FEATURES
A Round with ...
Drew Matera

by Wayne Mills

Cannon Ridge Golf Course, Fredericksburg, Va.

Opened in 2003, Cannon Ridge was designed by former PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman and golf course architect Bobby Weed. It is a 7,000-yard, semiprivate course routed over 200 acres of rolling countryside, much of which was involved in various Civil War proceedings, as various plaques scattered throughout the course attest.

How did you get started in golf course maintenance?
Like most superintendents, I have always had a deep love for the game and wanted to be able to play more. In the spring of 1997, a new course was being built down the street from my house (Worthington Manor Golf Club), and I thought, at the time, this would allow me to play more golf while I was going to school and make a few extra dollars in the meantime. I was wrong. Since the course had just been seeded, there was a lot of work to do and little time for golf.

When did you decide to make a career out of being a course superintendent?
After my first season working on the grounds crew.

Where did you get your education in course management?
Rutgers University.

Who were your mentors, and what did you learn from them?
Scott Reeside and Bart Miller were the first superintendents that I worked for as an assistant, and both taught me so many things about decision making, professionalism and interpersonal skills, as well as the standard agronomic stuff that we all learn along the way.

Deane Beman and Gary Schaal, my current employers, have furthered my experience and provided me with the challenge and opportunity to grow in my career, as well as the latitude to implement new strategies and methods with respect to both turf and personnel management, in addition to giving me insights from decades of experience in the golf business.

What are your biggest challenges in course management these days?
Budgeting and meeting high standards in spite of the present economic climate.

Has technology changed your maintenance practices?
Yes, in all areas, with the most significant for me being in the new technologies related to fertilizer, wetting agents and pesticides. Longer-lasting fertilizer and increased pesticide efficacy has led to a significant reduction in labor and expenses, as well as increased turf quality.

Are there any special challenges to maintaining a golf course that is built on your terrain?
Maintaining adequate moisture is always a challenge, as well as shade and microclimates.

What item could you not live without in maintaining your golf course?
Either the sprayer or pump station; it’s a toss-up.

What types of grasses do you have at your course?
We have L-93 creeping bent on the greens, tees and fairways and a tall fescue/Kentucky bluegrass blend in the roughs.

Being in a transition zone, what challenges do you have maintaining bentgrass?
Excessive summer heat and humidity. The usual suspects: brown patch, Pythium, summer bentgrass decline complex.

What adjustments do you make to the course for the winter?
We close down all but one tee box per hole to consolidate the damage to an area that will be easier to repair in the spring, and we remain cart path-only January through February.

What are you on the lookout for in the spring for potential problems?
Not much, slow green-up, soil temps slow to rise, maybe a little Poa annua. With all of the snow cover this winter, we might see a little pink snow mold.

Have you been asked by the management to reduce your budgets in the past couple years?
Yes. Budgets have been reduced throughout, with the most drastic cuts being made in labor. Other areas include capital expenditures: bunker maintenance, equipment replacement, and drainage and irrigation.

What mowing equipment do you use?
We have Toro 3150 units, Toro Flex 21 greens mowers, Toro 1000 models for tees and collars, Toro 5410 mowers on fairways, and a Toro 4500 rough unit.

Do you use plant growth regulators?
Yes, Primo and Cutlass. We don’t have much Poa, so I rarely use anything but Primo, and I feel comfortable with the product as far as manipulating the rates and what response I will get from the plant.

What activities do you enjoy off the course?
Mountain biking, travel and concerts.