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I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset. When I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. And when I find my ball in a brid egg Friday egg, the dreaded Friday Frida egg Frida egg bride egg Lie, I'm about ready to run off of the course.
Welcome back to another edition of the Frida Egg Podcast. Today's episode is with Jeff Austin. Jeff is the new superintendent at Ray Tompkins Memorial also known as the Yale Golf Course.
Jeff comes on to just talk about his experience.
He worked at Augusta National and UH and then coming on at Yale at a tumultuous time. The golf course during COVID kind of had seen better days. They had a lot of turnover in the staff and the university was obviously trying to figure out what to do with COVID, and it led to the golf course being a bit neglected.
So Jeff came on and has really revitalized the golf course along with Peter Pelasio's the gm there who they have done a phenomenal job getting the golf course back up into great shape and they have a big restoration coming in twenty twenty four with Gil Hant's golf design. So it was fun to catch up with Jeff about all things Yale as well as some of his past experience. Thanks again for listening to the Frida Egg Podcast. Here is Jeff Austin. So, Jeff, you were an assistant superintendent
at Augusta National. You know anybody that worked at Augusta National. One of my favorite questions to ask is always, you know, what's your favorite story or memorable moment from your time at Augusta.
So I have two of them, and I couldn't I couldn't decide on which one to go with.
Well, you could give us both, give us both of them.
One's one's a little bit lengthy, and then one's real, real quick. So I'll do the I'll do the quick one first. And it was that I was setting up I was watering the member putting green behind the clubhouse and outside of the member putting green is right outside of the Eisenhower cabin and we were told to get out of that area pretty pretty quickly in the morning because there was a VIP there. So I'm setting it,
setting up the green water and whatnot. And as I'm making a pass, I turn around and and George W. Bush is sitting out there a pair of blue Texas Longhorn shorts and a gray T shirt, and he yells at me, you're certainly putting a lot of water down on that, and I said, yes, there I am, and he goes continue on. So, so I was always a fan of George W. And just for that interaction, it was it was pretty cool.
Big golf, big golf family. It loves golf.
I you know, the the k Parundle up in Maine is a long known hangout of the Bush family.
Yeah, there, the Walker Cup is the same George W. But the second the second story is so I volunteer every year to go down there for to help out during the Master's tournament. And one year I was on the pin setting committee. So in the afternoon, will we'll pick the pin for the next day. So there was a we were on number thirteen Green, and there's it's a it's a gaggle of guys, you know different, there's like way too many.
Of us, but there's I saw it on like a Wednesday afternoon a couple of times down there where you know that it's it's you know, to give people color. There's like twenty people. You got the stimp meter out your rolling balls. Everybody's testing everything from every angle and and so this goes on every day, Yes.
Yes, every day. And we were we were walking off of thirteen Green and h and as we were walking off, it was it was on a practice round, so it was kind of thin crowd and and there was a double amputee waiting there and he asked us the question, is this where the pin's going to go tomorrow? And we said yes and uh and a guy from the RNA and I can't remember his name, had asked him
if he was a serviceman and he said yes. He said he had started golfing as a way for treatment for PTSD and that he wanted to get into this veteran's golf turn, but he had missed the cutoff date by like days, like he just missed the cutoff date. This guy, Uh, this one of the captains of the RNA. He broke out two business cards and he said, write your contact information. I wanted the cards and he gave
him the other one. He said, call my office. I won't be in on Monday, but I'm going to make sure that you're into this this tournament and im and he said, you know, I'm I'm grateful for your service and whatnot. And uh, I get goosebumps when I when I tell that story. But it was we we have a lot of good times US volunteers and tournament hires down there. And we we like to joke around a lot at each other's expenses, but we were quiet as church mouse mice after that happened. We just sort of
were like, jez opte, that's that's heavy. But it was. It was really really cool to see and it was awesome that I was there firsthand.
Mm hmm. Tell as a is a great story.
