Hole One
Hayfield Barn was an actual working barn at the time it was purchased for the golf course. In fact, it still housed one ornery bull who took a little bit of persuading to move out to his new home. The building was so structurally sound and in such good shape that it was decided to renovate it into a working maintenance facility, complete with offices. The transformation from a building housing livestock to a building storing golf course equipment was quite dramatic, as you can see from our Before and After pictures!
This is the room where all the work to our equipment is done and where most of it is housed. The larger equipment is kept on the second floor. Our able equipment technician, has the responsibility of seeing that all the equipment is ready to go when it is needed on the course. He is here bright and early, along with the rest of the crew, to prepare for his day.
Each day our equipment technician checks with Mark McCormick, the superintendent, to see what equipment will be needed for that day, and he makes sure it is ready to go. He must check the oil and wear and tear on all equipment before it is put into use. He also checks and sets the greens mowers each day. Our technician is on constant call should any of the equipment break down while in the field. Along with the rest of his duties, he performs preventative maintenance on all the equipment. During the winter months when things finally slow down, he is kept busy getting the equipment ready for next year by sharpening all the greens and tee mowers.
Hayfield Barn also contains a lunchroom for the Greens and Grounds Staff, shower rooms, bathrooms and offices. The large office shown here is used by the superintendent and his administrative assistant. There is also a smaller office which is utilized by the golf course assistant.
Crew
Mark H. McCormick- Golf Course Superintendent
Mark has been the Golf Course Superintendent at Huntsville Golf Club since the fall of 1999. Before taking the reins as superintendent, he was the First Assistant here at Huntsville starting in October 1992. He has the distinction of being one of the few people who have worked here at Huntsville since the course opened.
Mark graduated from Penn State University in 1992 with a four year degree in Agronomy. He has been a tremendous asset to Huntsville Golf Club in both his position as assistant and currently as golf course superintendent. Mark lives in Dallas with his wife, Janel, and daughters, Payton and Tyra. He is a member of GCSAA and Central Penn Golf Course Superintendents Association. A great outdoorsman, he loves to fish and hunt.
Casey Sheehan
Casey Sheehan is the First Assistant Superintendent. Casey is a 2005 graduate of Penn State University and was previously employed at TPC Jasna Polana.
Greens Aerification
Greens will be aerified on Monday and Tuesday.
Course Maintenance Program
The goal of the Golf Course Maintenance Program at Huntsville Golf Club is to provide tournament quality playing conditions on a daily basis. Armed with state of the art equipment and utilizing sound agronomic practices, the Greens and Grounds Staff implements a maintenance program that is designed to provide members with challenging and enjoyable playing conditions throughout the golfing season.
The permanent full time staff at Huntsville Golf Club is comprised of several people. Golf Course Superintendent Mark McCormick is joined by his assistant, Casey Sheehan. Drawing on many years of experience, the Greens and Grounds Staff work together as a team to maintain the golf course to the highest possible standards. The full time staff works from March until December, with a skeleton crew working during January and February. During our peak months, May through August, the permanent staff is joined by several seasonal employees.
During the summer months, work starts at 6:00 A.M. Morning assignments are placed on the board for each member of the crew. After a short meeting where the superintendent addresses the crew to discuss the day’s plans, everyone heads out to their assigned tasks. Tasks can range from mowing greens, tees, and fairways, to raking bunkers, fixing divots, and hand watering. Lunch time finds the crew back at the lunchroom in the barn, where they take their break and check the board for further assignments. It’s always a busy day working on the golf course, one in which the crew can find themselves working in anything from warm sunshine to a cool rain. But with a dedicated crew, such as we have at Huntsville Golf Club, the course is kept in great shape and ready for play.