Focusing on Volunteerism- Ross Harwood

Ross Harwood has been volunteering with Golf Sask. for 10 years.

Residence
Saskatoon

Club
Riverside Country Club

Handicap
26

Rounds per Year
30

Left/Right
Right

Years with Golf Saskatchewan
10

Service
Rules Official, Course Rating

How did you get involved with Golf Saskatchewan?

“One of the fellows at Riverside was talking about the Rules and Course Rating process so he suggested I should try that and see how it worked. I went to the course and just kept going at it.”

What do you like about volunteering?

“I find it very interesting, it’s a great exercise of judgement, your observation skills, once you see certain things. You work as a team so there is a teamwork aspect to it and then you need to negotiate your thoughts. You may have seen something or not seen something that someone else does so you work your way through those kinds of things to get as close as you can to the right answer. We get to see parts of our beautiful province that you otherwise wouldn’t get close to. I’ve discovered some real jewels and little places that make it all worthwhile. It’s just a great experience.”

What do you get out of volunteering?

“In some ways it is a challenge, I’m an auditor and auditing is terribly boring but what it requires the exercise of professional judgement. If I knew then what I know now when I used to teach my students at the firm I’d have gotten them involved in something like this. It does require judgement; you must weigh the situation and find an appropriate outcome for the situation and level of difficulty. It’s a lot more than meets the eye.”

What would you say to others about volunteering, not only for Golf Saskatchewan but any organization?

“I have promoted it, one of my partners was retiring a couple years ago, I suggested to him he might want to get on this rating team. He was moving to B.C., so he was going to do it there. It is a great way to see the courses of the province. It’s not Mickey Mouse work, it’s meaningful and needs to be done right.”