Ballenisles Country Club Welcomes New Director of Agronomy

BallenIsles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. recently welcomed Jeff Reich as the club’s new Director of Agronomy. Reich will oversee the awardwinning private club’s agronomy team and maintenance of BallenIsles’ three championship golf courses, including the East, North and South Courses, plus its expansive golf practice facilities and market leading horticultural and landscape program throughout it’s campus.

Reich has 17-plus years of experience in turf maintenance and agronomy, most recently serving as the director of agronomy at TPC River Highlands, host course for the PGA TOUR’s Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut. He has an incredible record of accomplishment in preparing and maintaining highquality golf courses as TPC River Highlands is regarded as one of the best-conditioned courses on the PGA TOUR. Reich joined the TPC Network of courses in 2006 as first assistant superintendent at TPC Treviso Bay in Naples, Fla. In 2009, he moved to TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach as the first assistant superintendent on the Stadium Course, home of THE PLAYERS Championship. He became golf course superintendent at TPC Rivers Bend in Ohio in 2012. While at Rivers Bend, Reich received two PGA TOUR Platinum Awards from PGA TOUR Agronomy, an Environmental Leader in Golf Award from Golf Digest, and three PGA TOUR safety awards.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jeff to BallenIsles,” said BallenIsles Country Club General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Ryan Walls. “His experience in maintaining high quality-level facilities and his leadership in supporting sustainable and environmentally responsible golf courses stood out in the interview process. We are filled with gratitude to be able to add such a seasoned professional to our highly capable leadership team and look forward to Jeff continuing the elevation of our offering to our membership.”

Reich graduated from the University of Minnesota with a focus on turf management and landscape design. He is a multi-time award winner for environmental stewardship and is an industry leader in his agronomic approach.

For more information on BallenIsles Country Club, visit www.BallenIsles.org.

About BallenIsles Country Club

In 1963 legendary Florida developer John D. MacArthur and the PGA of America teamed up with golf course architects Dick Wilson and Joe Lee to design a championship-caliber golf facility. Over the next ten years, BallenIsles, then called PGA National Golf Club, hosted numerous major tournaments like the PGA Championship and PGA Seniors Championship and was home for the Professional Golfers’ Association of America.

The Club was also the host site for the original PGA TOUR Qualifying School and held the inaugural PGA Merchandise Show. When the MacArthur/PGA of America agreement expired in 1973, the Club was renamed the JDM Country Club for John D. MacArthur. For the next 15 years, the prestigious local country club hosted many celebrities and professional golfers and staged many events on the three golf courses on the property. In 1988, the three golf courses and surrounding property were sold by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and renamed BallenIsles Country Club. A multi-year and multimillion dollar plan to develop a private country club community was unveiled. Since the early 2000’s, BallenIsles Country Club has been consistently ranked as one of the Top 100 Clubs in America.

A $35 million clubhouse renovation was completed in November 2018, featuring 115,000 square feet of luxurious space; three championship courses with 54 holes of golf; a worldclass 21-court tennis and 9-court pickleball complex; and a stateof-the-art Sports Complex with a full-service Cosmo & Company salon and spa, fitness center, Pilates & group exercise studios and resort-style swimming pool.

The recent $9.3 million golf enhancements to the East Course by Nicklaus Design, practice grounds and ‘71 Golf Learning Center follow the construction of a $1.3 million pickleball complex in 2021; and the 2020 redesign of BallenIsles’ South Course by famed golf course architect Rees Jones. The Club also recently announced a $19 million renovation and expansion project of the Club’s existing Sports Complex. Construction is expected to begin on the phased project in late 2023, with project completion slated by the end of 2024.

For more information visit www.BallenIsles.org