Learning to fly

It’s been over 2 years but there has been so much that has occurred, the need to write and share was simply overwhelming! The biggest challenge will be keeping this under 5 pages! How do you encapsulate unemployment, contemplating a career change, moving back across the country, and finding a rebirth in your path all in a couple of paragraphs? The pen will be my sword as I conquer this challenge, but boy, when I write out those events it sure sounds like I just had a “mid-life” crisis :). However, where the grass is greener there is an understanding that challenges are not a crisis, but an opportunity for growth and change that can lead us along our way in life we never took the time to imagine.

In light of Father’s Day weekend, I do need to note that I did experience the passing of my father earlier this year. He was still young, 76, but lived a full life, passed along many memories that won’t be forgotten. He loved the game of golf live few others can, and he bestowed that passion for the game into me—along with chocolate chip pancakes and 80’s music. I’m grateful for 2 of the 3—-I love making pancakes for my kids, and who in their right mind can’t get down with a power ballad from the 80’s. Seriously. Golf can be a frustrating game, but pancakes and rock n roll will never disappoint! My experience with the game of golf however, will be much different than his, as my attachment resides within the maintenance and care of the golf course itself. My daily trek to the golf course does not revolve around me trying to shoot my personal best score, but trying to provide the best playing experience for those that are. I so much enjoy attending to and caring for the turf and playing surfaces, that it is difficult to imagine not doing it. But there was point in time, in the beginning of 2025, where I was very much considering a new path forward.

I was just let go from the property I was caring for, and with many personal and professional dynamics in play I was seriously considering a new way to make a living. The new found free time was put use with a mass consumption of personal growth and developmental books, I was taking notes and feeling like a college student again! It actually felt really good:) I pursued other spiritually fullfilling habits such as yoga, meditation and prayer, practicing gratitude despite my lack of employment. I had to keep watering my grass, set an example for positivity and develop a pursuit of better understanding who I am. Finally, in March, I received an opportunity to visit a mega golf property in Palm Springs—to entertain the notion of a return to being a Superintendent; I was still on the fence about the whole “golf thing” but when I was touring the properties, that green manicured turf was definitely calling my name and I couldn’t ignore it. I was reignited of the memories I shared with Dad, the countless Illinois summer nights with our 9 hole grudge matches that ended with more mosquito bites than birdies. Our many excursions into these very same Palm Spring deserts playing golf at some of the most beautiful and unique places in the country. The truth was now in front of me, and luckily I recognized it.

I chose not to accept the position that was offered to me from that visit, but it was a catapult to a different opportunity that has provided great balance in my life. We returned to California in June 2025, our 1 year anniversary is right around the corner. I am so proud of the way my family foursome has handled everything and supported me along the way. That pride recently provided me with an insight into my own dad. I’m pretty sure the only thing Dad loved more than golf, was his family. That’s saying a lot because boy did he love golf :) But I had feeling inside me, recently that I think you can only experience as your kids begin to age and mature; when you begin to understand and visualize the adults they will become—where being a parent feels different from when they were just “kids”. That feeling of pride was like a spark of clarity of what Dad must of felt when he thought of us or spoke about us to others. My daughter just graduated high school and my son is about to begin his high school career—they aren’t kids anymore, but are taking the shape of soon to be, great adults. There isn’t anything you wouldn’t do for them, and my dad was no different, he proved it many times over. I’m grateful for the time I got to spend with him both throughout my youth and before he passed. He battled Parkinson’s disease for a long 20 years; it was hard for him and difficult to watch from the outside. I’m thankful he’s in a place now where the grass is greener.

Thank you so much for reading, this was an important chance to share and express meaningful life events. Going forward, I am going to revive this blog by continuing the pursuit of playing great courses, networking with fellow golf course superintendents, and sharing stories of gratitude for all of life’s beauty in nature, family and friends.

The Puttshack, Baby