TurfNet Superintendent of the Year 2008
Finalist Profile:
Sam MacKenzie, CGCS, Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club
 Things couldn't have been much worse at Olympia Fields Country Club when Sam MacKenzie, CGCS, was hired in 2006.
The Chicago-area course had just started a three-year master plan renovation project that included restoration of the club's North and South courses, construction of a new, 25,000-square-foot maintenance facility as well as a new pool and tennis facility that early on in the planning process had run over budget by a significant amount. The club's renowned North Course, which was the site of the 2003 U.S. Open, had slipped into severed disrepair, well below membership standards. Add to that a maintenance staff that was demoralized - according to membership - by deteriorating course conditions and constant infighting.
According to members, the club had completely lost two greens on the North Course in 2005, with the possibility of losing as many as six others that had become severely stressed.
A worsening economic climate at the club, coupled with the declining conditions, had much of the membership down in the dumps as well. Guest play and fees were way down, as a result food and beverage sales also stalled, and members had to dig into their pockets to balance the club's budget.
"There were several balls in the air that had to be juggled, and the members' feelings had been shaken," MacKenzie, 48, said.
MacKenzie stepped forward, and from Day 1 set about improving conditions on the golf courses, the attitude of his staff and the members' confidence in the greens department.
MacKenzie brought in Brad Fry as superintendent over both courses, and together they created "an atmosphere conducive to growing grass," MacKenzie said.
They put together a plan that resurrected the proud North Course and redirected more energy into lifting standards on the South.
"We just implemented some common sense turf management practices, and Mother Nature did the rest. If you give the grass what it needs when you need it, it's going to grow. It's not rocket science."
Recovery of the North Course greens was accomplished through an aggressive aerification plan, managing fertility and scaling back on irrigation.
They also vowed to elevate conditions on the South Course to those more consistent with conditions its North counterpart had become historically known for.
"The North Course always had gotten the lion's share of the resources," he said. "We wanted to change that and bring it up. After the renovation, we came out with a better golf course and we've maintained it at that level."
MacKenzie took on the role of owner representative and did all the grassing on the Steve Smyers/Patrick Anders-led renovation of the South Course, which called for expanding the course's Heinz 57 greens back to architect Tom Bendelow's 90-year-old contours. Wadsworth Golf Construction Co. was general contractor on the project.
To manage this, he required sod that was a bent/Poa mix that matched that already on the greens, so he grew 29,000 square feet of hodgepodge sod in-house
The project fell about a month behind schedule when the practice range and two fairways had to be reseeded thanks to three weeks of constant rain. Luckily for all involved, warm weather extended deep into the year that autumn, giving the Pennlinks II/Penn Eagle II mix fairways an added month of growing time.
Fry left in the middle of the renovation. Kirk Spieth (North) and Scott Goniwiecha (South) stepped forward to help finish the project and continue what Fry - along with MacKenzie - had started.
Closed for a year, the South Course reopened last June to much acclaim.
"Sam met these challenges head on and has produced a golf course which has been the subject of rave reviews by our members and outsiders," wrote member Anthony DiTommaso in his nomination of MacKenzie.
Just as everything at Olympia Fields was on the upswing, the course took on nearly 10 inches of rain in a 48-hour period that happened to be just five days before one of the club's biggest events of the year - the University of Illinois' Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational.
All 137 bunkers on both courses (88 on the North) were washed out, and MacKenzie and his crew spent 2.5 days just refilling the hazards.
"The drainage worked great, so we didn't have to get water out of them," he said.
That wasn't the case everywhere. About 60 of the 350 total acres at Olympia Fields were under water. Although workers couldn't have the South Course ready in time for the tournament, MacKenzie recognized that early enough and directed all efforts on preparing the North for play.
"We couldn't even get on to the South Course to mow until Friday that week. The tournament already had started by then," he said. "We were able to mow the North greens by Tuesday and we were on the fairways by Wednesday."
The work by he and his staff did not go unnoticed by coaches, players and members.
"Under immense pressure, Sam and his crew went into overdrive, and three days later the North Course was ready to play, giving the top college players in the nation all they could handle, and the tournament once again was a great success," wrote green chairman Dave Allard.
"Sam and his staff can handle anything Mother Nature throws their way."
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.
|
 |
