Tweaking the Tour (News)

Agronomy department adds two positions

The PGA Tour is tweaking the structure of its agronomy department to strengthen it.

Heading the department is Cal Roth, vice president of agronomy, who took over for Jon Scott, who left the PGA Tour to work with Nicklaus Design as chief agronomist.

“We’re fine tuning the operations of the agronomy department, which Jon left in great shape,” Roth says. “My transition has been smooth thanks to Jon and the quality and experience of the existing staff.”

After an evaluation, it was decided the agronomy department needed to add two positions: a PGA Tour agronomist, which has been filled by Bland Cooper, who came from ValleyCrest Golf Course Maintenance, and a director of agronomy, which the Tour is in the process of filling.

“What that does is structure the department so we have a director of agronomy for the TPC clubs and one for competitions,” says Roth, who’s been with the PGA Tour for 23 years.

There are two divisions within the agronomy department: one for competitions and another for the TPC clubs. Regional director Collier Miller will take over as director of agronomy and golf course maintenance operations for the TPC clubs, filling the vacant spot created when Roth left it to fill Scott’s position, and Collier’s position will be filled by a TPC agronomist by the end of the year, according to Roth.

Within the structure, there are six agronomists reporting to the director position that has yet to be filled – and most likely will be filled by someone outside the PGA Tour – and two regional agronomists reporting to Collier. All 10 agronomists overlap and work together.

“What this will do is allow for the appropriate agronomic support for each tournament as well as the operational and agronomic support for PGA Tour golf course properties. This also frees up time for me to be at headquarters as needed,” Roth says.

As the v.p. of agronomy, Roth will work closely with the staff of each of the three tours the organization operates and the staff for golf course properties.

The new structure also frees up Roth to look at future sites for TPC facilities and their development. Currently, the PGA Tour is developing a new golf course in Naples, Fla. – the TPC at Treviso Bay, which is scheduled to open late next year. There’s another TPC course on the drawing board – a 36-hole resort property in San Antonio, although ground hasn’t broken yet. There are also other sites for possible development of TPC clubs. In addition to continuing to directly support certain PGA Tour events, Roth also will be available to inspect future possible tournament sites.

Filling a void
Cooper, the newest PGA agronomist, says he wasn’t looking to leave ValleyCrest, but an opportunity came about that he couldn’t pass up because he always wanted to work with the PGA Tour. He started Sept. 5.

“I’m at an age when if I’m going to make a move, now is the time to do it,” he says. “The only job I would have left ValleyCrest for is the PGA Tour. The guys at ValleyCrest are a class act. I made great friendships while at ValleyCrest. I feel bad for leaving. I wish the timing could have been a little better, but there’s no one to blame but me. They’ll find someone sharper and forget about Bland Cooper. It was a tougher decision than you might think.”

Cooper sees himself spending the rest of his career with the Tour.

“It’s the insanity of tournament golf that’s attractive to me,” he says. “Tournament golf is almost like a drug. I always liked preparing a course for a tournament. It’s the finality of a tournament – we have a deadline. It has to be right before the tournament. There’s a satisfaction I get out of that.”

Tournament preparation is one thing Cooper didn’t experience at ValleyCrest. He says that’s not necessarily bad, but it was a void he needed to fill.
As a director of agronomy with ValleyCrest, Cooper traveled 180 days a year. He will travel about the same amount with the Tour.

Cooper says he doesn’t know exactly how many golf courses he’ll visit throughout the year because the Tour is always adding and moving events, but each agronomist is involved with 12 to 16 events, so he’ll visit at least that many courses.  GCN