TOM IRWIN - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Branding and Marketing Manager
- Vice President and Director of Branding and Marketing
"From the time I was 14 and all throughout high school, I worked every summer in the warehouse," Ben recalled. He became more fully immersed in the world of golf when, as a senior in high school, he interned at Norfolk Golf Club, a nine-hole private course in Westwood, Massachusetts.
"I never played golf, but I loved working on the course and providing a place where people can get together outdoors and have fun," he said. "That was my introduction to the business."
While Ben enjoyed the work, he wasn't focused on a turf management-related career and his educational path eventually led him to the University of Vermont where he majored in Community Entrepreneurship. It's a program that instills the foundations of successful enterprise development in the context of social responsibility.
Job Titles:
- Client Representative in Athletic Turf and Grounds, Eastern MA, RI, NH, ME
Brian Luccini has had a lifelong connection to green spaces. That's not surprising. He literally grew up at Franklin Country Club where his father Gary was the head superintendent for three decades. In the summer, he and his family lived in a cabin on a pond in Myles Standish State Forest, the largest publicly-owned recreation area in southeastern Massachusetts.
Those early experiences made a lasting impression on Brian. He will never forget playing on the golf course or experiencing the sounds of nature in the forest.
Job Titles:
- Client Representative in Athletic Turf and Grounds, CT, Western MA, VT
It's perhaps inevitable that someone who grew up in the four-season sports paradise that is Stowe, Vermont would have a lifelong appreciation for the outdoors. That's certainly true for Chris Kneale. His childhood was spent largely in nature - whether he was skiing, camping, or playing hockey, baseball, or soccer. Working outdoors was not far behind.
"I got my passion for parks, recreation, and open spaces while working for the Stowe Parks & Recreation Department all throughout high school every summer," said Chris. He enjoyed the work so much that he took his high school guidance counselor's recommendation to enroll in the University of Massachusetts Stockbridge School of Agriculture. He earned his degree in Turfgrass Management in 2003.
Upon graduation, Chris landed a great first job at Wellesley College, the elite women's institution ranked #3 among U.S. liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report. Joining as Athletic Turf Manager, Chris reported to John Olmsted, the long-time Facilities Manager at Wellesley, who became a valued mentor.
"I was pretty green when I started," Chris admitted. "It was a really high-end facility and it was all hands-on. It exposed me to a lot."
It was while Chris was at Wellesley that he first came into contact with Tom Irwin in the person of Chris Petersen.
Chris helped me better understand the industry from the product solutions side - creating plans and doing soil testing, a lot of the things I still had yet to learn.
In 2007, Chris left Wellesley College for Bentley University to become its Grounds and Transportation Manager. Bentley supports a sizeable athletic program for men and women that includes football, baseball, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, softball, and track and field, as well as 100 intramural sports teams. There were two synthetic and three grass athletic fields to maintain along with 163 acres of campus grounds.
In that role, Chris further developed his skills managing large teams of employees as well as significant capital projects. Tom Irwin's Brian Luccini was a valued resource in helping Chris hone his abilities.
Of all the many lessons Chris Petersen learned from his father Jack, former President of Tom Irwin, one stood out - and has stood the test of time.
"Early on, I learned from him the value of relationships," said Chris. "I learned that helping people do good things is a life's work. And every day I try to do that."
That daily effort has led Chris to work at Tom Irwin - and across the turf industry - to accord turf professionals the status, respect, and resources they deserve for the important role they play in society.
Job Titles:
- Golf Course Superintendent, Hillview Golf Course, North Reading
When Colin Smethurst said goodbye to New England in the fall of 2012, he was not planning on returning. He had spent five years as assistant superintendent at Bellevue Golf Club in Melrose, Massachusetts and was looking for a new challenge. He found it at the Colonial Country Club 1,500 miles away in sunny Fort Myers, Florida.
Colin quickly adjusted to his new environment - learning to care for Bermuda grass and operate on a different seasonal schedule. As Colonial's assistant superintendent, he was a key player in maintaining the 18-hole championship golf course. In time he moved on, getting his first head superintendent job at Ballen Isles Country Club, a Palm Beach Gardens gated community that boasts three championship 18-hole golf courses.
