Key West Golf Club

Key West (Florida) Golf Club superin-

tendent Troy Stewart and his staff are passionate about keeping the turf alive and well at the Key West GC throughout the year. That’s reassuring news if you play golf at the Key West GC – one of the 53 courses along the Florida Historic Golf Trail -- where Stewart and his staff spend the vast majority of their waking moments. Keeping the turf alive, well, and thriving at the Key West GC is the expectation and the objective of the daily exercise for Stewart, his irrigation tech Paul Liverpool, and their professional colleagues. Besides dealing with the heat and humidity which impact their ability to do their jobs, Stewart and his crew are also hurricane-aware for most of the year. While the hurricane season starts June 1 and concludes November 30, the key to their success in dealing with the after effects of a hurricane, tropical wave, storm or depression start well before June 1. “For me, having spent the past 13 years as a superintendent in the Caribbean in places like Belize and St. Thomas (U.S. Virgin Islands) and having grown up in South Florida, you quickly realize how unforgiving and life changing these hurricanes can be,” said Stewart. “So with that being said, hurricane preparation has always started for me well before June 1 and that is no different here at Key West.” When storms are approaching, the automatic reaction is to seek cover. In Key West, Stewart and his colleagues do the exact opposite. “What should be emphasized is our vulnerability due to the proximity of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean and our lack of elevation,” added Stewart. “To think that for past storms, all primary equipment is brought out of our low-lying maintenance facility and parked on the top of the rolling hills that border the fairways. Crazy to think that it’s the safest spot, but it is.” There are many issues which Stewart and his colleagues address prior to June 1 such as making sure they jet rod all the pond outfalls; vac truck any culvert basins to allow the next tide cycle to take the flood waters with it; rent a boom lift to trim the coconut palms and limbs near important infrastructure; request fuel tanks be topped off if an approaching storms has the potential to pass nearby; order granular products, such as fertilizers, on a needto-apply basis so the products don’t

Superintendent Troy Stewart: The Pride of His Profession

Key West Golf Club - Twosome playing near the Clubhouse

spoil with the flood waters; and make a hardware store run to purchase spark plugs, gloves, machetes, new chains for the chain saws, and make sure there’s plenty of 2-cycle oil on hand. Oncoming hurricanes get the highest respect from Stewart and Liverpool because they have survived catastrophic storms. As recently as 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria ripped through the U.S. Virgin Islands. Both hurricanes were Category 5 storms and they hit the U.S. Virgin Islands within two weeks of one another. At the time, Stewart was beginning his tenth season on those islands at the Mahogany Run Golf Club. Liverpool was also working at Mahogany Run GC at the time. After all was said and done, the clubhouse and maintenance facility were decimated. On the golf course, six of the 14 irrigation controller boxes had been ripped out of the ground and they floated downstream. Hurricanes Irma and Maria were like a punch to the gut for Stewart. To this day, the professional pain caused by Irma and Maria still lingers for him. “It still bothers me to this day that I was finally able to build my dream pump station with no expenses spared after years and years dealing with an old derelict pump station,” said Stewart. Irma and Maria dashed Stewart’s dreams. Stewart is delighted that he and Liverpool have not had a similar experience in Key West. “Knock on wood, so far nothing substantial in the three years at the Key West Golf Club,” noted Stewart. Stewart’s experiences over the years while working alongside Liverpool have generated a sense of nostalgia. “Life’s true pendulum swings from staying strong in total despair to a small group of men taking it upon themselves to come together to preserve something they have worked so hard for and yet, in the end, the accomplishment was in vain,” said Stewart. “There is a happy ending. Paul has joined me in Key West as my irrigation tech and brought with him his son, Curtis. Now, he and I have never been better. It is truly a heart-felt story when you look into the senior staff members, some of whom have worked together for more than 25 years.” When Stewart is not working, he goes fishing. “I am a lifelong fisherman and fishing was one of the main reasons for selecting previous employment locations,” noted Stewart. “Belize has one of the best bonefish, permit and juvenile tarpon fishing in the world with the second largest barrier reef. St. Thomas (U.S. Virgin Islands) has amazing blue water pelagic fishing. The Keys have it all so I’m not going anywhere. I now have what I’ve always wanted, a house on the water with my boat in the back yard ready to go.” Fortunately, Stewart makes plans for the possible arrival of hurricanes. When they appear, he’ll be ready. If they don’t appear, he’ll go fishing.