Dreaming of a white Christmas sounds all well and good … until the reality sets in that there is also plenty of the ice and cold that go along with that white stuff.
I’m guessing if you asked most longtime hardy northwest Ohio residents what they dream about when they picture a perfect Christmas it might include crystal blue water, warm tropical breezes, maybe a day or snorkeling after a quick round of golf on a pristine course.
To get that kind of holiday experience life may have to take you “far from home” … maybe to the far reaches to the Caribbean, just off the coast of Venezuela, to be beautiful island paradise of Curacao. That’s where you’ll find Montpelier graduate Ryan Ruble, working hard and playing just as hard in the glow of the equator’s winter sunshine.
Ryan Ruble, that Ruble boy who grew up driving tractors and making a few bucks selling corn at the end of the family’s driveway on Brown Road, took his rural Montpelier upbringing and gambled that there was more to life if you say yes when opportunity comes to call.
“After high school I attended The Ohio State University ATI campus in Wooster, Ohio,” explained Ryan. “I chose that school for the familiar rural surroundings and small class sizes, unsure if I was ready for the main campus in Columbus. I majored in Turfgrass Management which, in a nutshell, is how to maintain a golf course … which is not just sitting on a mower or picking up golf balls. Not knowing much about golf and always curious how they maintained such short grass and immaculate conditions, I wanted to know more. I received an Associate of Science degree in Turfgrass Management and became certified in Commercial Turf Equipment.”
After an internship at the Montclair Golf Club in New Jersey, Ryan landed a job on a nine-hole golf course In Michigan. “Hungry to get on a more recognized and elate golf course, I had a great opportunity to be involved in a new construction project in Sarasota, Florida as an equipment technician at The Ritz Carlton Members Club. We completed the grow-in in one year and I stayed on an extra year.”
“Not ready to leave Florida, and wanting to learn more about the golf industry, I joined a large Toro distributorship. Wesco Turf services all Toro golf course equipment in central Florida, and I worked as an equipment repair technician. After two years of being off the golf course I had the itch to get back.”
And the road … well, technically no road can reach his next destination … took him a little farther from home.
“I inquired about new projects and developments. I received a call asking if I wanted to tackle a new project on the island of Curacao at the Santa Barbara Plantation, a 1500 acre ocean front community. The course was nearing completion but had no grass, no equipment, and no name for the course. I flew down for a site visit and I signed on as the equipment manager. The course has been named “Old Quarry,” and it opened in April 2010.”
Ryan obviously found a location and a job he could love.
“My position as an equipment manager on a golf course is exciting every day. At the beginning of the day I could be ordering and figuring out the logistics on shipping replacement excavator tracks on the island. In the afternoon I could be repairing a flat tire on a golf cart, and toward the end of the day I could be running to the local machine shop to have a part made for the next day. We currently have a fleet of over 100+ golf carts and 30 pieces of various golf course equipment, ranging from mowers, backhoes and dump trucks. My main objective is to keep everything running in safe operating condition, which means scheduling preventative maintainence and performing unscheduled repairs. I am unsure of where I see myself in the future, but I am really enjoying the lifestyle here in Curacao. It is always
rewarding taking part in a project and seeing it being developed from nothing to something magnificent.”
rewarding taking part in a project and seeing it being developed from nothing to something magnificent.”
Ryan may love the work, but the lifestyle he refers to has as much to do with play. He said scuba diving is something he enjoys almost every weekend. He recently traveled to Europe, taking in some great golf courses in Holland.
“The local language in Curacao is Papiamento which is a mixture of Portuguese, Spanish, and African, Dutch is also spoken widely and English is spoken only when requested.”
Ryan said e-mail and Skype have helped him stay in touch with his family back in Ohio. He suggested Leader readers may enjoy checking out his golf course at www.santabarbaraplantation.com, and shared his e-mail address (fltechnician@gmail.com).
And is he dreaming of a white Christmas?
“I don't miss snow, but I do miss the activities that go with it, like snowmobiling and skiing. One of my most memorable Christmases was last year. Some coworkers and friends who were also away from home and missing family had a BBQ on a small remote beach … with no Christmas tree, just feet in the sand, a glass of champagne in hand, watching the sun set.”
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