Jeremy Tindell was 25 years old and five years into his military career when he jumped out of an airplane over South Africa, tangled with another soldier and plunged toward the ground. Tindell survived and continued to serve in the 75th Ranger Regiment, an elite force in the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, but he had fractured his lower back. He slid from a position with the infantry over to the staff. He worked behind a desk for most of the next 15 years. 

“It kind of slowed my promotion and progression,” Tindell says. “They kept me within the unit and helped me to rehabilitate the best that I could.”

Tindell eventually transitioned to become a career counselor within the unit. He retired in 2018, Sergeant First Class, with two full decades of service. He served his last three years at Fort Gordon — the current home of the Army Signal Corps, the Army Cyber Corps and the Cyber Center of Excellence — in Augusta, Georgia.

Augusta, of course, is a fine place for a young man who loves golf and Tindell dived into the game even before he retired. Some days, he can play 18 holes. Other days, because of lingering injuries related to that tangled jump, he might be able play three or four. Before this year, he had worked security each of the last five Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, sitting in what he calls “the catbird seat” near the practice green and the first tee. 

“I meet probably tens of thousands of people,” he says. “I love meeting people. I love conversations, just being personable.”

And that personability, that love of the game, that military drive for perfection to help his fellow servicemen and women, all blended together, helped make Tindell the perfect candidate for the position he holds in retirement: veteran outreach coordinator for The Warrior Alliance’s Operation Double Eagle.

Launched in 2018, The Warrior Alliance is one of about 43,000 veteran service nonprofit organizations. Its stated mission is to help veterans, or Warriors, and their families achieve a fulfilling civilian life by promoting collaboration between the organizations that can support them during the transition from military service.

Operation Double Eagle is just part of the organization but could become an incredibly valuable resource for the golf course maintenance industry: If the program develops like Tindell and Scott Johnson, the president and executive director of The Warrior Alliance, forecast, it will produce a cohort of as many as 15 injured veterans, trained in every aspect of the industry by a veteran college turfgrass program instructor, every nine weeks. 

Conducted at Augusta Technical College and led by Scott Smith, the 14 credit hour-program dives into turfgrass and golf course management, irrigation and pipe installation, pest management and pesticide application, water management, horticulture science, equipment safety, planting and legal — along with daily lab visits to the Double Eagle Performance Center and regular trips to Augusta Municipal Golf Club, a David Ogilvie design affectionately referred to as The Patch. Among the many projects for Operation Double Eagle Warriors: a renovation to bring The Patch up to code with current Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

Completion will merit a Golf Turf and Landscape Specialist certificate. They will be prepared not for jobs but for careers.

“We’re lining up the employers on the back end,” Johnson says. “So it’s not like, ‘Finish this work, guys and gals, and then good luck to you. Here’s how you write your resume.’ We’re bringing the employers to them.” Landscapes Unlimited, Wadsworth Golf Construction and East Lake Golf Club have already expressed interest in cohort graduates.

“My long-term vision is not that we’re going to be able to build 500 people through this program every year,” Johnson says. “That’s not my goal. It’s to drive a 98 percent employment rate for everybody that comes through the program and we’ve become the pool of resources for the industry. … We can become a kind of constant workforce development program and even tailor some things for certain parts of the industry, like irrigation.”

For now, Operation Double Eagle will be limited geographically to Augusta, though Johnson and the rest of the team think it could scale up with more locations, more cohorts, more Warriors. “Our biggest challenge is getting the word out in the industry and finding organizations that are not just veteran-friendly but are committed,” he says.

“There are a lot of programs trying to provide veterans job opportunities,” says Benson, who serves as a strategic advisor for Johnson. “But oftentimes those job duties that come their way, I don’t think, respect the leadership skills that they’ve learned in the military.” The emphasis on careers rather than jobs attracted Benson, who never served in the military but whose family served in various branches back to the Civil War. Benson’s father, William Frank Benson, served in the 8th Air Force, and his uncle, Herbert R. Edmondson, was an Army Colonel in the Pacific.

