New era for Gannon

White may be the color of the week right now, but the snow covered fairways at Gannon Golf Course will eventually give way to green and when they do, it will mark the start of a new era.Golf Facilities Management Inc. (GFMI), under co-owners Chris Carter and Steve Murphy, was awarded the five-year contract back in December, but it wasn?t finalized until recently when it was signed by Mayor Judy Flanagan Kennedy. The push is now on to make sure the transition, which began last fall with the retirement of Gannon Golf pro Mike Foster, goes smoothly.GFMI was originally founded by Steve Murphy and Foster in 1987. Carter became part owner in 2008 when Foster stepped down. GFMI also runs Hillview Golf Course in North Reading and Beverly Golf & Tennis in Beverly. Both are municipal courses.?That?s our niche,” Carter said. “We do well running municipal facilities.”Carter?s roots at Gannon run deep. He grew up in Lynn and started playing golf at an early age after attending the junior clinics that Foster ran up at Gannon. Carter went on to play at Bishop Fenwick High School and Bryant University.?I grew up on Allston Street. I recall walking down Lynnfield Street to the golf courses, dreading walking up the big hills. Mike Foster would see me and would pick me up sometimes,” Carter said.Carter learned the ropes from the ground up, working as a cart boy for Foster and then moving into the pro shop as a teenager. He became the head pro at Hillview in 1998 at the age of 23.After deciding to submit a bid to run the course, Carter and Murphy put together a team that also includes Dave Sibley, who will be the new Gannon head pro, and Diamonds Catering, owned and operated by Thomas “Buzzy” Diamond and Kim Diamond. Diamond?s will be the food provider, which entails running the function room and Snack Shack, located out on the course, and doing the food for all the outings.Gannon Building Association, a board comprised of volunteers, had been overseeing the entire operation of the course. The GBA subcontracted with Murphy?s company, Greenway Golf and Irrigation, for the maintenance of the course, and Mike Foster Enterprises (pro shop, starters and rangers). Under the new contract, GFMI runs the course, but the GBA will continue to run the 19th hole (the bar).Carter said the GBA has taken any profits it has generated and put them into the junior golf program and towards capital improvements at the course. Carter said the GBA has been responsible for most if not all of the renovations at the facility since it?s been in operation (1981).Murphy, who started working for the city in 1976, said one of the things he?s looking forward to is continuing to work with the GBA.?Going back through the years, I thought the big change (at the course) was when the GBA became involved,” Murphy said, running off a long list of renovations to the course that the GBA had a hand in.?They?re a great force for the city in doing good,” Murphy said.Murphy said he?s “been in the golf business” since he was 10 years old and working as a caddy. His years spent at Framingham Country Club inspired him to pursue a career in the golf industry. He studied agronomy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which involved working with turf and grass.As part of the contract with the city, GFMI will give the city $25,000 the first year to help hire an independent architect to develop a master plan for the course. Among the projects Murphy expects to be included in the plan are upgrades to the irrigation system (originally installed by the late Superintendent of Parks Eugene Dooley in 1963 and updated in the mid 1980s), tree pruning and cart path repairs — the latter one likely topping the list, he said. Murphy said some of the golf paths have already been done with the GBA.Both Murphy and Carter said overall, the course is in good shape. Murphy said he and his crew plan to start on the reconstruction of bunkers in March. He said GFMI has purchased approximately $300,000 worth of e