TurfNet Superintendent of the Year 2008
Finalist Profile:
Eric Bauer, The Club at the Woodlands (Texas)
Despite his location in suburban Houston, Eric Bauer never gave much thought to hurricane preparedness - that is until 2005 when events that transpired late that summer shifted worldwide focus on the Gulf South.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita left an impact on that area that are not soon - if ever - to be forgotten. And as Bauer watched as not only golf courses, but lives and businesses of people from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were shattered, he figured he'd dodged not one, but two bullets. No longer was he prepared to leave so much to chance.
"After that scare, I realized that something like that could affect this property one day," Bauer, 38, said. "I knew I had to have a proper plan in place, so that when one of these came through we would be ready.
"I knew I needed to be better prepared. That's my job. That's the approach I took that I need to be covered on all bases."
It did not take long to put that plan to the test, when three years after Katrina and Rita, Hurricane Ike took a Rita-like path that led the storm right through The Club at Carlton Woods, where Bauer, a 36-hole facility where Bauer is director of grounds.
The storm ravaged the course coming ashore on Sept. 11, downing some 500 trees, washing out bunkers, ripping up turf and leaving standing water everywhere. It also left the Fazio Course without electricity for nearly two weeks and the Nicklaus Course powerless for almost a week. But Bauer's preparedness plan had both courses reopened within about two weeks - long before most other courses in the Houston area and within plenty of time to hold the club's annual member-guest tournament as scheduled.
"The job Eric and his team did was nothing short of extraordinary in obtaining resources and manpower to fully restore both courses to pre-hurricane condition in time for the event," club vice president William Langley wrote in his nomination of Bauer for TurfNet's 2008 Superintendent of the Year Award.
"He did all this and made it look easy."
It appeared easy because there was a plan.
Bauer and his crew began preparing the course for the storm five days before its anticipated landfall. The first two days comprised efforts that would be simple to reverse if the storm changed track and spared the Houston area. Those cleanup efforts included collecting all items that could double as projectiles, such as flagsticks, waste baskets, tee markers, ball washers, etc., followed by scheduling fuel deliveries and tree contractors, readying chainsaws and lining up other needed equipment, such as generators.
"We took it in steps, so that we wouldn't be out anything with what we did on days 5 and 4 if the storm didn't hit," Bauer said.
"It was a domino effect. If you didn't do A, you couldn't get to B, C, D and E. I couldn't imagine not being prepared and having one of these hit."
He also applied fungicide before and after the storm just in case, followed by a dose of a plant growth regulator in the event his crew could not get out to mow following the storm.
Before the time the storm arrived on Sept. 13, Bauer decided to ride it out in the clubhouse, along with wife Katherine, their sons Reid and Andrew (now 9 and 6, respectively), and another dozen or so employees of the club who took advantage of the building's sturdy construction. The site that greeted them after the storm had passed was beyond belief.
"I couldn't comprehend what it had done until I rode the golf course," Bauer said. "I just remember thinking 'Where do we begin?' I kept that to myself and always put on a face that this was going to be OK because we have a great plan in place."
His crew worked almost around the clock for weeks on chainsaws, with the initial priorities being to remove downed trees from the greens and the road to the club so vehicles could get in and out of the property. He also contracted with outside companies to cut up the larger trees and haul away the timber.
Five gas-powered generators secured from Wadsworth Construction Co. helped provide power to the maintenance shop and the irrigation system.
In the month leading up to the member-guest, Bauer's crew cleaned out and refilled all bunkers, grinded stumps and sodded over them.
Bauer deflected praise to those around him, including superintendents Daniel Baker and Billy Weeks, assistants T.J. Holderman and Cody Alexander, as well as director of golf Mark Steinauer, whose staff, including caddies, helped in the clean up process.
"Everybody came with a good attitude," Bauer said. "There is no way we could have accomplished what we did without everyone's help."
Wrote Lyn Maddox, chairman of the club's golf committee, in his nomination letter: "With a heroic effort over a two-week period and without the restoration of power, both golf courses were repaired to impeccable playing conditions.
"The post-hurricane restoration was a concentrated effort of Eric's management style, delegation of authority and teamwork practices."
The Superintendent of the Year award, sponsored by PrimoMAXX® from 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 New Orleans, and will travel with a guest to Ireland for a week-long golf course tour, courtesy of Syngenta.
|
 |
