MOST UNDERRATED SUPERINTENDENT

[Tony Ristola]

Ilka Kaivosoja
Pekka Kartunen
Elise Jarvinen
Jukka Silventoinen
Four Finns who year after year do wonders with poors soils, modest budgets and a harsh climate.  

[Lester George]

My nominees are John Gosselin and his crew Tristan Engle, Scott Kroll and John Klempa at DuPont Country Club who have always provided an exemplary product for their membership and are under appreciated.  During the ongoing reconstruction of their championship course they have gone above and beyond the call of duty in contributing countless hours of work and extraordinary effort in documenting the work taking place.  They have done this without regard to their own personal needs and have not asked for one thing in return.  They are truly my heros, asking nothing in return for a hurculean amount of personal sacrifice.  That's UNDERRATED.    

My second nominee is Pete Wendt and his crew at Kinloch Golf Club, considered by many to be the finest conditioned golf course in the country.  He is totally underrated by his peers, but not by his members and their guests.  

Lester George

[Mike_Cirba]

In the Philly burbs, I've seen none better than;

Scott Anderson - Huntingdon Valley - For truly achieving firm and fast conditions on a regular basis.

Mike McNulty - Philadelphia CC - For the best inhouse restoration work I've seen.

[Adam_Jessie]

It is ridiculous to say that a superintendant who has a low budget is underrated. Why would you reward somebody simply because thay work on a course without a lot of money? I think that it makes more sence to say that a  superintendent that works on a high profile course. The  best example I can think of is Pebble Beach, or Winged Foot should be rewarded with this "underrated title".  These people have enormous pressure to preserve classic american golf courses as well a provide US open conditions on a daily basis. All of this pressure for a pay rate that is below what it really should be for the amount of stress and pressure that comes with the job.    

Adam Jessie

[Donnie Beck]

Since when is Friars Head a low budget course?

[Adam_Jessie]

My post was in referece to the 5th post on this topic.

I would also say that Bill Jones and his crew do an incredible job, I would also say that he as well as you (Donnie Beck) fall into the category I was trying to describe in my first post.

Being superintendents that have to meet enormous expectations as care takers of americas best courses as well as dealing with the pressures that go along with the job.

Most superintendents do not have deal with the pressures that come along with a top 100 club.

Adam Jessie

[ian]

Is the more pressure being a top 100 golf course superintendent or being a female superintendent?

Just a thought.

[Adam_Jessie]

I have experience workng with both. I was fortunate enough to have worked with a female superintendent for 2 years, as well as a top 100 superintendent for the past 6 years. I can safely say that there is a lot more pressure put on a super that is in the top 100. Can you imagine the pressure that Brad Owen deals with? Not only during the Masters but on an  everyday basis at Augusta National.

Adam Jessie

[John Gosselin]

Adam, how can you say the superintendent of Augusta National is underrated? If he were underrated how did he get this job?

My definition of an underrated superintendent would be the person who consistently produces a great golf course for their customers with limited resources. This person is often over looked when the more prestigious, better paying, jobs open up. That’s underrated.

No superintendent, myself included, who is at a facility with ample resources, pays well, and has some recognition could ever be considered "underrated".

[Craig Sweet]

The problem is, everyone **wants** their home course to be in the same condition as a top 100 course, regardless of budget and resources to work with.

Show me a super that can take a limited budget and limited resources and turn out a good product year after year, and I'll show you someone that is underrated.

[Adam_Jessie]

John,

I guess mistook underrated for underappreciated, I appoligize.  

I had a different definition of underrated.  At the begining of this thread people were trying to say that a super at a course with a modest budget should be reccodnized as underrated simply because they do their job with a 200K budget.

I was trying to say that a super a top 100 course sometimes has expectations that are nearly impossible to live up to. People think just because a superintendent is at a high profile course that they have unlimited resources I can say from first hand experience that not not all clubs like this have unlimited resources.  

- adam j.

[John Gosselin]

Adam, I have to agree with you on the underappreciated. Brad is a close friend of mine and I think for all he has to deal with at Augusta, his efforts are probably underappreciateed by most.

[Marc Haring]

Brian Turner the superintendent at Sunningdale has just jacked in. He'd had enough of all the political infighting and unrealistic demands.

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

I'm thinking Eddie Adams.

He's my hero.

[Jim Franklin]

Tim Kennelly - Five Farms

[Jason Mandel]

don brown, white manor-has been there for 24 years, has done an unbelievable job, rarely gets the credit he deserves, not many supers that have only had 1 super job for 24 years