And and uh, you know, it's it's neat when somebody that can help someone goes out of their way to help someone. Uh with that volunteering, you know, being one of the you know the guys that goes down and basically helps with you know, maintenance and on an annual basis, what's that process like? And and tell us a little bit about the atmosphere atmosphere there. I'm not sure if you've you've volunteered at other major championships. How does it, how's it similar, how's it different?
So I've done I volunteered at a US Women's Open at Sabonic for Garrett Boddington, and then I did one in my hometown US No PGA s Yeah, Senior PGA Championship at Canterbury Canterbury Golf Club, Augusta National. The volunteers
and the tournament hires. It's it's very very fraternity like we've all either volunteered work there for for a good number of years, and we all keep in touch throughout the throughout the year even when we're not, you know, in Augusta, and we all have the same stories from our time there. I was there for about four and a half five years as a as an employee, and I volunteer with guys who are now who have now moved on are are superintendents elsewhere. So it's it's it's
very it's very very fraternity like. It's like an it's like an alumni game. We all go back and you know, it's like what do they have in Major League Baseball? Like the old timers game, and it's sort of like that where we all go back and we all tell the exact same stories for the first five days about how we had at the hardest or had it the roughest and uh, and then we just get into our normal routine of of whatever our job is that week.
So I I stimp stimp Greens with with three three other guys and we're we're we are ruthless to each other, but we're we love each other so much, but we're brutal and uh, you know, we share an office and we just we it's always something with us. But but when it's time to get to work, we know what you know, the regular full time staff is expecting of us, and we just try to support them this week that week because we know the amount of hours that they've put in leading up to it. So whatever we can
do to take a little bit off their plate. Is is is our ultimate goal.
Gotta asks, what's the highest stimp reading you've ever gotten out.
There tournament speed?
Look at that a company man spending a few years down there on the staff full time. What what are things that you draw from that experience in your day to day job and and your previous jobs that you've had along the way. What are are there are there certain things about the way they maintained turf, for the way they run their operation that stick with you.
There are the attention to detail is is is unmatched, and that's that's something that's ingrained in you from the first first time you step on property. And that's something that that as a turf manager, that that people who have experienced a US national take throughout their career. You know, it gets down to the to the most minute detail that that we want to control and that we try to control, even though there's so much that that we can't when we're dealing with you, you know, with whether
or mother nature or what have you. But it's the attention to detail that that that we like to take throughout our career. And it's just solid, solid agronomic principles. You know, they don't they don't have magic pixie dust down there that makes the grass grow certain way. It's just the fact that they've been doing it for so long and that they know what works. So for example, when I when I came to Yale, it was sort of a blank page because I didn't know what necessarily
worked and what didn't work here. And and I'm and I was completely cool with that. But you know, I had all of last season and and this is my second full season that that's coming to an end here at the end of this year. And I will take these two years into the next year and and and make good agronomic decisions based off of of what I've what I've learned over the past two years.
That makes sense, you know, It's just the consistency, right show up every day and then continue to build on on what you've been doing.
That's been working.
Speaking of one last question on Augusta, you know, just something I'd be interested in, is, you know, getting a job there? Is that What was that interview process?
Like?
Was it similar to other clubs, similar to Yale? Like how did that interview process work in the first place? I imagine I think a lot of people probably wonder, like, how do you even get a job at Augusta National.
So it's it's it's funny that they actually I think that it was one of the first times that they had actually advertised for an intern. So a little bit of the history onics of it is that I was already an assistant superintendent in Cleveland, and it was right after the two thousand and eight economy was you know, we were just starting to get out of that funk and the course that I was at, you know, they didn't they still felt the effects of the economy. And
I came up with an idea. I said, how about if you guys don't pay me for the winter, and I'll go down to Augusta for a winter. Just the winter months in Cleveland, you're not really growing grass and I thought that it would be a good way to save the club some money and also get Augusta National on my on my resume. So they had they had advertised for an internship, and I went through the INN. I submitted my information. The senior assistant at the time,
Justin Simms. He reached out to me and just a phone a phone interview, and then I had a follow up phone interview with the superintendent, Brad Owen, and uh they offered me a three month internship and I'd saved my club back in Cleveland some money and at the end of the three months, I must not have screwed anything up too badly because they offered me a full time, full time position, and uh, I had a contractual obligation to go back up to Cleveland finish that that obligation
up and then I moved down to UH to Georgia.
