For the first time in nearly four decades, there won’t be a Zahn connected to Moccasin Creek Country Club.

Dean Zahn, who has been with the local golf course for more than 30 years, is stepping down to become the Director of Competitions for the South Dakota Golf Association at the beginning of the year.

“It was definitely difficult,” Zahn said of the decision. “I’ve been here for 33 seasons. It’s part of who I am and it’s in my blood in a way. It’s been my career.”

Zahn took over for his late father Ted, who was serving as the head golf pro at MCCC at the time.

“We actually switched places back in the 90s,” Zahn said. “I was the assistant pro and he was the head pro, and he kind of wanted to go into semi-retirement.”

Zahn, who was living in California at the time, recalled the conversation that took place.

“He wanted me to come and help him,” Zahn said, “and I said no way, I’m not moving to Aberdeen.”

Not only did Zahn come to the Hub City, he is not about to leave it, even with his new position.

“It’s a great place to be,” Zahn said.

While Zahn will remain in town, he will no longer be connected to the country club. He was many fond memories of his years at the course, including one group in particular.

“From day one, when I came here, I took over and ran the Ladies morning league group, and I’ve always done it,” Zahn said. “I’ve delegated other things through the years to other employees, but I’ve always been the one that has done the ladies morning group.”

Naturally, when news surfaced of Zahn accepting a new position, it was an emotional moment.

“Some of them came up and started crying and I started crying,” Zahn said, “because we’ve been together all 33 years, a lot of them.”

While Zahn will miss running tournaments, he will especially miss the people he as served at the country club.

“The thing that I’m probably going to miss the most and that I’m most proud of, is all the people I work with, especially the young people,” Zahn said. “For a lot of them, this was their first job.”

He has watched those young people grow into adults and seen them start their own families.

“Those people have become very close to me,” he said, “because we worked very close together and I watched them grow up.”

During his time at Moccasin Creek Country Club, Zahn has enjoyed organizing and running tournaments and leagues, as well as witnessing the growth of the sport.

He said golf is flourishing in Aberdeen.

“There’s a lot of golfers per capita in Aberdeen. You look at the number of rounds, we do about 18-19,000 rounds a year, on purpose. We don’t want to over do it,” Zahn said. “As a private club you want to be able to come and play whenever you want, but Lee Park is doing 35-40,000 rounds. I’m going to guess that Rolling Hills is doing 10-15,000 rounds That’s a lot of rounds of golf just in this town.”

In addition to helping to build a budding youth program, Zahn has overseen an era of monumental growth at the country club.

“Everything has been elevated over the years. Operations are just smoother. We do more than we used to do,” Zahn said. We learned and out of necessity we do a lot more operations that are a lot bigger, a lot more events and things like that.”

When asked how many tournaments he has run through the years at Moccassin, Zahn laughed and responded, “No idea. At one time I was going to count that, and then I was afraid to.”

In his new role, Zahn will get a chance to continue his love for running events, only on a more refined scale. His new job will bring him back to MC3 from time to time. He will be in charge of 22 SDGA events throughout the year. One of those, the two-woman championship, will take place at Moccasin Creek Country Club this upcoming year.

“Golf tournament operations is a passion of mine. I always enjoyed running events, and organizing and running events, and making sure an event goes well,” Zahn said. “(The new position is) a little bit more focused. As a golf pro you wear 52 hats every day. You’re jumping from one thing to another, and you’re wearing all these different hats, and this is a little bit more focused in one or three areas, so to speak.”

Zahn, who is turning 58, said he figured he would be at Moccasin Creek until it came time to retire. However, he also believes that change can be a good thing.

“It’s also good to get some young blood, and some new ideas in. People have been doing it forever and ever and ever, yeah, there’s a longevity and the history, and the knowledge base,” Zahn said, “but sometimes they also get in a rut, and I didn’t want to be that old grumpy golf pro that got in a rut, that said we’re going to do it like this, that’s the way it’s always been done.”

Now, Zahn will be able to experience a new position, while maintaining his ties to Aberdeen and the sport of golf.

“This is my home. This is where I want to stay,” Zahn said. “This is where my friends are, and this is where my family is.”

Still, it will likely be a surreal feeling when Zahn shuts off the lights and walks out the door for one last time at the end of this month, leaving behind a treasure chest full of memories.

“It’s been a great run. It’s been an honor to be here. Moccasin is a great club,” Zahn said. “I think it’s a hidden gem in South Dakota, for the price and the quality that you get, it’s unbelievable. It’s something that’s just a wonderful asset for our community, I think.”

And while Zahn will no longer be employed by Moccasin Creek Country Club, the course will always hold a special place in his life.

“Moccasin Creek has definitely defined my career,” Zahn said, “and that’s been a good thing.”