From the publisher’s pen: Practical wisdom from Green Start Academy

Dispersing wisdom among strangers at a business conference can be daunting — or a gigantic boost to one’s ego.

Fortunately, humility permeates our magical side of the golf industry. And sometimes that humility thwarts candor. Golf maintenance stalwarts with career-altering insight to share become uptight when all eyes focus on them. Talking about yourself, or the craft you know better than most of humanity, doesn’t come naturally.

What happens when stalwarts surround other stalwarts?

That’s when semesters of learning fill a one-hour discussion.

Green Start Academy, the annual training program for ambitious assistant superintendents sponsored by Envu, John Deere and Rain Bird, packed abundant learning, networking and Pinehurst Resort sightseeing into 43 hours. Every moment included a defined purpose: to provide attendees with guidance and motivation to excel in their current roles and accelerate their careers. The academy celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2025. The alumni list exceeds 1,000. Hundreds of alums now work as head superintendents or directors of agronomy.

Picking the best part of Green Start Academy is like selecting a favorite Pinehurst Resort course. Course No. 2 boasts championship history, Course No. 10 oozes seclusion, Courses No. 1 and No. 3 are quaint, Courses No. 4 and 8 present visual stimulation, and The Cradle infuses energy into a golfcation.

At Green Start Academy, meals and networking sessions cultivate personal connections, and tours of The Cradle and World Golf Hall of Fame fill social media feeds with content. From this observer’s perspective, panel discussions yield the most impactful takeaways. Humble leaders tend to reveal more when flanked by similarly accomplished peers.

Instead of all eyes on one, the opening panel at this year’s academy split attention among Baltusrol Golf Club director of grounds Greg Boring, Jupiter Hills Club director of golf course maintenance Brandon Richey, Grandfather Golf and Country Club general manager and COO John Cunningham, and Big Cedar Lodge director of agronomy Bubba Wright. GCSAA Northwest field representative David Phipps, a former superintendent, moderated the panel and added punchy anecdotes from his career and travels.

Beginning a morning with a panel discussion involving an engaging quartet represents meeting planning brilliance. Attendees who listened attentively and compiled notes obtained a practical template for lasting career success.

From tepid to bold  

Boring became a superintendent in his mid-20s. But the early phases of his career included trepidation, especially when approaching individuals holding positions he was striving to obtain. “It can be intimidating,” he told attendees, “I’m not going to lie.”

At Baltusrol, a revered club in the shadows of New York City, Boring manages an 80-employee department serving a membership filled with leaders and achievers. He demonstrates three timeless business practices in professional settings regardless of their career stage:

• Introduce yourself
• Firm handshakes
• Look others in the eyes

Whether he’s dealing with a Wall Street titan or a rookie crew member, Boring strives for consistency in professional interactions. Baltusrol has renovated its Lower and Upper courses since Boring arrived in 2019. Vendors are a critical component of his department’s success, and he urged attendees to treat them with the same respect as members and coworkers. 

“There’s going to come a point when you’re in a bind and need them at 10 o’clock on a Sunday,” he said. “And what you have done with that relationship is going to matter big time.”

Seek more, then support  

Cunningham started his career as a superintendent. In 2017, he left his role as director of agronomy and assistant general manager at Bellerive Country Club to become the general manager at Aronimink Golf Club. Cunningham took the Aronimink job a year before Bellerive was scheduled to host the PGA Championship.

A move that appeared curious to many given the timing of a major championship meshed with an ethos of seeking ways to assume more responsibility. “It started to click for me when I started asking to take on more,” Cunningham said. 

As a club executive, Cunningham aims to support others on his team. He said an assistant superintendent should also be a facilitator.  

“Your role as an assistant superintendent is to support the team,” he said. “Now I ask, ‘How can I help? And what can I do?’ It’s all to support the team.”

Remember, it’s a business

Working for the TPC Network and Pebble Beach Company allowed Wright to develop skills beyond turfgrass maintenance fundamentals. “I’m not sure you could work with two organizations in this industry with better business sense,” he said.

The experiences prepared him for a leadership role at Big Cedar Lodge, a tentacle of an outdoors-minded business conglomerate owned by billionaire Johnny Morris. Successful business owners and leaders think multiple steps ahead, a lesson he learned while working his first AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for his industry mentor Chris Dahlhammer. Toward the end of the grueling week, Dahlhammer raised a provoking question.

“Chris asked me, ‘What are you doing Tuesday?’” Wright said. “That’s when it clicked for me that you have to think weeks, months and years ahead.”        

The next Tuesday arrives sooner than most assistant superintendents realize. Green Start Academy proves the golf industry is blessed with stalwarts who will tell you how to get there.

Don’t be intimidated when approaching them for guidance.    

Guy Cipriano is Golf Course Industry’s publisher + editor-in-chief.