Do certain courses attract certain type Green Keepers?
For instance, I wonder if courses heavy with architectural features serve as natural magnets for Green Keepers who are mad keen on architecture/history of the game? I know this: Raynor/Macdonald courses seem to possess an unbelievably high percentage of top flight Green Keepers. Davis at Shoreacres, Rewinski at Westhampton, Spear and his army at Piping Rock, Yonce at Yeamans, the perfection of rawness at Fishers by Beck, of course Salinetti and his crew at NGLA, the new man at Saint Louis CC is doing wonders by all accounts - the list goes on and on. Only Yale
stands out among the Raynor courses as having less than an illustrious green keeping history but again, the new man has made great strides in his first year so perhaps things are turning there too.
In keeping with the above, two of the finest (and nicest) Green Keepers can be found at Raynor's Lookout Mountain and Silva's Black Creek (with its huge dose of Raynor features). Mark Stovall and Scott Wicker take great delight in being at courses with such bold playing features (you try maintaining a full Biarritz green!) and do all they can day-in, day-out to provide the golfer with the fastest, firmest playing conditions possible. They embrace maintaining quirky features like an 14,000 square foot plus punchbowl
at Black Creek or restoring the Sahara bunker on the blind approach to the Alps 11th green at Lookout. What level of blandness would golf architecture devolve down into without guys like this? It makes you wonder.
Add in the legend David Stone at The Honors Course and the concentration of green keeping talent in the greater Chattanooga area is what one would normally only associate with the major metro areas of Chicago/Phillie/Boston/NYC. Each of the three guys seems to push the other to higher and better things, somewhat I suppose like drafting in the Tour de France.
Many more of the Feature Interviews are going to be with Green Keepers - hope you enjoy this one and feel free to ask these guys any questions you wish re: maintaining such courses/unique features.
Cheers,