Dukart retiring after 40 years in the golf industry

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“People at golf clubs don’t like change,’’ he says. “When you impose all of this change on a membership and their guests, you’re opening yourself up for all kinds of things. You’re also trying to do that and to be mindful of the importance of driving the bottom line.”

Dukart knows all about golf in Regina, having grown up in the Queen City while golfing at the Wascana.

After winning the 1974 junior men’s club title and men’s club championships in 1978 and 1980, he played in four mini-tour pro events in Arizona through the financial backing of some Wascana members.

“I didn’t play that poorly, but not good enough to be a tournament player,” he recalls.

Dukart returned to his hometown, landing a job at the Royal Regina Golf Club as an assistant professional.

In the late 1980s, he moved to Vancouver as an assistant professional at the Quilchena Country Club and later at the Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club. A couple of years later, he was named Shaughnessy’s assistant director of golf.

That position eventually led to Dukart moving to England, where for six years he served as director of golf at the 54-hole East Sussex National Golf Club. He returned to Canada as the general manager at P.E.I.’s Golflinks before accepting the position at the Wascana.

“Thirty years later, I climbed my way up from all of these various places to be the chief executive officer,” Dukart says. “I didn’t initially go chasing it, but I had a passion for understanding the industry and being the best I could be at offering the best services and service to the members that I worked for.”