Say what you will about government-operated golf facilities, but for superintendents who stick with them long enough, there’s a nice pot of gold at the end of the municipal rainbow.
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I was surprised and delighted to hear the other day that my old friend Jerry Coldiron, CGCS, is retiring after almost 30 years of providing TLC to Lassing Pointe/Boone Links in Florence, Ky.
What surprised me is that Jerry looks like he’s about 35. Turns out he graduated from turf school (Eastern Kentucky) in 1979, went to work for Boone County and never looked back. He must have discovered some secret combination of chlorothalonil and Milorganite that keeps him looking so young.
Equally surprising: After almost 20 years of watching his energy, passion and commitment to the profession firsthand, I had him figured him for one of those guys who would be found with a cup-cutter gripped in his cold, dead hands before he’d give up being a superintendent.
But, what delighted me was learning that three decades of punching a government time-clock offers a reward that few superintendents will ever enjoy: a healthy pension. What a concept, huh?
I also was happy to find out he wasn’t leaving the business – just changing hats. This week (Nov. 1), he starts as a rep for Midwest Golf & Turf, pedaling Jake equipment to his colleagues around Kentucky. (Watch out boys. If you know Jerry as well as I do, you know he could sell ice to Eskimos. You’ve been warned!)
Those of you with military or federal government backgrounds are already familiar with the term “double-dipping.” It means working in private business while also collecting your government pension. Jerry’s about the first guy I know who’s accomplished this laudable goal in our happy little business. The guy just never stops innovating, I guess.
Good luck, JC. Enjoy sleeping in past 5 a.m.
