Creating
destination course results
on a small club budget

Jedd Newsome, Golf Course Superintendent, Springfield Country Club, West Springfield, MA

Jedd Newsome’s golf roots run deep. He grew up across the street from the Orchards Golf Club in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and began caddying there at age 11.

“I grew up playing golf there,” he recalled. “I pretty much lived there when I was a kid.”

Today, he’s one of the most admired golf course superintendents in western Massachusetts at Springfield Country Club, the nearly century-old institution in West Springfield.

Jedd has spent his entire career west of the Connecticut River Valley, beginning at The Ranch Golf Club in Southwick, Massachusetts. He worked there full-time while attending the two-year Turf Management program at the Stockbridge School. After two years on the job, he was named assistant superintendent in 2004.

Jedd got his first head superintendent job a year later at Tekoa Country Club in Westfield. It was a valuable experience.

“Over a two-year period, we renovated the whole place,” Jedd noted. “It was a ton of work that cost millions of dollars.”

When Jedd’s old boss at the Ranch moved on to another position in Connecticut, he returned to the Ranch as head superintendent until getting the call from Springfield Country Club in 2010.

It was while Jedd was at the Ranch that he first met Rob Larson of Tom Irwin.

“We hit it off pretty well,” he recalled. “I liked the way he presented himself and his level of knowledge.” Jedd was working with another supplier at the time, but he was receptive to Rob’s ideas about balancing soils.

“As the years progressed, Rob and I started working more and more together,” said Jedd. “And today, I work exclusively with Rob. There’s a lot of trust there between Rob and me.”

Rob earned that trust when Jedd took over at Springfield.

“When I first got here, the course was not thriving,” he noted. “There were a lot of issues with greens, a lot of turf being lost every year. The soils were very out of balance and were not promoting healthy turf and root growth. With Rob’s help, we worked to balance all the soils.

“After the first year, we got everything corrected, soil-wise, and it just kept getting better and better.”

The use of EarthWorks products helped considerably.

“When I arrived, the course was being fed exclusively with synthetic fertilizers,” said Jedd. “I had to fertilize the fairways and tee boxes five times that year just to get a response from the grass. But we switched to the EarthWorks line, kept conditioning those soils, and we’ve gotten to the point now that I don’t even put out granular fertilizer all season.”

Jedd has found the Tom Irwin team to be a valued resource in helping him manage his workload.

“I’ve always said Tom Irwin’s client representatives are some of the most knowledgeable people about proper product usage. There are so many products out there, nutrients, insecticides, fungicides, and new products keep coming out every year. It’s hard to keep up with it all. That’s why working with a trusted and knowledgeable partner like Rob makes so much sense to me.”

Working with Tom Irwin has also helped Jedd make his budget dollars go further, which is a key consideration – and a matter of pride for him. “We’re proving that a small, private club in western Massachusetts can do the same things, agronomically, that many high-end clubs are doing,” said Jedd. “Even with a tight budget, you can have superior conditions.”

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At over a century old
Vesper is more vigorous than ever

Ryan Emerich, Golf Course Superintendent, Vesper Country Club, Tyngsboro, MA

Few country clubs in New England can boast as rich a heritage as Vesper Country Club. The Tyngsboro landmark can trace its origins back to 1875, when local boating enthusiasts began conducting rowing competitions on the Merrimack River. Before the turn of the century, the club had relocated to an island in the Merrimack River that had once been the home to the Penacook Indian chief Wonalancet – and boating had given way to the hottest new sport in America: golf.

Vesper embraced golf, becoming a founding member of the Massachusetts Golf Association in 1903 and hosting the first Massachusetts Golf Open two years later. The winner of that tournament was none other than legendary course designer Donald Ross. Ross returned to Vesper 14 years later to design nine new holes on the mainland and redesign the original nine holes on the island.

Ever since then, Vesper has been synonymous with world-class golf in the Merrimack Valley. For the past two years, its head superintendent has been Ryan Emerich.

For Ryan, taking the position at Vesper required more than adjusting to a new employer. It also meant getting acclimated to a whole new region. Until joining Vesper in 2017, Ryan had spent his entire life in eastern Pennsylvania.