So that's it. Did you live in A in Augusta?
Yeah, Yeah, I lived. Uh. I lived in not downtown, It's sort of like the Summerville area. I had a condo which was kind of suspect, and then uh, then I rented a house. So yeah, so I lived and I lived basically a couple of streets away from some of my best friends. One of my best friends still still works down there.
So that's a that's cool, that's uh yeah, it's a it's it's got to be an amazing thing to have, like as you as you reference, amazing thing to have have on your resume in terms of, like, you know, it's obviously isn't going to get you jobs, but I imagine that it really helps in the you know, getting interview process.
It does because you know, Augusta, in our line of work, we don't we don't necessarily do a very great job of advertising ourselves as Augusta guys or you know, we're not. We don't do that and it's just not who we are. And so what it does is is that, you know, when when it comes down to an interview, people want to talk to guys from Augusta just to hear a
story or two. So we sort of get in by the by the you know, hey, I got a story to tell you, and then we hope that we're our resume is good enough and that we're good enough agronomous that that that it leads to a second and a third interview and hopefully, hopefully a job.
Now for a quick word from our sponsor, Toro. For more than a century with cutting edge turf equipment and irrigation solutions, Toro has had your front nine covered and your back nine two. In fact, Toro's always had your back period. Toro is as committed to your long term
success as tour pros are committed to their shot. That's down to top notch customer support from Toro and its dedicated local distributors, both of whom are passionate about delivering turf equipment and irrigation solutions that solve real world problems. Follow at Toro Golf on Twitter and reach out to your local Toro distributor today. Now back to Jeff Austin. Tell us about your new job. As you reference, you've
been there for two years. You know what attracted you to the job at Yale when you saw the posting.
So it goes back to probably twenty sixteen, the previous superintendent, Scott Ramsey won I think turf met Superintendent of the Years, something along those lines, and I saw I saw the the announcement of his winning that award, and I fell into just a rabbit hole of looking up Yale. I didn't know that they had their own golf course, so that sort of got that sort of peaked my interest in golf course architecture about you know, the history of
Yale specifically. And I saw the job posting and I said, well, this is this is interesting. And it came at a good time because I sort of I was at a point in in Cleveland where I was a director of two of a thirty six hole facility, and and I thought it was time to try something new, and so I saw the job posting, I threw my hat into
the ring. And I was down in Florida visiting my folks in the winter and our general manager, Peter Palacios, he called me and he was like, hey, your email, I mean, your resume sort of jumped out at us, and we'd like to, uh, I'd like to schedule an interview. And I was like, oh, okay. So it sort of got a little bit of traction. So I started doing a little bit more and more and more research on it.
And that's unfortunately, sort of like during the COVID time of of Yale, which isn't the brightest point in its history. And and I just went through the the routine of the different interviews, I'm The first one was just a phone call with with Peter. The second one was more in depth. There were different different individuals from the athletic department. It was like a basically it's like three or four hours of different zoom calls and it was I was
spent afterwards. But yeah, you know what it is. You know, three four hours isn't isn't you know, it doesn't seem like a lot, but you know, interviewing a kid from Cleveland, interviewing with a bunch of people from Yale, that's intimidating. You know, like not a lot. Let's let's just get this out there. There's not a lot of Clevelanders on property in New Haven. But uh, but so it was,
it was, it was. It was intimidating. So so, you know, you're meeting with people from the financial side of things.
I've imagine there are different questions like that.
It's not like you're like meeting with the Greeds Committee, right, Yeah, Like it's got to be like, you know, these are people in the athletic department that that probably have you know, I don't want to say they don't really, but they they probably are asking a completely different line of question than you've ever had an interview.
