Course & Grounds

From the age of 15, working on a golf course and learning how to care for turf has always been an integral part of Brian Ray’s life. And that’s a big reason why he’s had notable career stability, with superintendent duties at Long Beach (Ind.) Country Club for his entire professional tenure.

Golf course practice facilities have become destinations with multiple amenities, rather than just places to hit a few balls, and superintendents have adjusted their maintenance of these areas accordingly.

Though it’s off the beaten path, the golf course at Orangeburg (S.C.) Country Club boasts pristine conditions that have consistently earned statewide and national recognition. “We don’t have the ocean. We don’t have the mountains. But we’re a great stop in between,” says Director of Golf David Lackey.

To recruit interns, superintendents rely on job boards and relationships with turfgrass programs and professors nationwide. Many start by reaching out to about a dozen programs in the late summer every year, but are finding it harder to recruit interns because turf-school enrollments are declining.

With the increase in rounds at golf courses across the country last year, superintendents have had to adjust maintenance practices to accommodate the added stress on the turf and properly prepare for (hopefully) more of the same.

Curtis Tyrrell, CGCS, MG, Director of Agronomy at Desert Highlands Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., is crafting a new internship program at the property. The program will play to the strengths of the Arizona property, which has an arid climate. And while he typically recruited four interns at his last club every year, Tyrrell plans to…

A long and winding path took Dennis Petruzzelli to his current position at Oronoque CC, but the one constant every step of the way has been the special feeling he’s never lost about the allure of the golf course. 

After the completion of a water-diversion project that was years in the making, golf course maintenance and conditioning have been smooth(er) sailing for the grounds crew at the Branford, Conn. property.

After working on a landscaping crew as a teenager, Brandon Haynes vowed to “never dig another hole in my life.” And when he started his first job at a golf course, he thought greens were artificial surfaces. But from there it’s been nothing but an enjoyable ascent to a “job I love” at California’s Oak…

In a year most would like to forget, the Johns Island, S.C. club made memorable upgrades to its Lowcountry property by renovating its golf course and adding a new performance center and a lighted, nine-hole putting green.

With the grow-in and opening of its new championship Flying Horse North course this year, the Colorado Springs, Colo. property is on the fast track to enhance its status as a premier 36-hole golfing destination.

After 20 successful years as a course superintendent, Jeff Eldridge tried his hand as a tax-service franchisee—but the pull of the turf quickly brought him back to the industry and eventually his current position at The Clubs of Cordillera Ranch. 

Golf course superintendents run their utility vehicles hard, and they couldn’t get the job done without them. That’s proved to be especially true when meeting this year’s special challenges.

Stuck in a rut as a bus company supervisor, Joe Wachter parlayed a chance meeting into a career change that then went full circle, to entrust him with care of the historic golf course at Glen Echo CC.

Regardless of the size or age of their maintenance buildings, golf course superintendents find that cleanliness, ample space, and accessibility help them maximize the work spaces where they start and end their days.