“I was born in Allentown, raised in Lancaster, and went to college at Penn State University,” he recalled. He earned his B.S. in Turf and Turfgrass Management in 2008.

Enrolling at Penn State was the inevitable choice for Ryan, who realized his career path at an early age.

“I started in the business when I was 14 and haven’t left since,” he noted.

While in college, he interned at Bent Creek Country Club in Lititz, Pennsylvania, and shortly after graduation, took a position as assistant golf course superintendent at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem. With a total of 60 holes, Saucon Valley is one of the nation’s highest-ranked golf venues and the host of numerous tournaments, including the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Senior Open, and the U.S. Women’s Open. It became Ryan’s professional home for the next eight years, the last four of which he spent as superintendent of the club’s Grace Course, ranked among the “Top 100 Courses in the U.S.” multiple times by Golf Magazine.

By 2016, Ryan Emerich was “looking for a change and an opportunity to take the next step,” in his words. He found that opportunity when he was hired at Vesper. It was a fresh start in more ways than one.

“I didn’t know anybody in New England. It was definitely a little nerve-wracking. I’d never lived outside Pennsylvania, so it was a challenge and an adventure for my wife and me.”

As soon as the Emerichs arrived in Massachusetts, Ryan was swarmed with sales reps.

“I had upwards of 20 people knocking on my door,” he remembered. However, the rep who made the biggest impression was the one who wasn’t besieging him. “Paul Skafas of Tom Irwin was the only sales rep who gave me time to get settled in,” he noted. “After a couple of weeks Paul called me to schedule a meeting. We met at my office and immediately hit it off.”

“Coming from Pennsylvania, I had never heard of Tom Irwin,” he said. “But Paul’s experience and knowledge were impressive. I always look forward to his biweekly visits and the many conversations we have on a regular basis.”

Vesper was already in meticulous condition when Ryan arrived, so he wasn’t looking to Tom Irwin to help him fix any real issues, but he found the company’s approach refreshing compared to what he’d experienced in Pennsylvania.

“They want to be more in tune with what you’re doing rather than just selling you a particular product. Not only that, they offer a wide range of educational opportunities for superintendents and their assistants. They give a lot back to the industry.”

Ryan and his assistants are regular attendees at Tom Irwin’s educational programs including their Agronomic Academy and their well-known Leadership and Professional Development Program.

“I like their seminars because they attract a wide range of attendees and they’re very open,” he said. “It’s more about open discussion than being lectured to.”

Meanwhile, Ryan and his team are keeping busy at Vesper. With half of the course’s holes located on Tyngs Island and half on the mainland, it’s almost like managing two different properties.

“You have to treat each of the nine holes differently,” explained Ryan. “The island drains faster, so you have to use more inputs and water more frequently.”

Having hosted a successful 2019 Massachusetts Open in June, Ryan Emerich is looking ahead to a long list of continuing improvements, including a new practice facility. Tom Irwin will continue to be at his side.

“They do an awesome job,” said Ryan about Tom Irwin. “Why not work with a company that’s looking out for you and your club’s best interests?”

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Getting ready for primetime
at the Country Club

Dave Johnson, Director of Grounds, The Country Club, Chestnut Hill, MA

It’s hard to avoid using superlatives when talking about The Country Club in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. It’s the oldest country club in the United States. It was named one of the “18 most exclusive golf clubs in the US” by Business Insider. Golf Digest ranked it #19 among America’s 100 greatest golf courses. And the club isn’t coasting on its past glories, either – TCC, as it’s known, is gearing up to host the U.S. Open in 2022.

Although it’s only about a one-hour drive, TCC is worlds away from where its superintendent, Dave Johnson, began his career in turf management. In fact, until six years ago, he had spent his entire career in Worcester County.

The man who holds perhaps the most coveted superintendent position in the state first developed his love of the game as a kid in the small town of Dudley, Massachusetts.

“When I was in sixth grade, my parents bought a house across the street from a golf course,” recalled Dave. It was the nine-hole public Dudley Hill Golf Course. “I started hopping the fence and taught myself to play golf.”

As much as he loved the game, Dave did not seriously consider a career in turf management initially. He worked at Dudley Hill through high school and went off to college “only for the purpose of going to college,” in Dave’s words. But he soon found his path, and after two years at college, he transferred to the University of Massachusetts to study turf.

