Mountain People Episode 15

A series of stories from Boyne Mountain's slopes

In his weekly report, the Boyne Mountain Buzz, Dan Turcott brings you the minute-long rundown of all the winter fun going on at Boyne Mountain. But off the slopes and out from behind the camera, Dan Turcott is a member of the Professional Golfers' Association, the youngest sibling of 9, and an awesome dad.

"I grew up in Petoskey as the youngest of nine.  I started skiing at the age of 4 and one of my earliest memories is watching my Mom ski down a run and thinking "I hope I can ski like her someday". Skiing - and snowboarding - have always been a big part of my life.

I'd have to say, the activity that brings me the most joy even to this day is getting up early and catching one of the first chairs on a powder day. I don't need to be out all day, but just knowing I was out there for the best part of the day brings me great satisfaction.

The summer after sixth grade, I discovered another sport that captured my interest - golf.

Once I started playing golf, I just couldn't get enough. All my summer days were spent at Petoskey Bay View Country Club and I was a caddy there for one of my first jobs. Pay for an 18 hole "loop" was $7 back then...but more than the pay, I always looked forward to caddying for some of the better players at the club.  When I was caddying, I always paid close attention to the swings, course management skills and even the mannerisms of all the golfers.  I even learned some choice profanities and how to properly string them together!

When I got to high school, I raced on the ski team and played on the golf team at Petoskey High, and that's how I was first introduced to Boyne Mountain. I always looked forward to racing at Boyne Mountain...the hill seemed a little bigger than what I was used to, and the whole resort just had a classy feel to it.  The first time I played the Alpine Course at Boyne Mountain was during a high school regional meet my freshman year and I remember thinking that it was the nicest course I had ever played.  

I also remember picking perfect apples from a tree on #11 during the round, stuffing them in my golf bag. My Mom made me an apple pie with them...it was delicious.

As fate would have it, during my senior year I got a job as a bag boy at The Highlands at Harbor Springs in the summer of 1983.  I thought it was the best job ever, get to work early, off by afternoon and play golf on the best courses in Northern Michigan until dark. Then repeat that same pattern the next day. 

Dan Turcott's son, Jed Turcott, following in his dad's footsteps with his bi-weekly terrain park report.

At the Mountain I was head golf professional and manager of Boyne Country Sports for 9 years before moving to the marketing department. I currently work as part of the Boyne Marketing Team as an Events Professional and I also sell Real Estate for Boyne Realty. I started doing the Buzz in 2011, I think, when the person who had been doing it moved away. I said, "I'll give it a try!" and no one has told me to stop, or maybe I just haven't listened.

I married my high school sweetheart who I had reconnected with in college at CMU. We were together for 17 years before we had our only child, Jed - after my Mom had just about given up hope on us. Jed, now 14, plays a little golf, but it's safe to say he hasn't yet caught the "golf bug." However, to say he loves skiing is definitely an understatement.  After skiing over 80 days the last 2 seasons, Jed's goal was to ski 100 days this season...it's important to have goals, right?...and it looks like he's going to do it! He's skied 93 days as of April 4 with plenty of snow still on the slopes.  Nothing brings me greater joy than to see our son enjoy a sport that has been such an important part of my life.

I feel like I've lived a blessed life and I am so grateful for the opportunities that Boyne has provided to me.  Not only have I been able to make a living doing the things I love, I have also forged many great friendships with co-workers, guests, vendors, and property owners."