Life was good and Florida became home to Colin, his wife Janine, and eventually, their baby boy, Dominic. But things changed after five years when Janine was offered an attractive new job in Massachusetts. The Smethursts packed up and moved back in 2017.
While it was great to be closer to family again, Colin had to re-establish his career in New England. He soon connected with Steve Murphy of Golf Facilities Management, Inc. who was in need of assistance at Hillview Golf Course, a municipal 18-hole course his company managed that was owned by the town of North Reading. Colin was offered the superintendent position.
Working at Hillview was a big change for Colin after managing 36 holes at a private gated community. Maximizing his budget became more critical.
"We've been trying to improve things every day working within the parameters I have," Colin noted.
Fortunately, Greg Cormier, his Tom Irwin rep, showed up to help.
Colin knew Tom Irwin from his time at Bellevue when his boss Brian Skinner worked with Tom Irwin's Paul Skafas.
"I always appreciated that Brian and Paul included me, as the assistant superintendent, in all key meetings and decision-making," said Colin.
Colin and Greg Cormier quickly began collaborating, performing soil tests and tackling a stubborn annual bluegrass weevil problem.
"Greg and I just clicked from the get-go," said Colin. "He's always available to talk. He's got great ideas. With his background as a former superintendent, he's a great resource for me. He often suggests things I hadn't thought of."
Colin also found the Tom Irwin Agronomic Planner to be a big help in maximizing his budget dollars.
"Greg and I developed our plan over the winter," noted Colin. "I use it every day. It helps me to stick within my budget. It's a great tool, not just for planning, but also for getting creative to help make the course the best it can be."
Colin is also looking forward to attending the Tom Irwin Agronomic Academy in November and the Leadership and Professional Development Program next January. In the meantime, he's got his hands full at Hillview.
"There's always something to do - tree removal, bunker renovation, low pH on the fairways," said Colin. "At the end of the day, my job is all about delivering a great experience to the customer and making them want to come back." "People have told me that everyone around town is very happy with the place," noted Colin. "They're very pleased with the course improvements we've made over the last two years. The town's Board of Commissioners told me I'm doing a great job. It's a rewarding experience to be recognized for the work you do.
Job Titles:
- Director of Grounds, the Country Club, Chestnut Hill
Job Titles:
- Client Representative in Greater Boston
Greg Cormier remembers the day Tom Irwin's Chris Petersen first called on him at Concord's Nashawtuc Country Club in 2009. Greg had joined the club as head superintendent that February and was building his team when he was first introduced to Tom Irwin.
"Chris reached out to me and asked if we could get together for an introduction. It was an eye opener for me," recalled Greg. "When we met, he didn't have any brochures, we didn't even talk about product. What we did talk about was me and my goals, and my challenges so far in my new job. He just seemed like a nice guy who was truly interested in me and my success."
Job Titles:
- Client Representative in Southeastern MA, Cape Cod, RI
It all began when Greg Misodoulakis first set foot on the Whip-Poor-Will Golf Club in Hudson, New Hampshire at the age of fourteen.
"I didn't know a golf ball from a ping pong ball," he admitted, "but all the kids in the neighborhood played, so I gave it a shot." He was immediately hooked. But it wasn't just the game that attracted him - it was the whole environment. He wanted to be a part of it.
"I began working as a cart boy, then in the pro shop, then I gravitated to the grounds crew," he recalled. "I developed a love for the care of the golf course."
That love was strong enough to lead Greg to the UMass Winter School for Turf Managers in pursuit of a career. After graduation, he was back in New Hampshire, working first at the 36-hole Green Meadow Golf Club before returning to Whip-Poor-Will as head superintendent.
It was in 1985 while Greg was at Whip-Poor-Will that he first encountered Tom Irwin when then-company president Jack Petersen came to call along with a rookie client representative named Paul Skafas.