Dave is quick to credit the mentors who have taught and guided him throughout his career. The first was Fred Swochak, the superintendent of Heritage Country Club in nearby Charlton.

“I really learned a ton from him and got into the scientific aspect of the business,” said Dave. “I wanted to learn more.” A seven-year stint working for the Marrone family at Wachusett Country Club deepened his experience.

Dave met his next mentor after he landed his first superintendent job at Whitinsville Golf Club, the Donald Ross-designed course ranked #2 among nine-hole courses in America by Golf Digest.

“During my 10 years at Whitinsville, I was lucky to meet golf course architect Gil Hanse. I worked with Gil to restore Whitinsville and we did the entire restoration in-house. That opened doors for me, and I learned a great deal from him.”

Hanse, whose many achievements include designing and building the Rio 2016 Olympic Golf Course, must have been impressed with Dave Johnson, because he connected him with other professionals in his network. Dave eventually moved on to the Wianno Club on Cape Cod, which he restored under Hanse’s tutelage, and four years later landed the job at The Country Club.

Dave Johnson first came into contact with Rob Larson from Tom Irwin, Inc. at Wachusett Country Club, but it wasn’t until he became superintendent at Whitinsville that he began working directly with Rob.

“With each meeting with Rob, each year, the relationship grew, the trust kept building and the results were there,” he said. “It got better and better. And when I moved to the Wianno Club, I began working with Greg Misodoulakis. The transition was seamless. Even now at The Country Club, working with Greg Cormier, the same high level of service and knowledge is there. They’re like the same guy. It’s really quite amazing.”

Dave Johnson is a big believer in the Tom Irwin approach.

“The way they present and the way they support you is unique,” said Dave. “It really fits my personality type.”

The relationship with Tom Irwin has become more vital at The Country Club, which Dave says is “a very different place from anywhere I’ve worked before. It’s a larger operation and a very busy club every day of the year.” The club has also had to adjust to Dave’s turf management style and practices, which he noted are different from his predecessor, Bill Spence, who ran the golf course for 32 years.

“The Tom Irwin Leadership Program has taught me about people – how to treat people, how to help people grow, how to understand people and their thinking. It’s enabled me to build a great team and know how to connect with different people at their level.”

My job now is more focused on communication than ever before,” noted Dave. “I’m dealing with committees, the management of the club, and a larger staff.” He credits the Tom Irwin Leadership Program with helping him grow into that role.

The 2022 US Open is a significant focus for Dave Johnson. One of the four majors will be Dave’s first tournament as superintendent.

“I’ve probably had 40 planning meetings in the past year,” he noted. Working again with architect Gil Hanse, Dave and his team have rebuilt tees and bunkers and repurposed two holes to construct a driving range capable of supporting the Open’s needs.

Looking back on a career that has seen him slowly but surely climb the ladder of success in golf course management, Dave Johnson has not forgotten his roots nor lost his humility.

He summed it up this way: “I’m a small-town kid who worked hard and paid attention.”

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Why the grass is greener
at Concord Academy

Brad Nartowicz, Grounds Manager, Concord Academy, Concord, Massachusetts

Concord Academy stands out as one of the most beautiful and well-maintained college preparatory campuses in Massachusetts. Much of the credit for that goes to Brad Nartowicz, the man entrusted with caring for Concord Academy’s athletic fields and campus grounds since 2014.

As a kid, Brad never imagined he’d one day be managing the grounds of such an incredible property. But he already knew a thing or two about turf.

“My cousin and I started mowing lawns when I was 16,” he recalled. “Before long, I was working on the grounds crew at a local golf course, and after a year at community college, I decided to get serious about turf and applied to the two-year Turfgrass Science & Management program at the Stockbridge School of Agriculture.”

“I only applied to Stockbridge,” he remembered. “I had no backup plan whatsoever.” He not only was accepted; he excelled, graduating with honors. His boss at the golf course told him that if he did another two years at Stockbridge and got his Bachelor’s degree, he could certainly get a job after graduation.

Brad took his advice, earned his degree in 2006, and began working as an assistant superintendent at Black Rock Country Club in Hingham, Massachusetts. He ended up staying at Black Rock until 2014.

