I thought I could use this page to give everyone a little information on myself. My family and I moved to Florida in the fall of 2000. I have been the golf course superintendent at Naples Heritage Golf and Country Club since April of 2002. I previously worked at Foxfire Country Club and Quail Creek before coming to NHGCC. Prior to that, I was the head superintendent at two different courses in Indianapolis, my hometown. All together, I have held the title of Class A superintendent for the last 13 years. I graduated Turf School from Horry-Georgetown in Conway, South Carolina in 1987. After school, I started my own landscaping business in Ft. Wayne, Indiana just about the time of the Midwest drought of ‘88. Not the best case of timing.
Disenchanted with the turf business and needing work, I found a job at the Ft. Wayne Museum of Art where I worked for almost a year. My father was a commercial artist, printer and lithographer so I have always had an interest and ability in art.
Me and my father, 2005 Masters
Working at the museum was one of the most interesting jobs I have ever had. It’s not everyday that you get to handle artifacts from the 4th Egyptian Dynasty or handle small drawings or paintings by Degas and Picasso. Using what I had learned regarding art conservation and wanting to move to Indianapolis, I got a job with a company which owned five art galleries. I became the Technical Consultant of the company, which entailed framing and conservation mounting of art work. I also installed exibition works of fine art for gallery openings as well as various locations including private homes and businesses. I was fortunate to have some of my own artwork displayed in a prominent downtown gallery and briefly thought about pursing that as a career. While this was all well and good I began to feel the itch of the golf industry again.
I soon found myself as the Assistant Superintendent at Indianapolis’ premier club Meridian Hills, which was designed in 1923 by architect Bill Diddle who also designed the Country Club of Naples.
Meridian Hills represented my ideal golf course. It was the prototypical U.S. Open venue. My favorite type of course. It hosted a U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1956 and then I was fortunate to be part of the 1992 U.S. Girl’s Junior Championship. I was fortunate to meet and become friends with Dr. Trey Holland who at the time was also a U.S.G.A. rules official who went on to become President of the U.S.G.A. Most important however, are the lessons that I learned while working under Tom Rodems, the superintendent at the time. I learned the importance of what we do as professionals. I learned to truly fall in love with turfgrass management. The philosophies that I learned while at MHCC have been with me throughout my career and will always continue to be.
When I am not at the golf course I enjoy my other passion which is making music. I have been playing guitar since I was 14 or 15 years old. Only until the last 4 or 5 years have I begun to take it somewhat seriously, rekindling my love for the instrument. On most Wednesday evenings, I can be found at the Bayshore Coffee Company during Open-Mic Night.
My tastes cover a vast range of music, but my heart belongs to the Blues. I mostly focus on blues music but perform a wide range of styles. Combining original music and some old standards, Bayshore has become a wonderful and relaxing outlet for me. Bayshore offers a variety of live music throughout the week with a fantastic Jazz band headed by trumpeter Bob Zottola on Saturdays.
My time at Naples Heritage has been most enjoyable. I love the course, the club, it’s members and all of the staff at NHGCC. I could do none of this however, if it were not for my staff. I am fortunate to have a great group of people who work for me. They are dedicated, loyal and most of all hard working. We have also had our own cast of characters as well. Naples Heritage I believe has the best golf course staff in Naples. My thanks go to them.
Holloween 2007
