Orillia golf course pays tribute to golfer, pillar of the community

Red maple will serve as a living tribute to Dave Buss, an Orillia businessman, community leader, and long-time golfer at Couchiching Golf Club

A red maple tree will soon take root at Couchiching Golf Club in honour of a man whose presence on the course and in the community spanned decades.

The memorial, expected to be planted today, will pay tribute to longtime Orillian Dave Buss, who passed away peacefully on March 10 at the age of 90.

For organizer Jim Nichol, the gesture is deeply personal. Buss was more than a fellow golfer, he was a neighbour and friend of more than half a century.

“I’ve known him for many years,” Nichol said. “We golfed together here for a long time, and he started the senior men’s league here. In appreciation, I thought we should do something for him, and came up with the idea of buying a tree and planting it in his memory.”

The tree will be planted near the sixth hole, a location chosen with care. It was there that Buss once scored a hole-in-one, a memory still fondly shared by those who played alongside him.

The red maple, selected simply because it was “a nice looking tree,” will be joined by a wooden memorial and engraved plaque. Buss’ family, Nichol noted, embraced the idea and contributed to the project.

Born in Cooksville and raised in Lakeview, Buss carved out a full and varied life in Orillia. He operated several businesses, including the Joyland Beach General Store, Orillia Small Motors, and the Buss Fix-It Shop, proudly branded with the slogan “Fix Anything but a Broken Heart.”

He sharpened skates for generations of young hockey players and later drove ready-mix trucks for Sarjeants before retiring.

But it was his community involvement that defined him as much as his business ventures. Buss coached bantam hockey, owned and operated the Junior B Travelways Hockey Club, and served as president of the Lions Club.

At Couchiching Golf Club, where he was a member for more than 30 years, the senior men’s league he founded is a fixture that continues to draw dozens of players every Wednesday.

Nichol, who still plays in the league today, said it has only grown stronger over time.

“I think we’ve had up to 50 guys playing on a particular day this year,” he said. “We play every Wednesday. We have a luncheon the last Wednesday of the month, and that’s when they give out the prize money for the whole month. What makes the league special is just the camaraderie. It’s a tough course, too.”

Nichol recalled Buss as both a formidable competitor and a welcoming presence.

“Dave was a very good golfer,” he said. “He used to win regularly in the league, but no matter what he was always just happy to be out here.”

Their friendship stretched far beyond the course. Nichol remembers meeting Buss shortly after moving to Harmon Road in 1967, and the two remained close for more than five decades. Even in Buss’s final days, Nichol was there.

“I was with him pretty well into his last days,” Nichol said. “I volunteer four days a week at the hospital, and I would go up and see him every day to take him some cookies and stuff like that.”

For Nichol, the tree is a simple but lasting way to honour a man he describes as a pillar of the community.

“Dave was a businessman in the community. He worked sharpening skates in the arenas for years and years. He had small motors that he was moving throughout the whole city,” he said. “He was always happy. He was a community-minded guy.”

Nichol says the red maple will stand as a living tribute to Buss, a reminder of his hole-in-one, his laughter, and the countless friendships he forged at Couchiching Golf Club.