Tony Taylor: Noble Turf

Returning To My Roots

Recently returning to Florida after 27

years in Asia I am proud to announce that the Tampa Bay Area is really where I gained the experience needed to carry out my successful career in the golf course maintenance business in Asia. Having worked at Innisbrook Resort in its hay day in the mid-eighties and belonging to the West Coast Chapter of the Golf Course Superintendents association, was a real blessing, as I learned so much from my “band of brothers” here in this business. I traveled to Thailand for a Golf Course Superintendents position in 1992 after a successful stint for 3 years at The Links of Spruce Creek near Ocala where I worked with the Golf Professional/Architect Terry Doss, who is still my best friend today. I am so happy to be back, while in the twilight of my career as a Certified Golf Course Superintendent, and am now travelling the great state of Florida with a company called Noble Turf, (www. nobleturf.com) visiting golf course Superintendents here on the West Coast down to Naples and across to Palm Beach, assisting them with products and technology to help maintain their courses at high standards. We have the greatest collection of golf courses in this State than anywhere else in the world! Having traveled extensively in this business, “I have yet to find a golf course maintenance challenge that I could not meet” and given my tenure in the golf industry, it’s easy to understand why… as no one ever called me in when their golf course was perfect. Having dealt with every imaginable challenge in my 45 plus year career I can state that “There are many revealing indicators that help us as qualified Superintendents identify issues with the health of differing turf types, drainage issues on golf courses, bunker performance, water quality challenges and ‘use’ strategies, just to touch on a few key areas of golf course maintenance… that are vital to the viability of a playable golf course”. After time these indicators now come second nature to me and I can identify, recommend and treat to maintain highly playable standards and an effective golf course maintenance program, given proper resources. “However, what we still face in our industry are many course owner/managers that still take a passive or simple ‘bottom-line’ approach to these important elements which are foundational to a good playing course”. And a good playing course gains natural reputation, more play, and ultimately a real increase in ‘bottom-line’, this is what they fail to understand. But it doesn’t stop with just golf course maintenance; in my opinion, the overall experience to the golfer is what is critical and By Tony Taylor Certified Golf Course Superintendent missing in many courses I have seen worldwide”. There is still a lot of work and knowledge to share with owners, managers and club committees to remove any fixed ideas or subjectivity on how they perceive an operations should be run. Many who know Tony would agree he has truly mastered the art of golf course maintenance and tournament preparation, stemming from effective golf course maintenance programs he has developed with another company he founded called Tee2Green Benchmarking, (www.tee2greenbenchmarking.com) There is also something to be said for being in the right place at the right time and having a solid work ethic and product. Tony’s company, Quality Golf founded in 1994 (which is winding down due to the C-19 virus challenges in Thailand) which during the Asian golf boom had been directly involved with more than 20 major televised events and over 50 total events in 7 countries throughout SE Asia for the Asian Tour, Thai PGA Tour, Professional Golf Tour of India, the Japan Tour and the European Tour. The earliest success started with the 1997 Asian Honda Classic where Champion Tiger Woods first entered the international golf scene and then fast forwarding to 2018, as Senior Consulting Superintendent for the Japan Open at Yokohama Country Club. I made many lifelong friends in golf around Asia and now it is fabulous to return to meet many of my old lifelong friends in the golf business here in Florida, many from my alma mater Florida Gateway College, (formerly Lake City Community College) who trained many luminary Superintendents who ended up managing the finest courses in the state. All of this is certainly a dream come true for me to be back in our great country and state and full circle still in the golf business. In this last leg of my career, I am keen on helping recruit new talent into the business by being on the advisory board of Florida Gateway College’s turf program and finally helping the Director of Facilities and Operations, Andy Neiswender with the historic course at Belleair Country Club go through a restoration of their Donald Ross West Course, with Fry/Straka Global Golf Design starting in March 2022. I have my plate full and am glad to be still heavily engaged in all areas of golf course maintenance! This business is just in my blood and roots! Golf Central • Volume 22, Issue 5