"Paul and I immediately hit it off," said Greg. "He helped me tremendously in my new role." That relationship continued for almost 20 years, as Greg's career advanced to head superintendent positions at two Boston-area courses - Bellevue Golf Club in Melrose and Bear Hill Golf Club in Stoneham. A self-described "devoted Tom Irwin client," Greg grew to rely on the Tom Irwin team to help him succeed.
"I had to navigate some difficult situations and Paul really got me through them by helping me to be a better communicator," he said.
Today, Greg performs the same role for his Tom Irwin clients. It was in 1999 that Paul approached Greg to join the company as a client representative - an offer he did not immediately accept. He wasn't ready to switch careers.
"I told them I was flattered, but I loved my property and I was doing the job I was born to do," he recalled. "Then Jack Petersen said something that changed my mind. He said, ‘what you're doing now, you'll still be doing. Only with us, you'll be doing it on 50 courses. You'll be helping guys just like you solve problems and be successful.' That convinced me."
Greg quickly learned that the first order of business was not to develop product knowledge (that would come over time), but to develop his understanding of client needs, which is essential to building trust.
Job Titles:
- Business Operations Manager
Greg Tower was only looking for a summer job when a friend tipped him off to an opportunity on the greens crew at Sterling National Country Club. He got the position - and a lot more than he bargained for.
"I started working there in 1993 and from that point forward, my life changed," Greg recalled. "I figured out that I loved working outdoors, loved the golf course, and loved the type of work that it brought."
Today, he brings that same love to his role as Tom Irwin's Business Operations Manager.
At that time he took the Sterling job, Greg was already enrolled at Salem State University working on a communications degree and planning a career in advertising. After graduating, he pulled up stakes and spent two years in Phoenix to try something new. But New England - and the golf course - kept calling him back.
"In 1996, I returned to Massachusetts, went back to Sterling National, and asked if they had a spot for me," said Greg. "They said ‘Absolutely' and hired me back as second assistant." Greg spent the next 14 years at Sterling, 10 of them as head superintendent.
Greg began working with Tom Irwin's Rob Larson at Sterling and continued the relationship with Paul Skafas when he moved to Ipswich Country Club as head superintendent in 2010. By the time Greg settled in for a five-year stint at Renaissance Country Club in Haverhill in 2012, he was a veteran Tom Irwin client.
In 2017, when Paul and Chris Petersen approached Greg about the Business Operations Manager position, he was ready to try something new.
"It was a complete career switch," he said. "But I knew it was such a family-oriented, supportive culture that I felt I could make the transition."
Job Titles:
- Client Representative in NH and VT
Does it take a great superintendent to make a great Tom Irwin client representative? In the case of Harris Schnare, it definitely helps - as does a five-year stretch as Tom Irwin's Client Relations Manager.
Harris spent nearly 20 years in the golf business, starting as a 13-year-old working at Stow Acres, a public club boasting two 18-hole championship golf courses.
Job Titles:
- Head of the Professional Services Division of the Institute of Groundsmanship
- Lead Project Advisor
After his first trip to Africa, Ian Lacy knew that the value of recreational green spaces is universal to all communities around the globe.
As head of Great Britain's Institute of Groundsmanship's Professional Services organization, he'd been sent to Botswana on behalf of FIFA, the International Federation of Soccer, to discuss with groundskeepers in Africa maintainence of the soccer fields FIFA had built in preparation for the 2010 World Cup South Africa qualifying competitions.
Job Titles:
- Design and Construction
- Design and Construction Advisor
Jack Schmidgall is living proof that, with proper guidance, recreational green spaces can be built and maintained sustainably, providing any community with generations of enjoyment.
"People used to come and play on my fields and say, ‘Why can't we have fields like this in our town?" says Schmidgall.
For decades, Schmidgall has been the go-to guy for New England facilities managers and groundskeepers seeking advice and guidance.
Schmidgall has been equally committed to knowledge-sharing among New England turf and tree professionals. In 1990, he helped found the New England Sports Turf Managers Association (NESTMA), which he served for four years as president. He has also led the Massachusetts Tree Warden and Forester's Association, and served as Athletic Field Representative for the University of Massachusetts Turf Advisory Board.