This was the first time that the word fiduciary was ever in a in an interview for a superintendent job ever. But no, it was great, you know, and like I thought, I thought it went I thought it went good. I thought it went you know, like I didn't think that it was like a home run. I laid all the cards on the table. And I come from a really really tight knit family, and you know, my parents lived
maybe two blocks away from me back in Cleveland. And so Peter called me on a Friday, and I was waiting for his call on Monday, and he called me and he was like, yeah, I figured you might want a weekend to sort of to celebrate, but yeah, we're going to offer you the job. And I was like, all right. So I celebrated with my brother and my sister in law for a night and they came into town. And then I had to tell my parents that I
was moving to Connecticut. And I'm a forty three year old man, and I still am scared crapless of my parents. So I told them and they were like, Okay, I guess we can deal with it. But so they've been traveling out here and it's it's it's been absolutely awesome. It's been absolutely awesome. It's a it's you know, it has its challenges, but it's it's it's probably the you know, it's it's probably the best decision I've made in my career.
Yeah, you know, and I think that there's probably a lot of interest in those challenges as as you alluded to.
You know, COVID wasn't the best time for Yale. And I think, you know, a lot of.
Universities struggled during COVID because there are a there's a laundry list of things that they had to deal with with students, classes, what they were doing there. And in the case of Yale, I think there was some some turnover from the employee side at the golf course, combined with you know, maybe a little bit of you know, you know, a fair amount of you know, just oversight lack of oversight into the golf course and the operations
that were going. Can you describe to us what type of shape Yale was in when you were hired.
So, you know, I first it's worth noting that, you know, like you said, there the university had had a bunch of hoops to jump through, just because when's the last time that that there was a playbook for a pandemic. So I don't know that, you know, it is just kind of is what it is, or was what it was. But the course was, it's it was on the road to healing. You know, the people who listen to your podcasts are pretty well versed in in the comings and goings of golf and golf courses. So it was it
was in rough shape before I got here. The fall I got I I my first day was May tenth of last year, so the previous fall, so that's twenty twenty. The fall of twenty twenty, they had verified all shore grass surfaces and seeded, so the bare areas in play areas we were starting to recover. So last year we spent a good deal of time of continuing to recede those areas. And last year from a weather standpoint, it was it was awesome. We got rain every time we
needed it. It was it was the exact opposite of this year. But it was still it was still rough. You know, the greens. There were areas that that the POA we don't have that that good old Oakmont poa that's that that just loves to stand up to any challenge. We we lost all of our anial poa, so the poe that we did have was was really weak. And any time there was something a day that got ninety, it would just want to check out. So we still
fight with that. Now we're we're still throwing seed on greens. Even though you know, we've got a we've got a restoration project in the hopper. We're still trying to improve on a day to day basis, especially for our men and women's teams. But it was it was pretty rough when I when I got here.
What were what what were the biggest challenges outside of the greens and that, what what were the biggest challenges to having a course that had been you know, a little bit neglected for for a while, Like what were what were things that maybe you overlooked?
So I one thing and it has very little to do with the agronomy side of things. It's more of the hr side of things. Is that you know, the crew when I got here, they were kind of you know, they they take such pride in this in this course and for them to see it not at its optimal level, It was the morale wasn't necessarily where it should be or where it could have been. So we made the right agronomic decisions on a day to day basis. We started off with the small right decisions, and we started
to see benefits from those decisions. I would throw pictures up on the dry race board or what have you, and I would say, look at the progress that we've made from two years ago, from a year ago, and I think that they started to buy in, like, all right, this guy's going to do the right things and make the right calls and and he's going to be honest
with us. And that that was the biggest challenge was getting these guys to believe me that, you know, we're just going to do the small things, but we're going to do the small things right, you know. And and that I got. I earned a little bit of of some street cred with the guys. And when you have a difficult season like this season, they sort of look and they said, we just's trying to do everything that he can, and uh, it just it's a tough it's
a it's a tough season. So I think that that that the team morale was was the hardest thing that I didn't anticipate.
M hmmm.
