 Pat Jones |
As I write this in late August, Mike Pock is dying. He may live to read these words or he may not. And he’s okay with that. He has made his peace with his family, his friends the many who know him and love him.
Nearly everyone in Arizona and around the Southwest knows Mike (or at least of him) and will immediately relate to this. But, I’ll bet anything that the rest of you also know someone just like Mike in your neck of the woods. Here’s his resume:
- Grandson and son of superintendents and father to two superintendents;
- Mentor to dozens of other successful superintendents, all of whom he also treated like sons;
- Old school grass grower, but always learning something new;
- Worked for the love of it, not for a paycheck;
- Always willing to pitch in and help others;
- Deeply humble and sincerely amazed when anyone suggested he was special.
I talked with Mike’s son Ernie, the now superintendent at Grayhawk GC (he succeeded his dad in the job) about Mike and what his legacy will be. Ernie occasionally choked up as he talked about his dad and what he’s meant to the profession and the lives of so many people in it. I’ll let him tell this story:
“My dad got into this business through my great-grandfather. For him, it was never about the money. He always worked for owners and people where it was fun to come to work and do your best. He had the same attitude toward his staff. You didn’t work for the golf course… you worked for Mike Pock. They (employees) are family, too. From the guy who just started raking bunkers to an assistant who’d been with him for 10 years… you could always come to him and talk to him about anything. That’s what he loved most about the profession: developing young guys into men, not just superintendents, but men.
“My dad would tell you everything he knew… he’d never hide anything or keep some trick secret. He would talk for hours with anyone about turf. He felt like there are so many variables in turf, sharing ideas and information was critical.
“He was always hard on us… but because he just wanted us to be as good as we could be.”
Five years ago, doctors found a tumor in Mike’s chest so they took it out along with his sternum, his pericardium (the lining around the heart) and several spots on his lungs. They didn’t think he’d make it, but he surprised everyone.
“We’ve been lucky to have him around after that initial bout but he’s a tough old boot and he got through it. Now after (five years of) chemo and radiation treatments, he’s on an oxygen bottle all the time. For my dad to be tied to an oxygen bottle and not be able to walk the golf course or get on a mule and hunt in the mountains… it’s been a challenge for him.”
Mike’s situation worsened due to a simple accident – he got nipped while playing with a puppy and developed a staph infection in the cut. As he’s weakened from the infection and the chemo, the cancer has finally caught up with him and he’s fading. “My dad always had broad shoulders,” says Ernie. “Now he doesn’t.”
His mind is still sharp. He still talks turf and baseball with the stream of former assistants and friends who drop in to see him. He longs to at least ride a few holes at Whisper Rock or Grayhawk to be close to the turf again and offer his millionth tidbit of advice to his sons or another superintendent. “He’d still be out there if he could…tooling around the course every day,” says Ernie. “He loves it, that’s for damn sure.”
But time is running short for Mike. “We’ve been blessed with these extra years (after the surgery), but he’s ready,” says Ernie. “He’s stuck on a sofa in hospice so we’re letting everyone know it’s time to say goodbye.”
And there are many who’d like to say goodbye to Mike. Including good friends like Shawn Emerson of Desert Mountain Ranch and Brian Smith, owner of Arizona SportsTurf. But, like Mike, they think actions speak louder than words. That’s why they, along with many other friends of Mike in the desert turf community, are already putting together a plan to make sure that Mike Pock’s spirit will live on.
“We’d like to do something to put together a fund to support superintendents who are going through a tough time because of medical problems or employment issues or whatever,” says Smith. “Mike has touched the lives of so many people here… we want him to know that will not stop.”
So, Mike, if you’re reading this…farewell and bon voyage, friend. But sleep deep and well knowing your legacy will shine on like the Arizona sun.
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