“I was looking for a new opportunity when I read about the opening at Concord Academy,” said Brad. Coincidentally, he was familiar with Concord Academy, as his sister had worked there previously. She told the hiring manager about him, and soon Brad had switched from sand traps to soccer pitches.

“It was a little bit of a difficult transition at first,” he recalled. “For example, instead of having 15 or 20 guys to work on a project, there’d be just me.” Brad also had to get used to the idea that he was the go-to guy for everything from irrigation to tree pruning. Maintaining two separate campuses year-‘round – including a 13.5-acre athletic campus supporting soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, and baseball – was a big change for him.

Tom Irwin was already established as a preferred supplier at Concord Academy when Brad arrived on campus, but he hadn’t worked with the company before, so he was planning on using a supplier he’d known from Black Rock. But then he met Tom Irwin’s Brian Luccini.

“I remember it so fondly,” said Brad. “I was set on using this other supplier, but when I met with Brian and talked about all the stuff they had done, I said to myself, ‘Why would you change? Everything they are doing is making so much sense.’”

For Brad Nartowicz, the Tom Irwin Agronomic Planner is his most useful tool on a day-to-day basis.

“I can just call the planner up on my phone and know immediately where I’m at, whether dollars, applications, or what I need for the next month.”

That’s especially handy without a full-time staff to support him.

Brad’s first assignment for Tom Irwin was to help fix a stubborn problem. The athletic campus uses a pond for irrigation and its water is highly sodic due to run-off road salt from nearby Route 2. This caused poor soil structure and turfgrass problems during periods of increased irrigation. The Tom Irwin team recommended adding various calcium sources, including both liquid and granular solutions, into the program.

“They were so helpful and responsive, they did whatever they could to help remedy the sodium situation,” recalled Brad. “Together, we found a solution that has managed to keep our fields green and lush all season long, despite the sodic water.”

As Brad settled into campus life, he discovered that he liked the freedom and the familiarity of working at the Academy.

“It’s such a friendly environment, it’s almost difficult to walk across campus without getting intercepted by someone and talking, whether it’s students, faculty, or staff,” he noted. In particular, Brad has received many positive reactions to his creative grass-cutting designs.

With his busy schedule, Brad no longer attends as many industry events, but he feels he doesn’t need to.

“I don’t have to go to a whole bunch of different places and seminars to continue the learning process. The Tom Irwin programs cover it all. I’ve learned so much about ‘building my brand.’ It’s so valuable, because it only makes me better at what I do.”

Brad believes the programs have had a positive impact on his ability to manage. He keeps a quote from the Tom Irwin Leadership and Professional Development program on the white board in his shop.

“It says, ‘everything starts with goal alignment,’” he said. “It helps me to lay out the steps to effective communication whenever I assign a project to a group of people. It helps to ensure that we have everything we need and everyone is in sync. It really works.”

Those leadership skills will definitely continue to come in handy for Brad at Concord Academy.

“Since I’ve been here, there has not been a year when there hasn’t been major construction on the property,” said Brad. Concord Academy is keeping Brad Nartowicz very busy as it approaches its centennial this year.

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Taking the long view at
Myopia Hunt Club

Jonathan Wilber, Superintendent Myopia Hunt Club, South Hamilton, MA

Not many golf course superintendents can say their responsibilities also include grooming polo fields, maintaining horse paddocks, or accommodating the occasional yelping pack of foxhounds tracking across the property’s schooling fields. But that’s life at the revered Myopia Hunt Club for Jonathan Wilber.

Golf was actually a latecomer to Myopia sports. Organized in Winchester in 1875 by the sons of Boston mayor Frederick Prince (all of whom wore glasses, hence the name), the Myopia Club began with sailing, then expanded to tennis, baseball, and foxhunting. Running out of open spaces to gallop over, Myopia moved to Hamilton in 1881, and opened the first nine-hole golf course in America in 1894. The Club hosted the first of four U.S. Opens in 1898 and expanded to 18 holes soon after.

Jonathan Wilber appreciates Myopia’s rich history – and has welcomed the opportunity to contribute to it since joining as Head Superintendent in 2014. His road to Myopia began in high school when the Connecticut native took a job at New Haven Country Club. After starting college at the University of Connecticut, his love of golf led him to switch his major to Turf and Soil Science. During that time, he got an internship at the legendary Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania and got a taste of tournament golf when the club hosted the 2007 U.S. Open.

