TurfNet Superintendent of the Year 2009
Finalist Profile:
Doug Ayres, Corral de Tierra Country Club, Salinas, Calif.
 When it comes to completing tasks and projects at Corral de Tierra Country Club, Doug Ayres propensity for doing things "not" by the book is well known throughout Northern California.
"We often joke that Doug is the president of Mensa International because of his continued innovative skills that set the bar above all others," wrote Tennessee McBroom, superintendent at Sandpiper Golf Club in Santa Barbara, Calif., in his nomination of Ayres for TurfNet's 2009 Superintendent of the Year, presented by Syngenta. "He's taken a course in ruin and rebuilt every aspect of the infrastructure."
The list of projects undertaken by Ayres, 40, in his five years at the club in Salinas, Calif., include installing a new fairway drainage system that improved playing conditions throughout the course, renovating all bunkers, upgrading the irrigation system - including reworking the spacing of heads located on several holes, brewing his own bio diesel and leading construction of a new, state-of-the-art maintenance facility, rebuilding a green in record time and the planned expansion and relining of the club's irrigation pond.
Doing more for less is Ayres' mantra. He has completed the bulk of the above improvements with mostly in-house labor, and he constantly is looking to improve any and every aspect of his operation by spending as little as possible.
For example, his use of in-house labor on the fairway- and bunker-improvement projects alone topped $300,000. When a neighboring ranch donated tons of earth after a landslide, Ayres used it to build a waterfall on the irrigation pond. Golfers appreciate the aesthetics of the water feature, and the cascading effect helps improve water quality. Contractors quoted the job at up to $150,000, while Ayres and his staff completed it for $6,000.
To combat an algae problem in the same pond, Ayres struggled for a way to deliver copper sulfate to the center of the impoundment where it would be most effective. His answer was converting a backpack blower by inserting a funnel that compresses the outflow of air, making the apparatus capable of launching the material some 40 feet.
In his newly expanded maintenance area, he bought a rack system from a nearby strawberry farmer for about $2,000-$3,000. A similar system purchased brand new would have run the club about $10,000. An adjacent building under construction that will provide office, lounge and meeting space was expanded by more than 1,200 square feet when Ayres suggested adding a second floor.
He and his crew also converted several waste areas on the course to native plantings and other ornamentals, such as peppers, beans and pumpkins that members have picked for home use.
Others nicknames applied to Ayres include The Genius, Doogie Howser, Rocket Scientist and the MacGyver of Grass.
Wrote Bob Zoller, director of greens and grounds at Monterey Peninsula Country Club: "Doug has more going on at one time than anyone else I have ever met has going on in two years. Building a maintenance shop in-house, learning to produce biofuels for use in his golf course equipment, rebuilding a green in five days. If they ever run out of projects to do at his golf course, he will die of boredom."
Conducting work in house saves the club money, and by Ayres' admission, builds ownership of the course among his employees and provides a built-in incentive to maintain the property as if it were their own.
"The guys came to him and said 'what's next?' after the bunker project," wrote Mike McCullough of the Northern California Golf Association. "I think they like the variety and take pride in the improvements. How could you not?"
Ayres also shares his knowledge with others, through on-site hands-on learning events for local school children and helping assist regularly in an annual educational seminar for assistant superintendents from throughout the area.
"I believe Doug is truly a pioneer," McCullough wrote. "In today's climate, he is changing the way maintenance can be performed in a positive light."
The Superintendent of the Year award, sponsored by Syngenta, is presented annually by TurfNet to one outstanding superintendent selected from among those nominated by club officials, course owners, members, casual golfers, or staff members.
The winner will be announced at GIS in San Diego, and will travel with a guest to Ireland for a week-long golf course tour, courtesy of Syngenta.
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