Benson has no interest in “sitting on some board somewhere.” He wants to help make a difference. “Coming out of this program will definitely provide a head start,” he says, “and I really feel that in our industry, there truly are lots of opportunities or positions that can be careers. And I think there are facets of the business that also allow for somebody who gets experience like this to be an entrepreneur and start their own company — in irrigation, or software management, or heavy equipment operation, or you take care of an estate, you have a lawn care company.”

No matter where cohort graduates wind up — the pilot program of five is still finding their professional footing, and the first full cohort will wrap up its nine weeks of instruction and training this month — Tindell will keep in touch.

“We’re bringing a new hybrid of employees to the golf course industry when it comes to maintenance and management,” Tindell says. “And I’m dedicated to these guys and gals.”

Tartan Talks No. 53

When we’re looking to try something new on the Tartan Talks podcast, we know we can rely on Jason Straka and Kent Turner to enthusiastically participate.

Straka, a principal at Fry Straka Global Golf Design, and Turner, the director of grounds and golf course operations at Kenwood Country Club, combined for our first architect-superintendent episode last year to discuss the early stages of the renovation on the Cincinnati-area club’s Kendale Course. The project ended this summer, with nine holes reopening in June and the other nine opening in August. Pictures of the transformation sent to us from Straka sparked an idea: record a podcast with the duo about what they accomplished and learned in the past year. Consider it our first before-and-after podcast.

Plenty has changed since our visit to Kenwood in November 2019. But Straka’s and Turner’s zest for the renovation and their respective jobs has remained unyielding.

Enter bitly.com/StrakaTurner into your web browser to hear the podcast. Episodes can also be found on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify and other popular podcast distribution platforms.

GSA goes virtual

Bayer, John Deere receive favorable reviews for virtual Green Start Academy.

In March, when the COVID-19 pandemic was just starting to shutter shows, games and events that filled everyday lives, Bert Schmidt reached out to Mike Hirvela and the rest of the folks who had helped produce Green Start Academy — the annual program designed for the professional development of assistant superintendents and sponsored jointly by Bayer and John Deere — for the last decade and a half.

Schmidt is the global manager for market development and strategy for John Deere Golf; Hirvela is the Bayer CropScience Turf & Ornamental customer marketing manager. Along with other dedicated folks, they are responsible for turning Green Start Academy from idea to event. And like so many people in charge of events this year, the pandemic tossed so many knots in their plans.

“If we can’t hold Green Start Academy in person,” Schmidt recalls saying, “we might as well cancel it.”

Thank goodness, Schmidt says, not everybody listened to his suggestion.

“This program is too important,” Schmidt remembers Carlos Arraya, the assistant general manager at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis and a Green Start Academy mentor, replying. “I don’t think we should cancel it. We should think creatively and try to do it virtually.”

And after a couple more rounds of emails and calls — and more than seven months of planning — that is exactly what happened.

Bayer and John Deere welcomed about 50 assistant superintendents — and about 100 program alums — to a unique Green Start Academy, conducted not over a couple days in North Carolina but over a month of Wednesday afternoons on Zoom. The sessions featured professional keynoter Jeff Havens, human resources professional Carol Rau, and Arraya dishing out advice that should help assistants transition from grass growers to real leaders.

The event also included a series of virtual breakout sessions with industry leaders — Arraya, Bob Farren of Pinehurst Resort, Lukus Harvey of Atlanta Athletic Club, Dan Meersman of Philadelphia Cricket Club, Grant Murphy of Barrie Country Club and PJ Salter of Riviera Country Club — that provided another opportunity for assistants to develop leadership tendencies, build professional networks and think about what they need to do to land where they want to be.