Speaking of of the maintenance team, I think the setup at Yale is very unique. Can you explain, uh to us exactly how it works.
Yeah, So, so we're all the guys are are members of a union. So I have right now, I have six full time guys in a master master mechanic and uh, it's it's I think that a lot of people think that it's it's this grandiose monster for some reason, and it's it's really not. You know, we we do everything that that we've done it any other golf course. It's
just uh, you know, it's it's it's just different. It's it's different than the crew and how the crew has ran out Augusta, Nashlaland it's definitely different than the crew that I had at in Cleveland at kual Hollow Country Club. You know, I think that when people hear the word union, they think it's like some big boogey man, and it's just you just got to deal with you know, you just got to work with the guys that you have.
What what have you been most proud about about? Proud of of the of the recovery. I mean, obviously I know you're not to where exactly where you want to get to it.
We had an event out there and I.
Thought it was it was, you know, I was really pleased with how good of shape you've you've gotten the golf course in in such a short time with you know, a pretty small staff. And I think, Peter, uh, You're or GM there has done an awesome job as well. I think you guys do a lot with with the with the number of people that you have, And I'm just curious, from your standpoint, what's been the most proud moment, slash, you know, thing about the recovery of the golf course.
I think that it's it's it's not a moment or it's not it's it's more of you know. I on rough days, I try not to look at the pictures. I referenced my master Gardner macleeno and he was here during during the COVID during the shutdown a little bit and and when I started, he said, Hey, do you want to sort of see the pictures? And I was like, no, no,
I don't. I don't want to see them. So every so often, like when I get you know, like when I have a rough day, he'll he'll show me a picture, and I'll be like, you know what, we're doing the right thing. And that's that's That's what I take away from this is that we're not a finished product anywhere near a finished product. And I don't know that we're going to be a finished product before before the project starts, but I I know that we are continually making making progress.
We're making we're making tangible improvements on a day to day basis and and and that's what I like to see is that every day we're getting a little bit better.
Mm hmm, yeah.
I think that's, you know, the thing you always have to keep inbyd like big stuff happen, you know, it takes so much time. Sometimes I feel in the similar position where you know you have somewhere you want to get to, but it's so hard. You know, if you don't if you don't value what you're doing day to day and getting better in terms of.
I don't mean interrupt you, but like you know, superintendents, we look at things, we look at the same things every day and and we sort of judge those those
small improvements. But like when you were here, you hadn't been here for quite some time, so like you and your group at the guys who participated in the dog ball like that their opinions on that day meant more to me than my opinion because you guys hadn't seen it, and maybe there was a little bit of like a like a like a fish tail where like it kept on getting worse and worse in your mind, like since you hadn't been here, like oh, they you know, they
lost everything, So when you got here, you might have been like, Eh, it's not that bad. So it's it's your opinion. And and and the guys that that that that listened to your podcasts who come out here and they go, yeah, it's progress that I that that makes me feel better.
Yeah, well yeah exactly.
I mean, so haveing spent some decent amount of time at some renovations and stuff, one of which I was at Lake Mercede a fear about this winter, and you know, I went a few times back to back days and you feel like nothing happens if you go on a regular basis, But then when you haven't been there for a few weeks and you go back, you're like, oh my god, I can't believe how much is happening.
And I imagine that's a similar thing.
It's like, you know, this is this is probably pretty crazy to think about, but like if a if a superintendent left a golf course and you put in an improvement plan and you just left and went on a three week vacation and came back and saw all the work done, is it was implemented, you'd be like, holy cow, I can't believe how much better this has gotten. But if you're there a day and day out, it's almost hard to notice.
It it is. And it's funny because like, so I I have I haven't. I've been in at some part of every day since the first week in June. So you know, I'm like, this isn't improving how fast I want it to prove. And it takes me a minute to realize, like, hey, dummy, you've been here every day, Like you're not gonna see You're not gonna like walk in and all of a sudden, the greens are lime green and everything's perfect, Like no, man, you were just
here eight hours ago. What are you expecting. So it's it's the internal dialogue that I have that I think is going to ultimately have me committed.
