GROUNDS & GREENS SUPERINTENDENT AT EXMOOR COUNTRY CLUB

Exmoor Country Club is seeking a Grounds & Greens Superintendent (Superintendent) with an understanding of exceptional playing conditions, strong agronomic skills and a high golf IQ. He/she will be an outgoing leader, mentor, and hands-on team player.

Click here to view a brief video about this opportunity. 

EXMOOR COUNTRY CLUB

Exmoor Country Club presents golfers with a classic golf experience, one that exemplifies the Golden Age of golf course architecture designed by Donald Ross in 1915. Exmoor is located on the crest of a 12,000-year-old glacial ridge, a geological feature that inspired Donald Ross to direct the course of play in varying directions: uphill, downhill and across the planed areas of the Club’s 140 acres. The layout features designs indicative of the great courses of Scotland: imaginative grass-faced bunkers, challenging green complexes, and 18 holes shaped in harmony with the land.

Ross crafted a course that requires golfers to gauge the ideal playing angles off the tee and to assess the risk-or-reward of each stroke. Players learn quickly to be alert to the changing winds off Lake Michigan, one mile to the east, which may shift directions two- or three-times during a round. Golfers of all skill levels feel comfortable, yet tested, with six tee options, playing from 5,400 yards to 7,149 yards in length.   

Golf course architect Ron Prichard completed a comprehensive course restoration, and more recently regrassed the greens with Pure Distinction bent grass, redefined green pads, and added new grass approaches to all greens.  

Those who play the Exmoor course today will experience what golf enthusiasts 100 years ago called “an atmosphere” of Old-World style, of visually interesting holes, a mix of short par fours and uphill ones that seem like par fives, of lakes and long grasses, of holes that require creative shot making, and a course routing with a natural flow over both wooded and open terrain. For more than a century, members and guests at Exmoor have enjoyed a comprehensible test of golf — one that pits the player, a club and a ball against gravity, the land and the wind. 

With his original layout so evident today — and with so many identifiable features attributed to him — the Exmoor course continues in its second century, as an authentic Donald Ross masterpiece.

From its inception, Exmoor has played an important role in advancing the game of golf, both for the enjoyment of members and to promote amateur competition at the highest level.

On June 16, 1899, Exmoor hosted the first official tournament organized by the Western Golf Association. Since then, the club has hosted 19 national golf tournaments, including the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in 1933, four Western Amateur Championships in 1904, 1952,2012, and 2022 and the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship in 2018.

Golf was Exmoor’s first game, but the club has evolved to offer an array of sports including tennis, swimming, curling, ice skating, cross-country skiing, platform tennis, and pickleball.

MISSION STATEMENT AND CORE VALUES

To provide the finest golf, sporting, and social experiences for our Member families and their guests.

• A welcoming atmosphere of fellowship, inclusiveness, & civility
• Respect for the Club, our Members, the staff, & the Game of Golf
• Importance of family
• Importance of our Staff & their families
• Preserve the spirit of Exmoor as originally stated by Percy B. Eckhart
• Stewardship of our Heritage

EXMOOR COUNTRY CLUB BY THE NUMBERS

• 586 Members, including those on the wait list.
• Annual Rounds: 18,000
• 50% Caddies, 35% Carts, 10% Walking, & 5% Push Carts
• Grounds Budget: $1.85M
• Capital Budget average $300K
• Irrigation System: Toro triple row installed in 2003, Lynx upgrade in 2018
• Water Source: deep well 1250’, 500 GPM, drilled in 2003
• Greens Committee: Chairman term- 3 years, 7-10 Committee Members, 4 – 6 meetings per year
• Green Speed Expectations: 5’ – 12’, May 15^th through October 15^th
• Greens- 17 pushup and 1 USGA, all seeded with Pure Distinction during the green renovation in the Fall of 2014
• Practice Facilities: 3-hole Short Game Practice facility and blue grass practice range
• Fairways and tees- Bentgrass
• Weekdays: 7:30 AM (1^st Tee Only) / Weekends: 7:00 & 7:30 AM (1^st and 10^th Tees)

EXMOOR COUNTRY CLUB WEBSITE: www.exmoorcountryclub.org

GROUNDS & GREENS SUPERINTENDENT POSITION DESCRIPTION

The Superintendent at Exmoor Country Club reports directly to the General Manager/COO and works closely with Greens Committee, its Chairman and the Board of Governors. The Superintendent will lead and manage his/her department to ensure exceptional golfing conditions on a daily basis. The Superintendent is responsible for all day-to-day operations of the Exmoor Country Club golf course and grounds.

In addition, the Superintendent will provide innovative and relevant leadership and perpetuate and foster an educational culture of developing and producing future turf professionals. The Superintendent must have a natural style of “sincere engagement” with members and staff along with a love of the game of golf and a relentless attention to detail. He/she is expected to be a visible presence among the Club’s team and Members.