Upon graduation, Jonathan signed on as an entry-level assistant superintendent at another golf course consistently ranked among America’s best, Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, where he quickly worked his way through the ranks to Senior Assistant on the famous West Course.

When Bill Salinetti at National Golf Links in Southampton needed a head assistant to help him prepare for the Walker Cup in 2013, he turned to Jonathan, who stayed on with Bill for two years before leaving Long Island for the North Shore of Massachusetts. It was a whole new experience.

“The big difference here is the horse culture,” said Jonathan. “We maintain a championship 18-hole golf course, seven Har-Tru tennis courts, three polo fields including the oldest active field in the US, and 12 paddocks around the horse stables.” After a polo tournament, Jonathan and his team turn over the turf dug up by the ponies, roll the fields out, and “treat it as high-end rough.”

Having spent all of his professional career in Long Island, Jonathan had no supplier contacts when he arrived at Myopia, so he was determined to give everyone a fair shot. Tom Irwin and VP Paul Skafas stood out from the pack for several reasons.

“Paul made it clear that Tom Irwin was here to help the superintendent. Paul has a real depth of knowledge not just about turfgrass, but about leadership and management techniques that we often talk about.” Jonathan started doing business with Paul and they quickly built a strong relationship.

Nobody does more to help superintendents than Tom Irwin. Whether it’s site visits, getting pesticide credits, or leadership training, they’re there to help me versus pushing products.

As one example, Jonathan cites Tom Irwin’s help in experimenting with different growth regulators to try to increase Bentgrass populations on his greens.

In addition to the Leadership and Professional Development Program, Jonathan is a regular attendee at Tom Irwin’s Product Innovation event, which he finds much more worthwhile than most vendor showcases.

“Tom Irwin does a really good job of bringing in leaders of the industry and showing us the latest and greatest products,” he said. “That’s been tremendous. Even the program materials Tom Irwin puts out are impressive. They give you a quality binder with each company’s new product offerings and the recommended rates. You can put that on your shelf and refer back to the binder and your notes from the event.”

When Jonathan arrived at Myopia, the club was about to embark on its most ambitious golf course renovation ever, aimed at bringing it back to its links-course heritage.

Along with an irrigation system upgrade, Jonathan and his team removed close to 3,000 trees on the course. “It opened up some incredible vistas on the golf course” Said Jonathan. The work continues to this day, with a recent focus on building a new practice facility and redoing bunkers.

“I never want to stop improving the golf course. Membership seems really happy and that’s always a positive. My long-term goals are to have the best-conditioned golf course in New England and to continue my development as a leading superintendent in the industry.”

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A new job brings new challenges
and new rewards

Colin Smethurst, Golf Course Superintendent, Hillview Golf Course, North Reading, MA

When Colin Smethurst said goodbye to New England in the fall of 2012, he was not planning on returning. He had spent five years as assistant superintendent at Bellevue Golf Club in Melrose, Massachusetts and was looking for a new challenge. He found it at the Colonial Country Club 1,500 miles away in sunny Fort Myers, Florida.

Colin quickly adjusted to his new environment – learning to care for Bermuda grass and operate on a different seasonal schedule. As Colonial’s assistant superintendent, he was a key player in maintaining the 18-hole championship golf course. In time he moved on, getting his first head superintendent job at Ballen Isles Country Club, a Palm Beach Gardens gated community that boasts three championship 18-hole golf courses.

Life was good and Florida became home to Colin, his wife Janine, and eventually, their baby boy, Dominic. But things changed after five years when Janine was offered an attractive new job in Massachusetts. The Smethursts packed up and moved back in 2017.

While it was great to be closer to family again, Colin had to re-establish his career in New England. He soon connected with Steve Murphy of Golf Facilities Management, Inc. who was in need of assistance at Hillview Golf Course, a municipal 18-hole course his company managed that was owned by the town of North Reading. Colin was offered the superintendent position.

Working at Hillview was a big change for Colin after managing 36 holes at a private gated community. Maximizing his budget became more critical.

“We’ve been trying to improve things every day working within the parameters I have,” Colin noted.

