Oakmont Green Golf Course
Image Credit: Chris Turner
For 2008 IAA Alumnus Chris Turner, Terrapin blood runs through his veins and a passion for golf courses runs deep in his soul. So the IAA was a natural fit for him.
As University of Maryland students in the 70s, Turner’s parents met as members of
the Mighty Sound of Maryland, the school’s marching band. Growing up in Bel Air in a house decorated with an assortment of turtles, Turner was well acquainted with the Terps.
After graduating from the IAA, Turner started on the usual career path, taking a job as the assistant superintendent at Beechtree Golf Club in Harford County. But, Beechtree surprisingly closed, only 10 years after opening and one year after hosting the Maryland Open, shocking the Maryland golf community. Turner had been working there as the assistant for only six months but had deep feelings for the property. “I worked for a landscaper across the street when the course began construction,” Chris remembers. “It was beautiful. I loved seeing the course take shape.”
Chris moved along to an assistants’ role at Hunt Valley Golf Club; then he made an interesting career change. Today, Turner is Foreman and Project Manager for McDonald & Sons, one of the most respected golf course builders in the country.
Golf course construction is a very specialized field involving both art and science. The IAA developed a Golf Course Design and Construction course a few years ago to expose students to this specialization. Equipment operators, called shapers, spend hours molding earth into golf course features. Greens and tees are graded by laser driven machines to fractions of an inch tolerance. McDonald & Sons in Jessup, MD, has a reputation of being one of the most meticulous golf course builders. They have remodeled 16 of the top 100 golf courses in the country and 9 out of the last 10 US Open golf courses. It is truly a family business. Started by John “Chip” McDonald, the company today includes his wife, and two sons John and Eric. Eric is an IAA graduate. It seems as if Turner is becoming part of the family as well.
Turner started with McDonald & Sons when the company acquired a new, specialized bunker lining technique called Sportcrete. Traveling from Texas to Massachusetts installing Sportcrete, Turner has become one of the few people in the world qualified to install the product. Today his responsibilities have expanded to include construction of all golf course features. In addition, Turner has inherited the responsibility of “tracking” expenses for time and materials on projects.
“Paperwork and spreadsheets are not my favorite part of the job,” Turner admits, but confesses that he enjoys the tradeoff of getting to work on some of the country’s best golf courses. He actually worked on 3 of the top 10 US courses in one month this fall. These courses, however, are on opposite sides of the country, creating lots of travel for Turner, who says his nomadic lifestyle has “advantages and disadvantages.” This summer Turner spent a couple of months in Los Angeles renovating the driving range and a few greens at the Riviera Club, where IAA Alumnus Matt Morton (1998) is the Superintendent.
While it’s not final as of this writing, there is a strong possibility Turner will have a chance to work at the world’s number one golf course, Pine Valley in Clementon, NJ. No doubt there are thousands of golf fanatics around the world that are envious of Turner and the McDonalds.
