Coppinwood Golf Club (Goodwood, Ont.), one of Canada’s premier private clubs, today announced the appointment of Thom Charters, a Superintendent with a long and distinguished career at several top private clubs, as its new Director of Golf Course Operations.
Charters, who comes to Coppinwood from Thornhill’s Bayview Golf and Country Club, where he was Course Manager for 16 years, says there is great personal and professional satisfaction in his new position.
“I’m thrilled to be given the opportunity to join what I know is one of the finest clubs in all of Canada,” says Charters. “This is a remarkable club and terrific golf course that has turned heads since opening only a few years ago. The opportunity to work for an incredibly dynamic membership is something that I look forward to and I am well aware the positive energy around Coppinwood is infectious.”
Coppinwood President Kevin Thistle says Charters is one of the most vibrant and energetic agronomists in the Canadian golf industry, with an unsurpassed depth of knowledge and attention to detail. He will be a great addition to the team of Golf Course Superintendent Scott Pratt and the rest of the greens department.
“Thom has the perfect mix of skills on and off the golf course that make him a natural fit for Coppinwood,” says Thistle. “Our goal at Coppinwood is to create a world-class golf environment and I know Thom will be an important part of that going forward.”
Charters’ previous experience includes running Weston Golf and Country Club’s turf operation for eight years ending in 1995, and he previously worked at Islington Golf Club for a decade. He’s one of the most recognized superintendents in the Canadian golf industry, having won the 1992 SCOREGolf award as Superintendent of the Year. A graduate of Pennsylvania State University’s prestigious Turfgrass Management Program, Charters currently sits as the Chair of the Guelph Turfgrass Institute Advisory Board and was past President of both the Ontario Turfgrass Research Foundation and Ontario Golf Superintendents Association.
Charters said he wished to thank the management and members at Bayview for their years of support. “I couldn’t have asked for a better run at Bayview and I’ll always be thankful for the opportunity the Board and members offered me during my time with them,” he says.