Yeah, it has a lot of people feel in that way in terms of so you guys are, are you have a gil Han's restoration project that will be done at the end of the twenty twenty three calendar year if I'm.
Correct, Yes, yes.
What type of work are you guys doing at this point to prepare for that restoration?
So what we're doing in house is we're still maintaining the golf course as as just for everyday play. Our short term plan, our short term objectives are the men and the women's golf team. Colin and Lauren are both having their invitationals this fall and their schedule to have them next fall as well, and so we're we're the short term goal is to try to improve so that we can make those as big of a success as possible.
I'm working with Gill and his team and Ben Ben Hillard on on bidden spec sheets for the for the restoration. So we're we're still We're still going out to bid on a on a bunch of stuff. So I'm I hate to say it, but I'm kind of pushing papers a majority of my day.
This is part of the job.
It is I mean, it is, you know, and it's an important part of the job because you know, you don't want to miss a comma on something and then all of a sudden, you know, seven acres of greens go to point seven acres, you know, like it's it's kind of a big deal. So so that's what we're
doing in house. We'll do a little bit of some undergrowth removal, just some overgrown areas this this winter, roll the ball out again next year for the golfing community and like I said, have the men and Women's Invitational next fall and then welcome with open arms hance golf course design next fall.
I mean the that undergrowth work is particularly I think something that's that's really enticing about Yale. You know, it has for those that have a bed there, just a gigantic property. It's your kind of quintessential New England woods and it's got rock out croppings and you know, beautiful forest. And then the golf course traversus this wild piece of ground and you know a lot of holes are corridored
off by woods. But I imagine as you under as you clear out that undergrowth, and you're going to reveal some really dramatic rock features and different aspects of the golf course that the people have never seen because of those those kind of thick corridors along the edges. Not necessarily I'm not saying take down these big trees, but as you just get some of those bushes and you know, areas off the fairway removed, you're going to uncover some
spectacular features that will just enhance that walk. And I imagine as you've done, as you said, when you're having a bad day some days you go out and walk around, I imagine you've probably seen some things that aren't really you know, visible to the everyday player.
It's it's amazing. So we so the guys started this passed off season and they cleared out an area in between our fourth hole and our sixteenth hole, and it was just an overgrown area and we didn't remove anything that was that was big, and I don't even think that they were necessarily trees. They were just, like I said, just overgrown bushes and shrubs and whatnot. And the vistas that just opened up from that one area from the
clubhouse is amazing. And it's just it's just recapturing those areas and and and sort of with with the change of elevations of this golf course. When you're standing on a pretty high point. So let's say ten Green or eleven Tea or something along those lines, or you know, your your approach shot on eighteen you can see a
good bit of the property. And I think that by just reclaiming those areas, you're going to be able to see a lot of stuff that that that you not necessarily have been able to see in the recent past. And yeah, it's there's rock everywhere. There's rock absolutely everywhere. The guy who the guy who did the aerification before U, before I got here, when I got here, he texted me and he was like, hey, give me a call when when you get a chance. So I called him
and uh, he told me. He was like I had never gone through so many aerification times in my life because like there's just there's exposed rock on in fair ways, on you know, around tees, it's it's everywhere.
Does that make it hard on the mower?
It makes it hard on everything. It it's just it's one of those things that's you know, you right, So so I'll take a step back, is that it's hard to grow grass on rock obviously, and especially with the heat that we've been experiencing, Like we're finding a lot of rock that's really really shallow in fair ways and whatnot. So it is it is hard on on on equipment. Our mechanic is he's he's never bored, I'll put I'll
put it that way. But uh, but we sort of tailor fit what we do to certain areas with what we have so that so that we sort of mitigate some of the some of the tough times on on the equipment. But but to your point earlier, it was one of those things that I had read when I got here. You know, Gil was Gil was already talking with with Yale before I got here, and Peter was here before I got here, so like, I'm the new guy, so I sort of had to dive into reading as
much about this place and its construction as possible. And that's the one thing that really stuck out in my mind when I was reading about the course was how expensive it was to build and and the use of dyning might to clear some of the rock out croppings and whatnot. And so so as I was walking around after, you know, reading those passages, I was like, well that makes sense. There's freaking rock everywhere.