“I had never been on a Zoom call until my first Green Start Academy session, and I was skeptical I wasn’t going to take as much away, I wouldn’t be as engaged,” says Will Laine, assistant superintendent at Daniel Island Club, a 36-hole facility in Charleston, South Carolina. “I was skeptical I wouldn’t have the same experience others have before, but I couldn’t imagine going to an in-person event now, I got so much out of the virtual event.

“I almost wanted to back out at the last second, but I’m glad I didn’t. The little time it took out of my afternoons was worth it. Being able to set time aside one day a week, it was something I looked forward to. I prepped for it almost like I would prep for an exam.”

Laine attended breakout sessions with Salter, a rookie Green Start Academy mentor who followed up with recap emails and packed his Tuesday breakouts with even more guest presenters. (Salter scheduled time with longtime USGA Green Section officials Steve Kammerer and Todd Lowe, who moved to Bayer in 2018; his own mentor, Eric von Hofen of The Club at Weston Hills; Ralph Dain of the GCSAA; and resume wizard Erin Wolfram of Career Advantage.) Salter calls the sessions “a labor of love.”

“Who could I bring in from my network who’s helped me along the way and could help drive home each week’s points?” Salter says. “This stuff that they’ve taught the guys is golden. It’s right at the top of the list of things I wish I had learned in college.”

Marty Paget also attended breakout sessions with Salter. He worked as a superintendent at four smaller clubs in Kansas and Missouri during his 20s and 30s. Now 44, he’s an assistant superintendent at The National Golf Club of Kansas City in Parkville, Missouri. Spurred on by what he learned during the program, he says he plans to apply for first assistant positions at clubs with a national profile or a superintendent position at an 18-hole course larger than where he worked when he was younger — while still becoming more of a leader at The National.

“Sometimes you have to be a boss, not just a friend,” Paget says. “But it’s nice to interact with your team beyond just work.”

Like the rest of the 2020 attendees, Paget and Laine will have the option to attend a future Green Start Academy in person — and there will be future in-person events, along with an expanded slate of complementary virtual events open to all alums, according to Schmidt and Hirvela — and both expressed interest in cashing in on that opportunity.

The virtual event was fantastic, after all, but, as Laine says, “I would like to meet all these people in person eventually.”

— Matt LaWell

Course news

Rees Jones returned to Coral Ridge Country Club in Fort Lauderdale, Florida — a course designed by his father, Robert Trent Jones Sr. that will reopen this month following a project that included new greens, updated irrigation and improved drainage. The same design, playability and challenge will remain as a tribute to Jones Sr., whose vision was carved into the community.

Coral Creek Club in Placida, Florida, completed a renovation spearheaded by original designer Tom Fazio. The project included updating the playing surfaces with new modern Bermudagrasses to allow for faster greens speeds and more consistency, the updating of bunker positions and sand, improved tee locations, the expansion of the practice facilities, and the addition of new drainage to provide firmer and faster playability conditions.

Robert McNeil guided Donald Ross-designed Kernwood Country Club in Salem, Massachusetts, through a project that included construction of 44 new bunkers, removal of others and the reshaping of several more into grassy catchment areas and pitch areas.

Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Michigan, host of the Meijer LPGA Classic, is completing the final stage of a major renovation and revitalization of its 18-hole golf course and club grounds. Chris Wilczynski developed improvement plans and has overseen the renovation.

Notice the four-letter word in the headline. G-o-o-d. There, we wrote it. Twice already.

Much of what we heard and read this year ranged from nasty to nauseous. Lives were lost, jobs became vulnerable and main-street businesses shuttered. None of it seemed imaginable last December. Now, we’re in this December. This year will become last year in a few weeks.

Golf escaped many of the hardships pestering other industries reliant on discretionary income. Mass acreage can be tricky and costly to maintain, but it allows for spacing and safety, a pair of qualities with immeasurable societal value.

Following a spring sucker punch, which included a period in early April when more courses were closed than opened, the industry experienced quantifiable and anecdotal good in the back nine of 2020. Rounds played nationally through September were up 8.7 percent compared to the same period in 2019, according to GolfDatatech. Golf entered a good place as spring turned to summer, especially when you consider thousands of sports venues, restaurants and movie theaters are still not operating at capacity.