Job Titles:
- Golf Course Superintendent, Springfield Country Club, West Springfield
Jedd Newsome's golf roots run deep. He grew up across the street from the Orchards Golf Club in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and began caddying there at age 11.
"I grew up playing golf there," he recalled. "I pretty much lived there when I was a kid."
Today, he's one of the most admired golf course superintendents in western Massachusetts at Springfield Country Club, the nearly century-old institution in West Springfield.
Jedd has spent his entire career west of the Connecticut River Valley, beginning at The Ranch Golf Club in Southwick, Massachusetts. He worked there full-time while attending the two-year Turf Management program at the Stockbridge School. After two years on the job, he was named assistant superintendent in 2004.
Jedd got his first head superintendent job a year later at Tekoa Country Club in Westfield. It was a valuable experience.
"Over a two-year period, we renovated the whole place," Jedd noted. "It was a ton of work that cost millions of dollars."
When Jedd's old boss at the Ranch moved on to another position in Connecticut, he returned to the Ranch as head superintendent until getting the call from Springfield Country Club in 2010.
It was while Jedd was at the Ranch that he first met Rob Larson of Tom Irwin.
"We hit it off pretty well," he recalled. "I liked the way he presented himself and his level of knowledge." Jedd was working with another supplier at the time, but he was receptive to Rob's ideas about balancing soils.
"As the years progressed, Rob and I started working more and more together," said Jedd. "And today, I work exclusively with Rob. There's a lot of trust there between Rob and me."
Rob earned that trust when Jedd took over at Springfield.
"When I first got here, the course was not thriving," he noted. "There were a lot of issues with greens, a lot of turf being lost every year. The soils were very out of balance and were not promoting healthy turf and root growth. With Rob's help, we worked to balance all the soils.
Job Titles:
- Client Representative in Central and Southern CT, Westchester County
"My first job was in the pro shop at the Thomson Country Club in North Reading, Massachusetts when I was 13 or 14 years old," said Jeff. "When I saw the guys on the golf course maintenance side were making more money and working outside, I decided to move over there. I was 15. It was 1987."
As it turns out, Paul Skafas of Tom Irwin was already doing business with Thomson Country Club and he and Jeff became friendly as Jeff worked his way up in the business. Each summer while in school, Jeff returned to the grounds crew where his relationships with people and the outdoors grew.
When it came time to go to college, Jeff opted to pursue a business degree at Salem State University before he realized that his true ambition was to become a golf course superintendent. So he switched colleges and graduated in 1995 with a degree in Plant and Soil Science from Essex Agricultural Institute.
Before long, he was a 24-year-old head superintendent at Furnace Brook Golf Club in Quincy, Massachusetts.
"It was an incredibly valuable experience," he said. "The last four years I was there they made me general manager of the club, in addition to being superintendent. The owners refinanced the property, which gave me the chance to rebuild the entire club - the golf course, clubhouse, parking area, kitchen, bar, everything."
While he enjoyed his work, Jeff had a secret ambition in the back of his mind.
Job Titles:
- Golf Course Superintendent, Myopia Hunt Club, South Hamilton
- Superintendent Myopia Hunt Club, South Hamilton
A lifelong golfer, Kevin Bracken said, "I never really thought about working on a golf course until after I got out of college." Instead, armed with a Bachelors degree in Sports Management from Southern New Hampshire University, the Marlborough, Massachusetts native began his career in sports memorabilia and sports marketing, selling authenticated collectibles and organizing autograph shows.
When the company he worked for went out of business, a friend of Kevin's hired him as a grounds crew member at Stow Acres Country Club as a "fill-in job" while he looked for something more permanent. But before long, Kevin was hooked. "After a year on the grounds crew, I got promoted to Assistant Superintendent," he said.
For as long as Kevin Dufour can remember, he has shared a profound connection with the earth and its environment. His lifelong passion for conservation and environmental protection began at the age of 8 with his eager anticipation of Ranger Rick Magazine and his door-to-door activism for "Save the Whales" and "Save the Rain Forest" campaigns.
Dufour remains an avid environmentalist, outdoorsman and adventurer - a passion that fuels his belief that recreational green spaces can exist in harmony with our environment and improve life in our communities.