Yeah, that's uh, what outside of just the sheer cost do you have any excerpts of of your research that that you really enjoyed, of of Yale, of of the founding of Ray Tompkins Memorial. I don't want to get in trouble with Colin. She and that's what he insisted on it being called.
Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure that. I'm sure that, uh that I've I've urged Colin with with some of my verbiage over the over the past year and some change. But uh, but no, he's Colin. Colin is a wealth of knowledge on the course and and the history and and the Yale golf program. He's just he's if there's ever a question, he's got the answer.
Yeah, he's got the answer and more.
You're right, But know that the one thing that that that I think it's it's obviously it's urban legend, but supposedly one of the horses, one of the hall horses that were removing timbers during construction, died and they just buried it in seven Green. So I'm curious when we shell that green out, if we're going to find some horseshoes.
Ah, look at that. It would be a little archaeological discovery for you.
Yeah. So that's that's one thing that I'm looking forward to.
Well, you do with the horseshoes, if you if you find do you think will you create some sort of like a shrine in the clubhouse for the horse.
Oh, I'm sure that that that that we could find them because we have so we have the golf courses really unbelievably documented, you know. Yeah, to have overhead pictures in aerial pictures from the from the twenties, I mean, that's unheard of. And we actually still have actual construction photos the hard copies with with with negatives and whatnot.
And so it's kind of funny because in one of the pictures of number five, there's a horse in front of it, and like I in my mind, I've already came up come up with the story that that's the horse that died on seven, and I'm going to use the picture of it on five to say that these are the horseshoes from this horse.
You're making a few leaps, but it's not inconceivable.
You know, it's not inconceivable. But like you know, I, it's just between us.
No one will know, just between just between the two of us on this podcast. But anyways, you know, with that we've talked a little bit about the restoration. You know what, what part of the project are you most excited about. It could be an individual hole or just just any aspect of the project.
There's a few things I can't wait to to deconstruct Number ten green as it currently exists, because no superintendent in any state in the Union should be forced to try to grow grass in that micro environment.
I don't think I've ever seen seen it, you know, with with substantial grass.
So it does seem like a very difficult spot.
I there are very few things in this world that I hate. I'm a very understanding person. I'm a very very forgiving person, and I'm a very loving person. I despise that green. So that's what I'm looking forward to.
What is it that makes it so difficult?
So it's a it's a green that that that tilts front to back, and there's a big there's a big bowl. It's it basically sits in a b from the bunker in the front throughout the back, and every ounce of moisture in the Tri State area wants to just accumulate in that back ridge and in that back swale, pardon me, And so it always stays wet, but the front part that sits elevated always stays dry. So our old irrigation system doesn't necessarily know the difference of how to water
the dry stuff and not the wet stuff. So so it's it's it's it just has its its difficulties. So that's something that I'm looking forward to, is getting rid of that green as it currently exists.
Maybe a better irrigation system, right.
Yes, yes, that is part of that. That's in the works as well. A couple of my guys don't like the tree behind number four green because it wakes away all the moisture in that green, So they're looking forward to possibly that tree coming.
Down, so in the sense of like that tree just sucks all the water out of the area.
It's as a huge tree, Yes.
It's it's a it's a huge oak, and it's it's just a it's a pain in the butt and it's just not good. So we're looking forward to, you know, with the overgrowth of the golf course. That's those are the things that that happen. You know, the trees get really really big, their roots go under the root, under the under the profile of the green, and it just it just makes trying to grow grass just amazingly difficult.
Anybody that lives in a neighborhood has seen the impacts of what tree roots do to sidewalks. So imagine, you know a green. You know, sidewalks get you know, just jacked up, and you know, create health hazards for kids running around. You know, imagine what they do to a green that you're trying to maintain at a very fine,
you know, precise level, like the shortest. I mean, I think people this probably goes you know, people take this for granted, but just the you know, think about if you were maintaining your yard over the course of the summer and you're trying to cut your yard really short, and you know, and how many resources, how much time.