Fortunately, Greg Cormier, his Tom Irwin rep, showed up to help.

Colin knew Tom Irwin from his time at Bellevue when his boss Brian Skinner worked with Tom Irwin’s Paul Skafas.

“I always appreciated that Brian and Paul included me, as the assistant superintendent, in all key meetings and decision-making,” said Colin.

Colin and Greg Cormier quickly began collaborating, performing soil tests and tackling a stubborn annual bluegrass weevil problem.

“Greg and I just clicked from the get-go,” said Colin. “He’s always available to talk. He’s got great ideas. With his background as a former superintendent, he’s a great resource for me. He often suggests things I hadn’t thought of.”

Colin also found the Tom Irwin Agronomic Planner to be a big help in maximizing his budget dollars.

“Greg and I developed our plan over the winter,” noted Colin. “I use it every day. It helps me to stick within my budget. It’s a great tool, not just for planning, but also for getting creative to help make the course the best it can be.”

Colin is also looking forward to attending the Tom Irwin Agronomic Academy in November and the Leadership and Professional Development Program next January. In the meantime, he’s got his hands full at Hillview.

“There’s always something to do – tree removal, bunker renovation, low pH on the fairways,” said Colin. “At the end of the day, my job is all about delivering a great experience to the customer and making them want to come back.” “People have told me that everyone around town is very happy with the place,” noted Colin. “They’re very pleased with the course improvements we’ve made over the last two years. The town’s Board of Commissioners told me I’m doing a great job. It’s a rewarding experience to be recognized for the work you do.

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Building Stonington’s fields
from the soil up

Steve McNair, Sports Turf Manager Town of Stonington, Connecticut

Nestled in the southeast corner of Connecticut on Little Narragansett Bay, Stonington is a historic town of more than 18,000 residents. All of the town’s athletic fields, tennis courts, and school grounds are entrusted to the care of one man: Steve McNair.

“I take care of five fields on a complex behind the high school,” said Steve. “We also maintain three middle school athletic fields. I balance the budget, do all the purchasing, control product and fertilizer applications, aeration, softball field grooming, cutting, weed-whacking – you name it. We’re pretty busy.”

When Steve says “we,” he means himself and one other full-time employee. Needless to say, he’s a busy man all year ‘round.

A town Department of Public Works employee for 12 years, Steve took on turf management responsibilities six years ago with no prior experience.

“We learned on the fly what to do,” noted Steve. “We worked with area towns and they showed us the ropes. Then we got our Pesticide Supervisor licenses and started going to classes.”

Early on, Steve relied on two companies for seed and pesticides, but had no one but his peers in neighboring communities to provide turf management advice.

“We had an okay program in place, but we had some issues with soil that weren’t being addressed because I didn’t have the resources or time to do it,” said Steve.

Steve was attending a turf management class held at Noble and Greenough School in Massachusetts two years ago when he was introduced to Tom Irwin’s Brian Luccini, who advised him to contact the company’s area representative, Chris Kneale. Chris visited Steve and surveyed the Stonington school grounds and a friendship was quickly formed.

“We hit it off well. Chris came back a few days later, took some soil samples, started working from the soil up, and changed our whole outlook on everything,” remembered Steve.

“Chris made it so easy. He comes by, we look at the problem areas, he takes the soil samples, comes back a week later with recommendations, and we act on them.”

Keeping Stonington’s budget constraints in mind, Steve and Chris have taken an incremental approach to upgrading the fields rather than opting for wholesale do-overs, and the results have been impressive. “Our fields are looking the best they’ve ever looked,” claimed Steve.

Tom Irwin has also helped Steve McNair manage his long list of responsibilities with its Agronomic Planner.

“The Planner is great,” he said. “It’s useful for tracking products and placing orders. I check the Planner every day to remind myself what we’re putting out. Then I’ll update it as we complete tasks in the plan. It’s great for keeping track of everything. It gives me one less thing to worry about.”

In addition to his agronomic advice, Steve appreciates how Chris works with him on managing his inventory and other resources efficiently.

“We’ve been working month by month,” he explained. “Every month, we work out a game plan of what we’re going to do with an eye toward keeping us in line with the budget while improving turf conditions.”