The challenge, notes Dufour, is that few if any individuals possess the complete range of knowledge necessary to build an environmentally sustainable sports or recreational facility. To make this point, he shares an anecdote.
I was talking to a friend who's an architect. She was building a field at a middle school and I asked her what standards she used to determine how to build that particular field. She replied, ‘We followed DOT standards - the Department of Transportation.
Job Titles:
- Golf Course Superintendent Aspetuck Valley Country Club, Weston, CT
Job Titles:
- Golf Course Superintendent, Aspetuck Valley Country Club, Weston, CT
There's something about tournament golf that hooked Lucas Lownes from the moment he experienced his first LPGA tournament as a teenaged grounds crew member at Berkleigh Country Club in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. The club was hosting the Betsy King Classic.
Job Titles:
- Client Representative in Maine and New Hampshire
"When I got there, I had no job, no place to live," Mike recalled. He did have a business degree from Framingham State University and several years of work experience, but nothing had seemed to click with him. "I was just looking for a way to pay the bills, so I answered an ad in the paper for golf course maintenance."
Mike was no stranger to golf courses, having earlier worked on the maintenance crew of Maplegate Country Club in Franklin, Massachusetts. The North Carolina job turned out to be at Forest Oaks Country Club in Greensboro, a high-end course that was gearing up to host a PGA tournament in just two months.
"It was intense," he said. "We worked crazy hours getting the place ready. Along the way, I was learning how the maintenance side of things worked, and I kind of fell in love with it."
Job Titles:
- Manager
- Golf Course Superintendent, Woodhaven Country Club Bethany, CT
Mike Luciano is a self-made turf manager who's recently become ubiquitous at golf courses throughout Connecticut's New Haven County. At last count, Mike is acting as superintendent, spray supervisor, or consultant at four area golf courses.
It wasn't Mike's plan to become the on-call turf doctor in his area. In fact, until recently, the 47-year-old had expected to spend his entire career at Woodhaven Country Club in Bethany - a family-owned, nine-hole course he'd worked at since the age of 15. But when Woodhaven's owners put the course up for sale three years ago, Mike had to begin considering all his options.
Mike began putting his name out there - and the offers came flooding in.
First up was Highland Golf Club, a 120-year-old private club in need of some help and direction. They asked Mike to consult on ways to improve the golf course. With the expertise gained from managing Woodhaven on a tight budget, Mike began producing results. Before long, membership at Highland began to rise again. Word got around and with the help of Jeff Houde from Tom Irwin, an inquiry came from Sleeping Giant Golf Course, a nine-hole public course in Hamden. Mike took over spray operations as eyes-on-the-property superintendent. The number rose to four when Mike began doing work for Laurel View Country Club, an 18-hole course also in Hamden.
Mike's current situation is a far cry from where he - a self-described "small-town guy" - began.
"The first time I stepped foot on a golf course, I knew right then and there that's what I wanted to do," said Mike. "It was love at first sight."
That course was Woodhaven, and the guy who began by cleaning carts became superintendent by the time he was 25 years old. It was a big step for someone who was completely self-taught as a turf manager. He has been working there ever since.
Fortunately, it was around that time that Mike met Tom Irwin's Jeff Houde.
"Everybody needs somebody to rely on and trust in the turf industry," said Mike, "For me, that one person is Jeff Houde." Mike and Jeff became a formidable team, spending those early years balancing the soil on Woodhaven's troubled greens and establishing a solid base to build upon.
"I learned through trial by fire," said Mike. "In hindsight, I wouldn't do it any other way because I learned so much from the ground up." For a self-taught turf manager like Mike, continuing education is key.
Well into his fourth decade at Tom Irwin, Paul Skafas recognizes what has kept him so committed to the company's work for so many years. It's all about the client.
"Golf course superintendents live unique lives," he said. "As an observer, I've always been drawn to the romantic nature of the position. They're up before dawn, their dogs at their side, totally in tune with the natural world, the climate, and the environment, watching the sun come up, the irrigation heads turn, the team venturing out to prepare the facility for the day's play. There's something about it - the independence, the self-reliance, the beauty of nature that attracts so many good people to the profession. It has been a great honor to serve such people."
