Man of bronze

A bronze statue stands marking the 75th anniversary of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, which it celebrated in 2001 at its headquarters in Lawrence, Kan. Besides marking a milestone, the sculpture is significant because it was hand-crafted by one of the associations’ own.

Brad Pearson, golf course superintendent at Holdrege (Neb.) Country Club was tapped to create the piece not just because of his day job, but because of his talent off the course as a sculptor. Pearson prefers designing golfer statues in the old-fashioned knickers as a way to preserve the pastime the way it was. The superintendent-turned-artist creates sculptures of vintage-looking golfers, male and female, and caddies. They’re not made to represent any famous golfers, but they don the dress of the days of yore.

“I don’t see much point in making golfers with Bermuda shorts,” he says.

Pearson began sculpting in 1984 and encourages others who create golf art.

“A friend of mine had been doing it, and I thought if he can do it, I can surely do it,” he says. “I’m self-taught. I ran it by my friend a few times. I said, ‘please don’t let me do a bad sculpture.’”

Pearson must be doing OK because Pearson also created a sculpture for the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Fla.’s World Golf Village, and he has one in the foyer of the British Golf Museum, adjacent to the St. Andrews Clubhouse in Scotland. His clients in the industry include golf course architect Mike Hurdzan.

Pearson also is a member of the Academy of Golf Art, a nonprofit group based in Hilton Head, S.C., that comprises artists like himself whose art depicts the game.

“We’re trying to enhance the image of golf art,” he says.

Pearson, who is rounding out his 33rd year as superintendent at Holdrege, finds time to sculpt during the winter, when the Nebraska weather isn’t conducive to golfing. It usually takes him about three to four months to finish a life-size sculpture.

Pearson says bronze sculpting is a complicated process, but he simplifies it by explaining several steps.

He starts with a clay model of the sculpture, made of oil-based clay so it doesn’t dry. Then the model is sectioned off, and rubber mold is painted onto each section. He then pours plaster of Paris onto the mold, which dries, is pulled off clay and reassembled. This crates a mold with which he can craft the actual sculpture.

Hot wax is then poured into the plaster of Paris mold. When that hardens, he has a wax replica of the statue. Ceramic is then added, and he melts the wax off the ceramic. The piece is then ready for the bronze. After some sand blasting and welding, Pearson ends with a completed statue.

The result is a 5- to 8-foot-tall statue that can weigh 300 to 500 pounds. The weight makes each sculpture theft-deterrent, he jokes.

Pearson has statures on display, which he carries two at a time in his pickup truck. He finds time to sculpt a few other subjects as well, including Santa Clause. He also has a golfer sculpture in his own yard.

“They last about 20,000 years before they start to deteriorate,” he says. “They just need to be cleaned and waxed every now and then.”

For more information, visit www.pearsonsculptures.com. Information on the Academy of Golf Art can be found at www.academyofgolfart.com.