At the Turn: Ryan Blechta
Ryan Blechta
Senior Director of Grounds and Mountain Operations // Spanish Peaks Mountain Club, Big Sky, Mont.
Ryan, what are you having? A Modelo, please.
Make that two! Tell me about Spanish Peaks. It’s a resort-style golf club. We just opened a 10-hole par three course. We have the regulation course we call the Championship Course, designed by Tom Weiskopf, which has been there for 11 years. We have a great golf maintenance team in the summer, and we transition to a mountain operation in the winter, where we groom a lot of cross-country trails. Our pro shop becomes a ski shop.
Do you have a family, and what do you all do for fun? I have a wife, Sarah, and a daughter, Ella. My daughter turns 13 in February. In the summer, we like to go to the lake. We’re big lake surfers and water skiers. In the wintertime, obviously, we’re a ski community, so we love to go out skiing, snowshoeing, Nordic skiing, and do anything with the snow.
How did you get into the industry? I was 16, and I got my first job on a golf course in the Minnesota market. A couple of the guys from high school were there, a little older than me, and they took me under their wings. I remember after my first year I went to my boss, the superintendent, and I asked him, ‘How can I do this for a living?’ He told me, ‘Get a degree.’ I pursued it from there, and I’ve never looked back.
Thanks for sharing your story of Tom’s 10 in this issue. Can you tell me a Tom Weiskopf story from your time knowing him? I worked closely with Tom, and we became really close. He went through a lot of tough times with his chemo and pancreatic cancer. We would hang out with Tom and his wife — we’re still really dear friends with Lori — at his house and watch golf on the weekends, whatever it was. And he’d always tell me stories going back to his playing days and Jack Nicklaus, who was kind of his rival.
Give me a recommendation. It could be a book, movie or whatever. I’m not a big book reader, but I’ll tell you what I’m all about: as a person, you should always treat others with respect. Treat others the way you want to be treated.
If I’m ever in Big Sky, what should I do? If you come in the summer, you have to go rafting down the Gallatin River. Then go to the River House Barbecue. They have the best barbecue around. Those boys know how to cook some BBQ.
OK, a fill-in-the-blank question: The most gratifying moment as a superintendent is when _________. When I pull up to the course, I see my crew and I say good morning or buenos dias, and I see a smile on their face. That’s the best time every day. I love seeing the smiles.
As interviewed by Seth Jones, Nov. 1, 2024.
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