The stories match the numbers. For the fifth straight year, we opened our December issue to reader-submitted content. We begin pondering Turfheads Take Over in August, yet we scrap detailed advance planning because we don’t know where the issue might head until receiving submissions in late October and early November. One of these years we’ll have our creative and adaptable art director Jim Blayney concoct a December cover with the headline: Turfheads Take Over: The most random magazine you’ll ever read!!!

We received articles about self-awakening (Tyler Bloom), assistant superintendent life (Richard Brown), asset management (Nelson Caron), retirement (Sandy Clark), mentorship (Brent Downs), returning to the industry (Charlie Fultz), authentic experiences (Tim Gerrish), branding (Randy Hoffacker), gratitude (Jason Hollen), managing aging turf (Scott Krout), personal innovation (Gina Rizzi), course enhancement guidance (Kelly Shumate) and hands-on learning (Ashley Wilkinson). The randomness, in this case, contrasted what we were expecting.

I’ll be the first to admit, I thought we’d be seeing a few dour stories in our inboxes about smaller staffs, less personal interaction and pressure to use the golf course as a means to overcome lost clubhouse revenue. But the next 40 pages provide more optimism and inspiration than pessimism.

Bloom started a new business in the middle of the pandemic and Clark retired earlier than expected. Neither is ending this year fearful about their 2021 prospects. Bloom will engage with new clients; Clark will travel to enjoy experiences he often skipped during a 50-year turf career.

The pandemic actually created an opportunity for Fultz to reenter an industry he loves. Downs found the time to safely visit a pair of friends who helped shape his career. Wilkinson and the turf team at Horry Georgetown Technical College saw their dream of an outdoor classroom capable of hosting closest-to-the-pin contests become a reality.

The Arizona grass Krout and his team maintain became a year older in 2020 and courses of all ages continued pursuing the infrastructure and architectural enhancements Shumate relishes studying. Owners, boards and general managers enthralled by indoor spaces finally realized that the course represents the central asset at a golf facility, a fact-based argument Caron has been making for years.

Business remains robust thanks to the central asset and its determined protectors. Rounds played nationally surpassed 2019 totals in May, June, July, August, September and October. When the numbers are crunched, November and December will likely enter that list. We’ve all heard a superintendent or two recently grumble about the course receiving too much business in 2020. Don’t think less rest for the course beats the alternative? Spend a few minutes in an empty ballpark, restaurant or hotel.

A few days, weeks and months of demand exceeding supply creates hassles. A few days, weeks and months without customers creates heartache.

Compared to other industries, golf will exit 2020 in good shape.

I do not know about you, but watching Dustin Johnson win the Masters was just what the doctor ordered. It did not matter who won, the fact we were able to watch the Masters in 2020 would have been classified as good medicine in a year unlike any of us has ever endured.

It is hard to believe that at this time last year families were gathering for Christmas celebrations with hopeful thoughts for what the new year would bring. Now, here we are one year later after enduring arguably — actually, I do not even think it is arguably — the most stressful year on the planet in our lifetimes.

Lockdowns, quarantines, self-isolation and closed businesses led to high numbers for unemployment and uncertainty. Mix that with civil unrest, peaceful protests and riots in parts of the country, followed by a contentious election and it felt like 2020 was guilty of piling on.

And I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that the COVID-19 pandemic surged again late in the year, leading to increased measures and more lockdowns and closures for parts of the country. As Charlie Brown would say, “Good grief!”

So, back to Augusta National Golf Club and the November Masters. For those who truly know me, it is no surprise the Masters is my favorite tournament and I binge on everything Augusta National each spring. Shoot, I wrote about the awesomeness of their impeccable attention to detail in these very pages shortly after the 2019 Masters, won by Tiger Woods.

