Today we’d like to introduce you to Tim Huber.
Tim, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up in Mentor, Ohio just outside of Cleveland. Through a passion for gardening, I was drawn to a horticulture program in my high school. Later working in greenhouses and eventually on a golf course maintenance crew. Fortunately, I was mentored by some of the best golf course superintendents in the business that helped guide me on my path attending Penn State for turfgrass management.
In 2010, my future wife, Sarah, and I moved to the woodlands to work at the Club at Carlton Woods, I took a position as an Assistant Superintendent. Again, I was comfortable doing so knowing that I would be coming to work at a great club under an accomplished Superintendent Eric Bauer. In 2014 Eric moved on to construct Bluejack National in Magnolia, this led me to the opportunity I now have as Superintendent.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Running any golf course or country club is difficult. Since 2015, the Club at Carlton Woods has gone through a lot of major changes. As most all new golf courses are development driven, once home lots are built out the developer sells the golf course.
In the year 2015, the Howard Hughes Corporation announced that it would sell the club at Carlton Woods to the highest bidder. Just 45 days later the members at Carlton Woods raised over 25 million to purchase the club and became the new owners. This was the real beginning of the challenges, as most developers run golf courses lose money every year, losses are often offset by land sales within the development. Once the golf community is built out, the golf club is left to stand on its own and sustain itself financially with membership dues. Market competition, local economy, course conditions, and club amenities are major drivers of the success or failure of a club.
The Club at Carlton Woods is a special place, and I have seen firsthand over the last two years a club that is dedicated to its destiny as one of the best in the country. Navigating the last 2 years has been especially difficult, and experiencing weather disasters that caused so much property damage during a vulnerable time of transition was probably the worst case scenario. The tax day flood of 2016 followed shortly after by the Memorial Day flood of 2016 spurred an 8 month long 1.2 million dollar bunker renovation at the Fazio Course.
During which, we reduced bunkers, raised floors of bunkers, softened slopes of bunkers, and installed high-performance sand. That renovation would prove to be money well spent as Hurricane Harvey tested the property with flooding after 35+ inches of rainfall. Most of the golf course was under water, and the second fairway was destroyed from rushing water. This led to another project rebuilding and recontouring 2.5 acres of the fairway and rough to allow better watershed during an extreme weather event in the future.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with The Club at Carlton Woods – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am the Golf Course Superintendent, primarily, I am responsible for operations and upkeep of the golf course. Setting the golf course up for play each day, rotational grounds maintenance mowing etc., future project planning, budgeting, and communication to the membership.
The Club at Carlton Woods is the finest club in the state of Texas, (maybe I’m a little bias) but I’ve witnessed this club that has been historically great, demonstrate that its best days are ahead. Members should be extremely proud of the decisions that the club made with what has gone on around the property. The Fazio Course has come out from underneath these disasters as an updated golf course with improved features. We have come as close as possible to make the course as heavy rain/flood resistant as we can.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Our next hurdle at the Fazio Course will be gaining water independence as water will become more of an issue for many clubs in the future. We have already reduced our water consumption by almost 40 percent over the last 5 years by implementing efficiency audits and honing in our watering techniques. We also reduced high maintenance turf areas that are out of play, converting them to natural areas.
We are planning and researching ways to improve our ability to depend less on groundwater. We are talking with experts in the fields of environmental consulting, hydrology, as well as Fazio Design to incorporate a new water retention concept that would extend 18 lakes around and behind 14 green. Our goal is to eliminate the need for groundwater completely.
At the Nicklaus course, we are working with Jack Nicklaus and his design team to plan future improvements to the course. The Nicklaus course was built during the golf boom, and it’s hard to imagine but the 20th anniversary is just around the corner. There will probably not be too many design changes, but the renovation of turf areas, bunkers, and irrigation to enhance golfers experience and labor efficiency will be the main objective.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Carltonwoods.com
- Twitter: @turfguytim
Image Credit:
Tim Huber
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