Even the Tom Irwin drivers help Steve manage his hectic workload. “The Tom Irwin delivery team is fantastic,” he said. “I’ll place an order and the driver will call me to make sure it’s okay to drop off on a particular day. With all I have going on, I appreciate the reminders. It’s a great service.”

Of course, the ultimate measurement of success is what the townspeople of Stonington think – a matter of no small importance in a town with an extensive youth soccer program and no opportunities to let fields rest.

“A lot of the coaches and the parents have told me the fields are looking and playing phenomenal,” said Steve.

It takes a lot of effort to keep parents and players in a town of 18,000 pleased with their sports fields. But with Tom Irwin’s help, Steve McNair and his two-man crew are happily succeeding.

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The science behind managing
four courses at once

Mike Luciano, Golf Course Superintendent Woodhaven Country Club Bethany, CT

Mike Luciano is a self-made turf manager who’s recently become ubiquitous at golf courses throughout Connecticut’s New Haven County. At last count, Mike is acting as superintendent, spray supervisor, or consultant at four area golf courses.

It wasn’t Mike’s plan to become the on-call turf doctor in his area. In fact, until recently, the 47-year-old had expected to spend his entire career at Woodhaven Country Club in Bethany – a family-owned, nine-hole course he’d worked at since the age of 15. But when Woodhaven’s owners put the course up for sale three years ago, Mike had to begin considering all his options.

Mike began putting his name out there – and the offers came flooding in.

First up was Highland Golf Club, a 120-year-old private club in need of some help and direction. They asked Mike to consult on ways to improve the golf course. With the expertise gained from managing Woodhaven on a tight budget, Mike began producing results. Before long, membership at Highland began to rise again. Word got around and with the help of Jeff Houde from Tom Irwin, an inquiry came from Sleeping Giant Golf Course, a nine-hole public course in Hamden. Mike took over spray operations as eyes-on-the-property superintendent. The number rose to four when Mike began doing work for Laurel View Country Club, an 18-hole course also in Hamden.

Mike’s current situation is a far cry from where he – a self-described “small-town guy” – began.

“The first time I stepped foot on a golf course, I knew right then and there that’s what I wanted to do,” said Mike. “It was love at first sight.”

That course was Woodhaven, and the guy who began by cleaning carts became superintendent by the time he was 25 years old. It was a big step for someone who was completely self-taught as a turf manager. He has been working there ever since.

Fortunately, it was around that time that Mike met Tom Irwin’s Jeff Houde.

“Everybody needs somebody to rely on and trust in the turf industry,” said Mike, “For me, that one person is Jeff Houde.” Mike and Jeff became a formidable team, spending those early years balancing the soil on Woodhaven’s troubled greens and establishing a solid base to build upon.

“I learned through trial by fire,” said Mike. “In hindsight, I wouldn’t do it any other way because I learned so much from the ground up.” For a self-taught turf manager like Mike, continuing education is key.

“The education that Tom Irwin provides is irreplaceable. And not just their various programs. It’s the combined knowledge of their entire sales team. I wouldn’t want to work with anyone else.”

Mike has even told one course owner that he would not take a job there if he couldn’t bring Tom Irwin with him.

Despite being a Tom Irwin client, Mike Luciano only recently came around to using the Tom Irwin Agronomic Planner.

“With a nine-hole course and a small budget, it was a unique situation and I didn’t believe I had a use for the planner,” said Mike.

“Now that I’m managing all these other courses, I love the planner. It’s an incredible tool.”

Mike’s experience “managing chaos” at Woodhaven was good training for his current busy schedule.

“If I’m out spraying with a short crew and I catch an irrigation break or a machine breaks, I don’t have a spray tech, I don’t have a guy to fix my equipment,” noted Mike. He soon learned how to manage those situations and forge ahead.

He’s now putting that experience to work at Woodhaven, Highland, Sleeping Giant, and Laurel View. It’s a lot to juggle.

“At first, I wasn’t sleeping at night,” said Mike. “Now I’ve got it down to a science. It only gets tough when they’re all due for spraying in the same week.”

Mike’s loyalty to Woodhaven is still strong.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen with Woodhaven up for sale, it’s out of my hands,” said Mike. He’s had other offers, but he’s waiting to see how things shake out. In the meantime, he’s having the time of his life.