Seeing Augusta National sprinkled with the golden hues of autumn was breathtaking. Seeing more of the golf course without patron stands and patrons certainly added an interesting element for those of us who geek over architecture. And seeing the golf course looking spectacular as expected, but simultaneously not its very best, was something else I believe the doctor ordered.

For those of you who abstain from social media, you are missing out four weeks a year (only three in 2020) when the majors are played. Golf/turf Twitter is an interesting place to hang out when the biggest prizes in golf are up for grabs. This November Masters was no different.

It started in September when pictures of a brown Augusta National surfaced on Instagram. Then, about three weeks later, it was green again. That’s the magic of Augusta National and perennial ryegrass. The Masters is played the second week of April because it is the optimum time of year for peak ryegrass, peak bentgrass performance, and peak spring blossoms and blooms.

The folks at Augusta National could have easily canceled this year’s tournament and not permitted a glimpse behind the curtain at a time of year when things are not yet up to typical Masters standards. But thank goodness they did not. Kudos to chairman Fred Ridley and the Augusta National membership for allowing the world to see the work of Brad Owen and his amazing staff and team of volunteers this year. We needed it.

Granted, no one would have predicted the first day of the tournament would be interrupted for three hours as tropical moisture from a storm named Eta would collide with an approaching cold front to kick off a torrential line of downpours in mid-November. But, hey, it’s 2020! That same line of storms hit my hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, later that same morning, kicking off widespread flash flooding and setting a record for one-day rainfall. We saw 4.28 inches at Carolina Golf Club. “Good grief!”

So, the overseed at Augusta National was still juvenile, the warm fall temperatures kept the base Bermudagrass actively growing and areas of the course experiencing the severest of shade showed the signs of less than perfection. And not one player complained.

Personally, I thought the fact the overseed was thin in places and the 12th green was starving for sunlight showed the golfing world that the perfection we’re accustomed to in spring does not exist 52 weeks a year, and hopefully that in turn is a good thing.

Golfer expectations are a widely discussed topic in our world, and the conversation is rarely if ever positive. And Augusta National is widely criticized each year for creating the unrealistic expectations the rest of us try and live up to. Heck, it has even been named Augusta Syndrome by some.

But in this year of all years, we saw an Augusta National on a global stage unlike we have seen her in decades. I believe it was just what the doctor ordered.

So much for a quiet year! With COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns, quarantines, and social distancing, you might have thought things were going to be slow and dull. Wrong! The Grainy selection committee was surprisingly busy, working into the wee hours counting those ballots — legal and otherwise! And with that, may we introduce the winners from 2020, the year that can’t end soon enough.

Best (as in Worst) Costume Design

“I haven’t met an endorsement deal I won’t take” Phil Mickelson has been sporting some odd-looking sunglasses. He looks like South Park’s Eric Cartman (“Respect my authority!”). The next deal? Maybe a big-wheel tricycle.

Non-Feature/International Division

Rather than be creative and figure out how to stage The Open Championship, the R&A chose instead to take Lloyd’s of London’s insurance money. We all will have to wait for “the champion golfer of the year” to take center stage.

Not-So-Short Subject

“The Long Goodbye of Mike Davis.” Ad nauseum. Hopefully we won’t be watching his U.S. Oops reruns into the next decade now that he is pursuing his lifelong passion of golf course architecture.

Richard Burton Honorary Snub

Amazingly, Burton was seven times an Oscar nominee but never a winner. Amazingly, there is not a golf course superintendent in the World Golf Hall of Fame. No, Old Tom Morris doesn’t count. Someone might want to remind the selection committee that the game is played on grass, which someone (ahem) has to grow and maintain.

Humanitarian Award

ClubsHelp. Born out of need during the early days of the pandemic, ClubsHelp gives golf clubs a good name by pairing them with local hospitals, frontline workers and emergency service personnel. Clubs and their members really stepped up, providing PPE, energy snacks, drinks and more. Every club should be a member: It’s free and does more than any program I know of to connect clubs to their communities. www.clubshelp.org

Best (Side) Effects

One unintended outcome of the pandemic was a return to walking the golf course. And the hot accessory became the hand cart (push cart, pull cart, trolley, call it whatever you want). To which the committee can only say, “About time!”

