Matt WardGreensboro, GA
BACKGROUNDER —
Born and raised in Warner Robins, Georgia. I earned an Associates degree in Environmental Horticulture with a major in Golf Turf Management from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) and have worked for Reynolds Lake Oconee for almost 20 years. I am married with two kids and my hobbies are golf and hunting.
THE SINGLETON STORY —
I grew up playing sports–baseball, football, and basketball –and never had any exposure to golf until college. I played college baseball for a while and was introduced to golf by a pitcher on our team. It was love at first sight!
Not long after that, while still in college, I got a job as a crew member on the maintenance staff at a local golf course in my hometown and soon developed a passion for not only the game of golf but the agronomics of the business. During college, I worked on multiple courses and eventually ran the golf practice facility at ABAC while still in school. Sports has always been a big part of who I am and with my competitive nature, this profession has allowed me to work in a sport I love while challenging me at the same time.
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You wake up in the morning — what’s the driving passion?
Fear of failure.
What’s the best thing golfers can do to assist the daily effort of course superintendents?
Leave the course better than they found it.
The most misunderstood aspect of what superintendents do is what?
The level of commitment, work ethic, dedication it takes to do our job at the highest levels — and the need for a little assistance from Mother Nature.
When does grooming of a course get to an excessive level?
When a golf course runs out of job tasks to complete.
How many courses in your experience still use too much water on a daily basis?
Tough to say — I believe that industry wide course superintendents are conscious of excessive water usage and have shown to be good stewards of the environment.
Green speeds are a common topic — golfers routinely clamor for faster surfaces and often don’t realize that amount of effort needed to do that. How do you handle such situations at Reynold Lake Oconee?
We try and provide consistent and smooth surfaces on a daily basis with speeds that all golfers can manage.
If you could change one thing in golf unilaterally — what would it be and why?
Pace of play.
What kind of feedback process is helpful and what kind isn’t?
I like feedback from people who do a good job of balancing both the positives and negatives. In my position I am more concerned about the negative feedback and how we can get better every day. Usually if you don’t hear anything, it means conditions are pretty good.
When you play golf at a different course other than your own — what’s the things you notice first?
Mostly the conditioning and level of detail that is used. Playability is high on my list.
Best advice you ever received – what was it and who from?
If you are going to do something, do it right and give 100% (from my father).
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