DIRECT REPORTS

• 4 Assistant Superintendents / Assistants-in-Training
• 1-2 Seasonal Interns
• Equipment Manager
• Assistant Equipment Manager
• Grounds Staff

KEY ATTRIBUTES AND AREAS OF FOCUS

AGRONOMICS

• Provide consistent firm and fast greens throughout the golf season.
• Evaluate greens growing environments (shade, air movement, drainage)
• Continue to control Poa annua in the greens, fairways and tees.
• Provide firm, fast & green fairway conditions.
• Evaluate irrigation system and programming (irrigation audit)
• Oversee all Club grounds landscaping.
• Develop a plan for tree maintenance and management.
• Stay current with new technologies and peer groups.

MEMBER ENGAGEMENT

• Be visible and available to membership at the appropriate times.
• Strong, natural, tactful, fact-based communication skills deployed on a regular basis.
• Utilize written communications and social media to provide current information about golf course conditions and projects.

LEADERSHIP

• A confident, organized leader, not only amongst his direct reports but at the Executive Staff and Committee level
• Provide the golf course maintenance team with educational opportunities, coaching and mentoring.
• Recruit future golf course maintenance professionals and develop a turf student intern program.

CLUB MANAGEMENT TEAM

• Create an open dialog and build excellent relationships with the Club’s GM, Golf Professional and other members of the Club’s Executive Staff team.
• Be an active participant in the Club’s Executive Management Team Meetings

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate will either be a successful Golf Course Superintendent at a club known for exceptional playability or be viewed as an up and coming “superstar” with a minimum of 5 years of experience.

• A history of providing exceptional golfing conditions
• Visible & available to Members & Staff
• High Golf IQ & lover of the game
• Possess a strong understanding of local, similar, or more challenging climates.
• Track record of maintaining & improving course conditions
• Detail focused.
• Experience providing consistent fast green speeds (10.5’ – 12’) while maintaining healthy turf.
• Advanced knowledge of agronomy and turf-grass management best practices
• Excellent irrigation management skills, both irrigation philosophy and maintenance of the system
• Strong understanding of soil science
• Experienced maintaining native/fescue roughs.
• Experience managing trees for both tree health and shade mitigation.
• Manage golf course maintenance equipment upkeep, repair and replacement.
• Team player
• Humble & flexible personality type
• Self-starter
• Frank & honest communicator with strong communication skills both verbal & written.
• Proactive communicator
• Possess natural member engagement skills.
• Team builder with strong leadership experience
• Compassionate, motivational leader
• An empathetic leader with excellent listening skills
• Effective supervisory skills
• Proven time management & planning skills
• Demonstrated skills in finance.
• Strong budgeting skills
• Experience coordinating operations with other department heads.
• Proven record of a consistent focus on personal & professional development
• Track record of progressive career growth and successful experience
• Continual education is essential.
• Respect & understating of tradition & heritage.
• A “student” of classic golf course architecture is a bonus.
• Spanish language skills, a benefit but not required.

EDUCATIONAL AND CERTIFICATION QUALIFICATIONS

• A degree in turf management or related field of study is required.
• GCSAA Certification and Pesticide Certification is preferred.

EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

SALARY & BENEFITS

Compensation is open and commensurate with qualifications and experience.  The club offers an excellent performance bonus and benefit package, along with the typical GCSAA benefits.

INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO APPLY

Please upload your resume and cover letter, in that order, using the link below.  You should have your documents fully prepared to be attached when prompted for them during the online application process.  Please be sure your image is not present on your resume or cover letter; that should be used on your LinkedIn Profile.

Prepare a thoughtful cover letter addressed to Mr. Eric Hogan, General Manager/COO and clearly articulate why you want to be considered for this position at this stage of your career and why Exmoor Country Club and the Highland Park, IL area will be beneficial to you, your family, your career, and the Club if selected.

You must apply for this role as soon as possible but no later than Friday , May 19, 2023.  Interviews will occur in  June with the new Grounds & Greens Superintendent starting as soon as possible but no later than September 2023.

IMPORTANT:  Save your resume and letter in the following manner:

“Last Name, First Name Resume”

“Last Name, First Name Cover Letter Exmoor Country Club”

(These documents should be in Word or PDF format)

Note: Once you complete the application process for this search, you are not able to go back in and add additional documents.

Click here to upload your resume and cover letter.

If you have any questions, please email Katy Eliades: katy@kkandw.com

Lead Search Executives:

Armen Suny, Search Executive

303.570.2741 (M) -  Denver, CO

armen@kkandw.com

Thomas B. Wallace III, CCM, CCE, ECM, Partner

412-670-2021 (M) – Strongsville, OH

tom@kkandw.com

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