“It’s totally fun,” Mike Luciano said. “It’s completely revitalized and reenergized me.”

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Taking Aspetuck to
the next level

Lucas Lownes, Golf Course Superintendent, Aspetuck Valley Country Club, Weston, CT

There’s something about tournament golf that hooked Lucas Lownes from the moment he experienced his first LPGA tournament as a teenaged grounds crew member at Berkleigh Country Club in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. The club was hosting the Betsy King Classic.

“I enjoyed the high stakes aspect of it, the high pressure – and the reward of seeing your course on TV,” said Lucas. “It gave me an opportunity to work with some of the best people in the business.”

That early experience propelled him forward. Lucas soon secured an internship at the historic Wyoming Valley Country Club before heading off to the State University of New York at Cobleskill to earn his bachelor’s degree in Turfgrass Management. His next taste of tournament golf came during an internship at the famed Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, where he worked during the 2004 U.S. Amateur tournament.

Lucas maintained his upward trajectory when he took a job as an irrigation technician at Muirfield Village Golf Club, the prestigious 36-hole club in Dublin, Ohio founded and overseen by Hall of Famer Jack Nicklaus. Within two years, he was promoted to Assistant Golf Course Superintendent, and became Superintendent in 2010.

The experience at Muirfield – ranked one of the top 25 courses in America by Golf Digest and named one of best modern golf courses in America in 2014 by Golfweek magazine – was everything Lucas Lownes could have asked for. Nicklaus was very much a hands-on operator, taking time every year to make changes and improvements to the course.

“Muirfield gave me the opportunity to work with and learn from the best,” noted Lucas. During his time at Muirfield, he oversaw the course for two PGA tournaments held in 2013 – The Memorial Tournament founded by Nicklaus and The Presidents Cup Tournament. That year, Nicklaus decided to totally redo the 16th hole to make it more challenging. Lucas and his team created a pond, removed soil, reshaped the hole, and turned it into something spectacular.

In search of new challenges, Lucas Lownes moved to Connecticut in late 2013 to take up the superintendent position at Aspetuck Valley Country Club. The well-regarded private club located in Weston, is an exclusive community 45 miles from New York City.

It was there that he first came into contact with Tom Irwin, Inc. He was looking for a Redox product and Tom Irwin was the regional distributor. He arranged an initial meeting with Jeff Houde and was pleased with what he discovered.

“Jeff explained why Tom Irwin was in business and how they believe the work we do is important.”

“Jeff showed me their agronomic planning tool, which helps superintendents with all aspects of their application planning. I was really intrigued by it. I saw how it could take a lot of the office work out of my daily routine, not to mention the end-of-the-year documentation.”

Lucas formed a lasting friendship with Jeff, but above all, he appreciated the extra value Jeff brought to the table.

“Just getting a different perspective on things,” said Lucas. “He’s here every other week and we really analyze the golf course during our course tour. Because he’s not here day-in and day-out, he sees changes I might miss and brings a fresh perspective.”

Lucas had not experienced a distributor quite like Tom Irwin in his previous positions.

“I had dealt with numerous suppliers in Ohio, but certainly not like Jeff,” explained Lucas. “Because Jeff worked as a superintendent, it adds a lot. His background is a lot bigger than the other sales reps I’ve dealt with in the past.”

Never one to think he has nothing new to learn, Lucas has taken advantage of Tom Irwin’s many educational programs, ranking the Leadership and Professional Development Program at the top of the list.

“It really helped me promote what I’m trying to do here as a superintendent,” said Lucas. “The program helped me learn different communication styles to fit certain members versus other members. I can get my message across about what we’re doing on the golf course and why we’re doing it. The program has helped me communicate much more effectively with membership.”

He also cites Tom Irwin’s new Agronomic Academy as a highlight.

“It was unbelievable – really well done and very well received,” he noted. “They take it to the next level.”

After five-plus years working and living in Weston with his family, Lucas is enjoying seeing how his work has improved the course’s condition every year. Recent drainage projects have made “a huge difference” to the course, according to Lucas.

Still – as you might expect from a professional with his pedigree – he’s never satisfied.

“I think we have a very well-conditioned golf course at this point, but I’m still looking to move it to the next level,” he concluded.

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