Where did most of the crew working under you come from? Where were you usually seeing new help get hired from?
When I first became the Golf Course Superintendent at The Elkridge Club, there were many full and part time workers that had been there working for many years. Even my soon-to-be Assistant Superintendent was running the crew and he came from the Pro Shop thinking he would be hired as the Superintendent. “Clean House” and start over was in my mind like most Superintendents would think when taking a job at that time, but my golf committee chairman had other thoughts.
Mr. Brooks turned out to be a great help and supporter – we talked every day about the direction we were taking, why, costs, and politics at the club. One thing he believed in was helping the community, and that’s where most of the employees came from. He also wanted to help the employees that helped the club and had a love for it, just like these employees and my new Assistant.
Hampden is a small town south of the club, known for “Miracle on 34th Street” – with many great shops, restaurants, and of course The HON Fest!
My wife and I actually participated on the main stage for three years of the HON Fest. My crew mostly came from Hampden for many years. These salt-of-the-earth folks were descendants from families that worked hard in the local textile industry creating things like sails for the tall ships of the time. Click Here
It was these hard working, hard playing men who built the foundation for the beautiful grounds you see at The Elkridge Club today. Bob, Leon, Jimmy, Denny, Adam, and Little Chris became the steady hard-working force behind our mission, with Bruce helping to guide them. We all got along like a family, with good and bad times of course, but we knew that in the end we all helped each other and the club. I am closing with what you see on my LinkedIn page about these folks. Without them neither me nor the club would be where it is today.
“Took an 18-hole, neglected Seth Raynor Hidden Gem and restored it to its glory! Started with a $300,000 budget and a 5-man crew in 1986, to final restorations and a budget of $1.5million with a crew of 24.
From ALL manual irrigation – to being the first state of the art computerized control of over 1500 sprinkler heads in the Mid-Atlantic area in the late 1990’s. Marketed and convinced membership that they had a hidden gem, and it was worth whatever it took to restore the classic. It took 18 years, but what I envisioned in 1986 became a reality!
Many may take credit, but it was the hard-working men of the grounds crew that can take pride in what people see at 6100 North Charles Street and that is a legacy for them all!!!”
-Mark S. Merrick, CGCS Retired
Introducing ‘Merrick Mondays’, a segment where we hear from Mark Merrick, our resident brand Ambassador, Chief ‘Cool” Officer, and general source of wisdom and secrets of the universe, to spotlight a dose of interview-style content, weekly.