Meet Our Director Of Land Management & Development, Tj Mcnamara
One of the best parts of Predator Ridge is our team of loyal and dedicated staff that put their all into delivering a world-class experience to our community, members and guests.
One thing you may not know and that we’re most proud of is how many team members we have who have been here for 10 years+. Through our 30th anniversary celebrations, we will showcase and introduce you to a new team member (or two) each week who is in our decade club.
This week we’re featuring TJ McNamara, our Director of Land Management and Development. TJ joined the Predator Ridge team in 1997 and was our Director of Grounds for a decade. One of his biggest contributions to Predator Ridge was overseeing the construction of the Ridge course alongside Doug Carrick, as well as being responsible for the immaculate conditioning of the golf course for the second Skins game in 2008. He was also a part of the 2000 skins game, where he volunteered.
Favourite Predator Ridge Memory?
One of my favourite memories was standing at the entrance with over 100 grounds crew staff and volunteers after the first day of the 2008 Skins Game. All of the teams hard work had paid off… the place was magical. I have never been more proud of our team. We had done something special and we all knew it.
Another great memory was the sprinkler head that went off INSIDE the Samsung tent during the Skins Game. Imagine a hospitality tent filled with TV’s, tablets, etc and white leather couches and a giant golf course sprinkler head soaking everything. It’s funny now, not so much then. Surprisingly everything worked the next day.
But by far the best memory I have was meeting my future wife while she was working on the grounds crew. I was her boss back then. 17 years later, we will tie the knot in the Commonage, where we met.
What’s your favourite part of working at Predator Ridge?
The diversity of work. There is never a feeling of ground-hog day on this property for me. I have always loved working on a project from the conceptual stage to seeing it built out. From the boardroom to the field it is really interesting and engaging work.
What personal accomplishment are you most proud of that you completed at Predator Ridge?
Building the Ridge Course hands down. Working with Wesbild, Doug Carrick and NMP golf was such a rewarding experience. It is impossible to describe our first hikes into the areas that are now holes 5 through 12 and trying to understand how Doug was going to transform that rugged terrain into what is now a stunning and enjoyable golfing experience.
Fun fact about you?
I love to ride dirt bikes. It is my stress outlet and happy place. There was a moment the day after we closed the Peregrine 9 course where I was able to convince Rod Cochrane to allow me to bring a few friends out to ride dirt bikes on what is now Ridge 13… that is something that to this day I still can’t believe happened. I spent roughly 10 years trying to grow decent grass on that hole, then in 3 hours made a really big mess of it. The next day we stripped the evidence with a bulldozer. I will never forget how much fun that was. Thanks Rod!