Best Live Action Film

The Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association’s turf conference went from virtual to viral: 40 associations, more than 550 registrants and 30 classes over 30 days. Kudos to executive director Tim Kreger and his board for opening their conference to the entire country. Moral: When there’s a problem, superintendents find a way.

Best Sound

The lack of it. By limiting or eliminating fans at PGA Tour events, we were spared the inane “you the mans,” “in the holes” and “Baba Booeys.” So, it’s true: Every cloud does have a silver lining.

Best Animated Feature

Toptracer. Who knew a thin blue trace could change the trajectory of a centuries-old sport? Time-tested and Tour-approved, Toptracer has transformed how we watch golf on TV, how we practice golf at the driving range and the business of golf itself. And it’s good on the eyes, too!

Best Make-up and Styling

To the three superintendents who juggled schedules, seasons and seeding to pull off three major championships and deliver three exemplary champions. I’m sure we won’t be giving their trophies to anyone else any time soon. Hats off — and thank you — to Kevin Teahan (TPC Harding Park), Steve Rabideau (Winged Foot Golf Club) and Brad Owen (Augusta National Golf Club).

Best Actor(s)

Every superintendent in America. With the game exploding — but often unable to find labor, machinery, or supplies — superintendents and the rest of every club’s staff did outstanding work. Of course, all those extra golfers meant more complaints about maintenance, which just goes to show that not everything in 2020 was abnormal.

Best Original Song

He’s original, all right. Love him or hate him (and how can you hate him?), Bryson DeChambeau pushed the envelope and gave the golf world something new to talk about. True, his prodigious length might cause some serious head-scratching. Tiger-proofing did not work; how about Bryson-braking? At least he won’t be complaining about hitting out of anyone else’s divots. Watch for the USGA to try legislating the number of reps allowed in the gym.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Augusta National and the Masters made the best they could of the November dates and “adapted” the look and level of conditioning to stage this revered major. Shame on anyone who criticized the slower greens, immature overseed and damp turf. Not only did we get to see a really good event, we got a look at America’s golf cathedral in a different season. Personally, I thought it was superb.

Speaking of the Masters, a nice move — if long overdue — naming Lee Elder an honorary starter. April 2021 can’t come soon enough.

The “Wait, Didn’t I See This Movie Already” Award

Shortly after the article “Women in Golf: Beyond the Ladies Tees” ran in this magazine, golf’s other media outlets suddenly got “woke” and discovered that women aren’t only on the LPGA Tour or the beverage cart. Our profession needs more original thinkers — and women — not more copycats.

Picture of the Year

The Game of Golf. When the pandemic began, no one would have predicted golf would emerge as a savior — at all levels. From the PGA Tour restarting in June to the widespread embracing of the game by millions of current and new golfers, this social-distancing-approved activity experienced the boom it had been waiting for. So thanks to golf for helping us get outdoors, giving us enjoyment (well, mostly enjoyment; it isn’t as if COVID-19 was a cure for our slice), letting us hang with our friends (cautiously), and giving parents somewhere to take or send their kids. Now, of course, everyone in the industry should be working on ways to keep the ball rolling.

Lifetime Achievement

Pete Dye. Pete did for course architecture what your crazy Uncle Larry does every time he says “pull my finger.” He shook things up, defied convention and made some of us scowl but most of us laugh. Pete’s genius will be rediscovered and appreciated every time a golfer tees it up on one of his courses. He will be missed. R.I.P.

In Memoriam

Dr. Tom Watschke, professor emeritus of turfgrass science, Penn State University, who helped us all.

Doug Sanders, who brought color to a black-and-white world

Mickey Wright, a quiet talent and the personification of class