Turf Care: About the Oaks Course Superintendent

I was born and raised in nearby Monroe, Georgia by my parents Steve and Joanne. I grew up playing sports, primarily baseball all through high school. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I picked up golf. From there, I played golf any time I wasn’t on the baseball field. This lead me to my first turfcare job at the then Woodlake Golf Course in Monroe, where for two summers I mowed fairways and wilt watched bentgrass greens in the afternoon.

My passion for this industry developed in those two summers, which led me to my career choice. I graduated from the University of Georiga in 2008 with a bachelor of science degree in turfgrass managment. Immediately following graduation I accepted a 2nd assistant superintendent position at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, where I had just completed an internship the previous summer. East Lake was in the middle of a major renovation including converting greens to Mini Verde Bermudagrass. I spent nearly 3 years there before moving on to a first assistant position at Planterra Ridge in Peachtree City.

After almost a year there, I accepted a job as senior assistant at Governors Towne Club in Acworth. Nearly two years later I was offered the Golf Course Superintendents job at Ashton Hills Golf Club, where I spent the last 4.5 years manicuring the new Miniverde greens and restoring a course that had sat unmaintained for nearly a year. My goals for The Oaks are simple: To return the course to the prestige of previous years and to have the best putting greens in the area. It will take some time and work to get there, but I am confident that with our new programs in place and renewed interest of the staff, that we will meet those goals in the near future.

 

 

Turf Talk is brought to you by Oaks Course Superintendent, John Fields. Stay tuned for more information about the turf of our course and more information as we roll out this new blog series!