Guest speaker: Mr. Curtis Tyrrell.

Mr. Curtis Tyrrell, CGCS, made a guest appearance at the PSU turf club on the 26th of January. He talked about:

• His time at Penn State.
• His career after graduating.
• His current job as Director of Golf Course Operations at Medinah Country Club and how they are preparing for the 2012 Ryder Cup.
• Advice to students.

Penn State

Curtis Tyrrell is a graduate of the 2-year program in 1996. His former superintendent was also a graduate of Penn State and he advised him to complete the program. His trip to Penn State brought back a lot of memories about his time here. “There is a special feel about this place” he said.

After graduation.

Mr. Tyrrell´s first job after graduating was as a spray tech at PGA West in Palm Springs, CA.

His next step was Desert Mountain in Arizona, where he was the Assistant Superintendent for three years. During those three years he only had one weekend off, but it was only after leaving that he realized how much of a learning experience it had been. “If you want to learn about irrigation, go to the dessert and try and grow grass!”

After his three years at Desert Mountain he moved to Las Vegas to be the superintendent at Anthem Golf Club. Six month after starting, Troon Golf Management was brought in to oversee the management of the golf club. Mr. Tyrrell was apprehensive at first, but soon found it positive and learned a lot from Troon Golf Management about the business side of the golf industry.

An opportunity to move back east presented itself in Connecticut, where the Lake of Isles Golf Course was being built. The decision to take the job had to be made quickly, over night in fact.

Rees Jones was the architect in charge of the design of Lake of Isles. Rees Jones is also involved in bringing Medinah Country Club closer to the original design. The chance to work at a facility that is hosting the Ryder Cup in 2012, was a dream from the university days come true.

The process of getting a job like Director of Golf Course Operations involved 2 phone interviews and a written essay about philosophy on irrigation, before getting to the actual job interview.

Preparing for Ryder Cup.

Even though Medinah has the Ryder Cup coming in 2012, Mr. Tyrrell stressed that the changes being made to the course are primarily for the benefit of the members.

The goals, from Mr. Tyrrell’s point of view, are to put on the best Ryder Cup ever. If they make it through the tournament without anyone saying anything about the turf, that will be his ultimate criteria for success.

In preparation for the tournament in 2012, the maintenance team at Medinah will do a trial tournament exactly a year in advance, in 2011. During this week they will mow at the same height, start and stop at the same time of day and move about the course as if it were the Ryder Cup.

Advice to students

During Mr. Tyrrell’s speech, there was a lot of good advice being passed on.

• Goals! You have to set goals and be specific
• Be open for learning so you can adjust your goals.
•  Don’t approach the day thinking you have everything under control. That’s when you get sloppy and something unforeseen will surprise you.
• Manage up! Anticipate what is coming next. Understand what the people above you in the system are doing.
• Use your resources. Stay in touch with fellow students and the faculty

Hearing Mr. Tyrrell speak at PSU Turf Club was a great pleasure for me. It is always good to tap in to that kind of experience and soak up every bit of advice.