Westmoor Country Club already experiencing dog days of summer

BROOKFIELD, Wis. - The dog days of summer are quickly approaching.

At Westmoor Country Club, the dog days of golf are already here.

"There is a lot of history dating back to the early days of Westmoor and the Wisconsin State Golf Association," said Westmoor Superintendent Patrick Reuteman.

Another chapter of history will be written in July with the 120th Wisconsin State Amateur Championship at Westmoor.

"It’ll be fun to showcase the golf course for the state of Wisconsin and have the best talent here," Reuteman said.

Reuteman credits his team for everything, including one relatively new member.

"I do have a partner, yes. So, he started last year. He’s 2 years old now, 14 in dog years. But that is Wando," said Reuteman.

Wando is almost always busy when he’s at Westmoor.

"He’s hit or miss on the geese," Reuteman said.

His big responsibility is looking for and getting rid of the geese that flock to course.

"We try our best with Wando to chase the geese, but he’s done a good job," said Reuteman. We don’t have any geese at the moment. So, that’s good."

Even when there are no birds in sight, Wando finds other ways to enjoy himself at work.

"He loves jumping in the pond and my wife isn’t a huge fan of that because he comes home smelling like what a pond would smell like and he’s got quite a bit of fur," Reuteman said.

And he’s getting quite a bit of attention.

"The membership loves him," said Reuteman.

Now, the whole country can fall in love with the Irish setter-poodle mix.

"The Golf Course Superintendent’s Association [of America] has a calendar every year, turf dogs of the year calendar," Reuteman said. "And he ended up winning and he is Mr. May this year. I don’t know if I was more excited or my wife was, but it was great."

Now the pin-up pup’s recognition is growing.

"There is some mystique around Wando because sometimes there are certain members that maybe only see him in the morning," said Reuteman. There might be some that golf later on that don’t ever see him. So, they know he’s around. It’s raised the celebrity status at Westmoor, that’s for sure."

Wando’s status aside, he’s making a big difference in Reuteman’s life.

"I don’t think he understands how lucky he is, but I’m lucky to have him out here," Reuteman said. So, it’s great."

While Mr. May in the dog days of golf calendar is keeping the geese away, there’s hope he can get another honor at the state amateur.

"We’ll see if he can get a badge," said Reuteman. "That’s the big question. But, he’ll be around for moral support as well, hanging out in the golf cart and we’ll see if the players enjoy him as much as our staff and members do."

The GCSAA selects 14 dogs for the calendar each year.

They also donate $2,000 to K9s for Warriors, which provides service dogs to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other traumas from military service.