Myopia Hunt Club South Hamilton, MA Asstistant Superintendent: May 2001 - December 2002 2nd Asstistant Superintendent: May 2000 - April 2001 Student Intern: Summer 1999   Website: N/A Club Profile: Myopia Hunt Club (GolfClubAtlas)

Ran Morrissett from Golf Club Atlas stated, "The golf course at the Myopia Hunt Club in South Hamilton has as much character per hole as any course in the United States." Myopia's 18-hole inland links layout winds through roughly 100 acres of sandy, undulated terrain. The club itself was originally founded in 1775 primarily as a fox hunt club, but in 1894 Herbert Corey Leeds was hired to design the golf course. Myopia is one of the first 100 clubs in America and is currently ranked #33 in Golfweek's Top Classical Courses. Around the turn of the 20th century, the club hosted 4 U.S. Opens, 3 of which posted the highest winning scores in the history of the Open. Myopia holds regular polo matches on the first polo fields built in the U.S., and it also offers equestrian riding, mock-up fox hunts, tennis, paddle ball, and squash.

My role at Myopia Hunt Club evolved from Student Intern in 1999, to Second Assistant in 2000, to Co-Assistant in 2001. This personal progression at the same club allowed me to focus much of my energy on my agronomy and management skill sets, as I did not have the learning curve of a new golf course, staff, and maintenance programs. David Heroian, CGCS delegated a lot of responsibility and worked with us on planning and prioritizing. However, with a smaller budget and fewer crew members than many clubs of Myopia's caliber, I performed a significant amount of hands-on duties including hand watering, syringing, course setup, chemical applications, cultural practices, irrigation repair, mowing, and other day-to-day practices as needed.


Golf Course Superintendent
David Herioan, CGCS

• Certified Golf Course Superintendent
• 33 total years experience; 26 as a Superintendent
  • Myopia Hunt Club; South Hamilton, MA - Superintendent 21 years
  • Rockland Country Club; Sparkill, NY - Superintendent 2 years
  • Millbrook Country Club; Greenwich, CT - Superintendent 2 years
• BS in Turfgrass Management - University of Massachusetts

Golf Course Accomplishments and Highlights

• Maintenance practices heavily focused on achieving firm and fast conditioning to recapture the bump and run golf game as the architecture intended
• Removed numerous out of place trees to enhance the golf course’s original links characteristics and to provide air movement to secluded turf areas
• Squared off all tees and used old club photos to extend greens, approaches, and fairways to their original sizes. Many fairways and approaches were extended out to original collection bunkers, while greens were enlarged, which provided more pin placements.
• Reestablished turf from significant winter damage in a 3 month time span to prepare for national attention during the 2001 U.S. Senior Open at nearby Salem Country Club
• Greatly reduced over watering and total water usage through daily hand watering and syringing
• Added "chocolate drop" mounds (mimicking existing mounding) to provide hazards in place of removed trees
• Reshaped and grassed many small, uneven tees
• Installed new Toro LTC satellite boxes
• Added drainage and basins to rough areas, tee complexes, and bunkers
• Performed annual tall rough burning to promote native grasses and reduce weed infestation
• Golf course moved up 60 spots in Golfweek's Top 100 Classical Courses between 1999 and 2003

Staff Organization

• Greens Chairman > Superintendent > Co-Assistants & Shop Manager > Grounds Staff, Interns
• Full Time = 6, In-Season = 18

Grass Species

• Greens (Push Up)- 50% Bentgrass (Velvet, Pennlinks, Colonial, German, Washington); 50% Poa
• Fairways (Sandy Loam) - 50-60% Older Bentgrass; 40-50% Poa
• Tees (Sandy Loam) - 50-60% Older Bentgrass; 40-50% Poa
• Primary Rough (Sandy Loam) - Kentucky Bluegrass/Ryegrass/Fine Fescue Mix
• Tall Rough (Sandy) - Hard, Sheep, and Chewing Fescues; Little Bluestem
• Range Tees - Bentgrass blend

Irrigation System

• Toro Site Pro Central, Toro Heads, Flowtronics Pump Station

Budget

• Available upon request

Membership & Rounds

• 300 Golfing Members; 10,000 Rounds

Course Information

• 18 hole
• Inland links
• Yardage - 6440
• Par - 72
• Rating - 69.4
• Slope - 120

Golf Course Area

• Property - 110 Acres (Excluding polo fields and equestrian riding areas)
• Greens - 2.5 Acres; Fairways - 18 Acres; Tees - 2 Acres; Primary Rough - approx. 30 Acres
• Practice Facility - 250yd driving range, with 5 small tees, mats, and chipping area with bunker.