Warning: This post may not be appreciated by the faint of heart.
Gary Dalton, who I refer to as the mole whisperer, caught what might be a largest species of rodent ever to set paws on Highlands CC. This was caught on #17. It is no secret that I pay staff $10.00 for every dead mole they bring me. The only rule is that I have to see the carcass. No carcass, no payment! You might be asking yourself why and thinking this sounds a little disturbing and I certainly don't blame you for that 😎.
When I first came to Highlands CC in 2000, the amount of damage on the golf course- particularly #1, #12, #15 and #17 was unacceptable; caused by said rodent. On #12, there were a series of ankle breaking holes and voids in the fairway that you might remember if you were a member then. Each morning, a member of the staff would have to take a shovel and scoop the mounds of soil off the fairway where the moles tunneled the night before. Our rich, healthy soil at HCC is the perfect environment for earthworms, the primary food source for a mole (most people thing that if they have moles tunneling in their yard, they have a grub problem which simply isn't true...moles eat earthworms but maybe the occasional grub if they are hungry enough). We tried everything under the sun from "poisoned peanuts" to mechanical traps to get rid of them. It was Caddyshack all over again and while we had a minimal amount of success, the moles continued on. Unfortunately there is no magic chemical that can eradicate moles. On a side note, even poison peanuts were illegal in North Carolina until just recently. It wasn't an environmental reason that they were outlawed however. Apparently, they were outlawed when a man tried to poison his wife with them in the 1950's. Believe it or not, that's why they could be purchased in Dillard GA, but not 10 miles up the road in Highlands, NC. I'm not sure what the man's wife did to deserve that but something tells me he may have overreacted a bit. As a result, everyone suffered with mole damage thanks to that one man.
Fast forward to 2009/2010 when Gary (above) joined our team. He was born with the ability to quietly step the tunnels down until he sees the mole move, at which time the mole receives a philips-head screwdriver through it's head or other vital organ. There aren't many who can do this; it's clearly a gift he has. Moles sense vibration in the ground and usually feel the presence of someone early, giving them ample time to escape.
As the mole issue continued, the staff would just drive by damage thinking nothing could be done. I finally decided...what if I offer a reward or bounty on moles, the staff will take a greater interest in their eradication! What a great decision it was! Since 2010ish, I've paid out, on average, $20.00 per week in bounties during the season. That is the reason you rarely see mole tunnels on the golf course. My team has taken on the challenge head on in order to make some additional money. Without question, Gary Dalton leads this charge with a ridiculous number of confirmed kills over the last 9 years.
My only regret is that I never saved all of the mole skin to sew me a nice winter jacket- something you'd see Joe Namath wearing.