As idyllic as that scene may be, Paul is also keenly aware of the challenges turf managers face and the many hats they must wear.
Job Titles:
- Sales Manager, Client Representative in Central and Western MA, Northeastern CT
Rob Larson's life in turf began at the young age of 14 - and he's been at it ever since.
"My uncle had a maintenance contract on Green Hill Golf Course, a public golf course in Worcester," said the Auburn, Massachusetts native. "He asked me what I was doing that summer and before I knew it, I was working on the maintenance crew. I've worked in some facet of the golf business ever since."
When asked to explain why he embraced turf work so quickly and totally, Rob had a ready answer.
"I loved it all - the outdoors, the camaraderie of the crew, the challenge of producing a quality field that people can play on every day in different conditions," he said.
So when Rob's uncle, who had attended the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, approached Rob before his senior year of high school, he was ready.
"He asked me if I was interested in doing this for a living. I said, ‘Absolutely,'" recalled Rob. "I applied to the Stockbridge School, got accepted, and got my degree in Turf Management in 1987."
Soon after the graduation, Rob got his first superintendent job when the Green Hill superintendent left. At only 20 years old, Rob Larson found himself in charge of an 18-hole municipal golf course.
Job Titles:
- Golf Course Superintendent, Vesper Country Club, Tyngsboro
- Golf Course Superintendent, Vesper Country Club, Tyngsboro, M
Ever since then, Vesper has been synonymous with world-class golf in the Merrimack Valley. For the past two years, its head superintendent has been Ryan Emerich.
For Ryan, taking the position at Vesper required more than adjusting to a new employer. It also meant getting acclimated to a whole new region. Until joining Vesper in 2017, Ryan had spent his entire life in eastern Pennsylvania.
"I was born in Allentown, raised in Lancaster, and went to college at Penn State University," he recalled. He earned his B.S. in Turf and Turfgrass Management in 2008.
Enrolling at Penn State was the inevitable choice for Ryan, who realized his career path at an early age.
"I started in the business when I was 14 and haven't left since," he noted.
While in college, he interned at Bent Creek Country Club in Lititz, Pennsylvania, and shortly after graduation, took a position as assistant golf course superintendent at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem. With a total of 60 holes, Saucon Valley is one of the nation's highest-ranked golf venues and the host of numerous tournaments, including the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Senior Open, and the U.S. Women's Open. It became Ryan's professional home for the next eight years, the last four of which he spent as superintendent of the club's Grace Course, ranked among the "Top 100 Courses in the U.S." multiple times by Golf Magazine.
By 2016, Ryan Emerich was "looking for a change and an opportunity to take the next step," in his words. He found that opportunity when he was hired at Vesper. It was a fresh start in more ways than one.
Job Titles:
- Technical Advisor
- Connecticut National Golf Course As an Assistant Superintendent
- Technical Project Advisor
Scott quickly joined Connecticut National Golf Course as an assistant superintendent as the highly-regarded 18-hole public course was undergoing a major construction project. In addition to gaining construction experience, Scott learned how to coax the best playing conditions out of a high-volume golf course during his two years there.
Quality turf has always been at the center of Scott Vose's professional life. As a golf course assistant superintendent, he was judged by the playing experience he delivered to his demanding clientele on a daily basis. As the Turfgrass Technician at the University of Connecticut Plant Science Research Farm, he supported research that promoted sustainable recreational areas and agricultural lands.
For Scott, the motivation has always been clear.
Soon, Brian found himself working with municipalities, prep schools, universities, professional sports teams and sports turf managers throughout New England to help them build, sustain, and share the kind of lush green spaces that enriched his childhood. Brian has since become an expert at helping clients understand how to work with Tom Irwin to make their athletic fields, parks and green spaces safer, healthier, and more sustainable.
Working at Tom Irwin has given me the opportunity and freedom to be innovative and forward-thinking. On top of that, I always wanted to be part of a company with business and personal ethics that aligned with my own. I found that here at Tom Irwin.