room up there, even though there is. Taking par on that first hole is always a good way to start a round.”