You have to put into your yard. You know, it's in the heat of the summer.
If you're in an area like Connecticut or the Midwest, you know, the best thing you can do is keep your yard nice and long and lush, because then you don't have to put as many resources into it. Now, imagine you know, a tree taking out all the water, so, you know, and you're trying to maintain the finest level of cut of grass, right.
Yeah, and and the tree doesn't know like, oh I'm going underneath the green. I shouldn't do that. Let me make a hard right.
No, it just doesn't have consciousness.
No, especially some of these No, they don't give a rat's ass about me. And they just want their They just want their water. But but back to you know what I'm looking forward to. You know, I Gil and Ben and and their entire team are They're just they're the they're the best of the best. And and I always I always want to work with the best so that I so that my game improves and that like they there's no doubt in my mind, like they they are going to educate me leaps and bounds, you know.
They I like looking at guys when when when they're talking about a topic and and sort of see like the gears turning and whatnot. So it was it was during one of Gill's visits. I think it was last this past fall, Yeah, this past fall, and uh, and they were looking they were they were standing on number three T and they were looking back and I was coming up and I'm like, what the hell are they looking at? They're going backwards and you know, they're looking
for gaining yardage where where it's feasible. But but to to to be with guys who are thinking of the answer to the question before it's asked. That's impressive and it's it's awesome to be a part of. And it only makes me better at trying to foresee the questions before they get asked, so that they don't even have to ask them. My job is to make their job as easy as humanly possible, because the land is still
difficult to to work with. You know, the rock didn't go away from nineteen twenty five twenty six, so so my job is to try to facilitate them as much as humanly possible.
Yeah, that's uh, I mean they are. They've done a tremendous job. I can't wait to see it in terms of you know, where it where it gets to. I think, you know, from my standpoint, when you look at the potential of Yale, I've longed intended that it could be,
you know, among the very very best. I'm talking the bucket one golf course in America when you know, with a full restoration and uh, and you know, one of the things that I you know, I'd be curious about is like, how are you gonna what are the plans for you guys managing your staff and what type of work they'll be doing and you guys will be doing during this project.
There's gonna be enough work to go around.
Yeah, I imagine that.
So yeah, So so my guys they'll don't worry. They're they're gonna be They're gonna be busy. So so yeah, so they'll work hand in hand with with with with the various contractors that are that are going to be doing their expert work and and so yeah. So then
then well, let me take a step back. The the the greatest part of having my guys here while that contry diduction is going on is that they're going to become that much better versed in, you know, dealing with irrigation because they'll see the heads actually go in, so so they'll be able to troubleshoot any any issues that much you know, quicker and be able to diagnose things faster.
They'll they'll be able to you know, see and help with with with the grassing of different surfaces, and they'll help me say, hey, you know what, I think that this tea is going to have to be mowed by X, Y and Z mower because we'll have to get at it from this angle and it's their their wealth of knowledge on this property that's going to become just you know, it's going to become invaluable. But yeah, it's going to be you know, it's we're bringing it all the way back to nineteen twenty five.
Yeah, that's uh, it's exciting. We can't wait, and you know, hopefully we'll uh, we'll be we'll be chatting in a couple of years when it's all done and uh and talking about what you have. I'm excited for the the course, the hard work that you and you and Peter have put in in and in your entire staff and and getting it back to where it is today, which is an awesome place to go play golf.
And uh, we'll hopefully see you next.
Year with with the with another stop with the dog Bowl and then uh and then we'll see the project as it as it evolves. So Jeff, thank you so much for coming on. And uh, well we'll talk to you in the future when when this gets uh, when this gets done.
All right, perfect, Thank you any.
Thank you for listening to another edition of the Friday podcast in our Superintendent series. This episode was edited by Meg Atkins.
Thank you Meg.
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