My Background Information

About Me

My name is Michael Kofta and I'm from Waterloo, Iowa.  I am currently studying Horticulture Science with a turf grass emphasis and have one semester left at Hawkeye Community College located in Waterloo, Iowa.  The last couple of summers I have spent on a couple of great golf courses learning golf course management from some of the best that there are in the business.  Another summer has come and I have found myself at another great course to continue my learning from some of the best around.  This summer will surely present new challenges for myself and will continue my development in becoming an assistant superintendent.  I'm very excited for the challenges to come and all the learning experiences that will come from them.

 

My Experiences

Hand watering on the 4th hole of Bethpage Black

1st Hole-Bethpage Black

18th Hole-Bethpage Black

In May of 2010 I began my journey in the golf course management business.  After working Corbin Miller, a class mate and friend of mine, I was lucky enough to land an internship at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York.  Bethpage is famous for their challenging Black Course, which hosted U.S. Open's in 2002 and 2009.  It made headlines for being the first public golf course to host an Open.  Needless to say I was overwhelmed with excitement and nervousness not knowing what to expect.  It was really an eye opening experience seeing how much work goes into maintaining a top 100 golf course.  This was also the most dry summer in New York state history.  This gave me the opportunity to get a lot of experience with a hose for my first summer on a course.  I was also introduced to nearly every piece of equipment and task that they had to offer at Bethpage.  I couldn't have asked for a better first experience on a course and only wish I could have spent more time learning from a great crew that takes great pride in their gem.

A view on The Broadmoor Mountain Course

4th Hole-The Broadmoor Mountain Course

Me with the US Women's Open Trophy

In April of 2011 my journey continued in a different direction and that direction was west.  After about half the travel time as the previous summer and completely different scenery I found myself in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  This is the home of The Broadmoor, a 5-Star, 5-Diamond resort that is set right in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and more specifically right below Pike's Peak.  The Broadmoor is home to three championship golf courses and for this particular summer it would be the host of the U.S. Women's Open.  For the summer I worked on the Mountain Course, which is a Jack Nicklaus design and differs from the other two courses which are Donald Ross and Robert Trent Jones Sr. designs.  Although for the months and weeks leading up to the Women's Open everybody spent their fair share of time on the East Course which is where the Open was played.  This summer experience was great and helped me continue my learning in the business.  I got the chance to really hone in my equipment operating skills and also was exposed to tasks of the Assistant and was able to gain experience in those tasks.  And being able to experience a U.S. Open is something I'll remember the rest of my life.  It was really eye opening to experience all the hard work and preparation that goes into getting a course ready for a major championship.  This will be a summer that I won't forget anytime soon and am very grateful for being given the opportunity.  The lessons learned and experience gained are priceless, I'm very thankful to be able to work with such a great crew and see how things operate at a resort style course.

 

This Year/Summer Learning Goals

This year I have taken a position at Onwentsia Club which is located on the north shore of Chicago in Lake Forest, Illinois.  I'm very excited for the position and the opportunity to continue my learning from some of the best in the business.  This year I am looking forward to learning more about the management practices and more of the tasks that face an assistant superintendent on a regular basis.  The superintendent at Onwentstia Club is Scott Vincent.  The two assistant superintendents are Kyle Haines and Rod Bozic.  I know that I'm going to be challenged by them to continue my development and expand my horizons with everything dealing with golf course management.  I have put together a list of areas that I would like to improve on this summer.  The list may grow as the summer goes on but I plan on developing greatly in the following areas.

• Learning proper water management of greens, fairways, tees, roughs, surrounds.  Knowing exactly how we're trying to impact the plant to maximize playability. 
• Learning the proper way to set up a fertility, herbicide, fungicide, insecticide, and plant growth regulator program, so that we maximize playability. 
• Learning disease and pest identifications and knowing the controls for them.
• Balancing the budget and budget decisions.
• Learning proper crew management techniques. 
• Learning Site Pro.
• Becoming familiar with month by month, week by week, and day to day tasks. 
• Becoming familiar with administrative tasks.
• Becoming familiar with chemical room products, active ingredients of products, and rates of products.
• Learning practices that coincides with the weather that is presented.

There should be plenty of information to take in this summer and I'm excited to continue my development in golf course management.  Check back for updates.