Member Spotlight on Spencer Thomas

Let's drive right in with TCNC member, Spencer Thomas. He is the General Manager at the Keith Hills Golf and Learning Center in Buies Creek, North Carolina. He was the Golf Course Superintendent for two years prior to his current role. To put it simply, he has been keeping things green for 13 years.

So, spill the tee, Spencer. What are your main responsibilities?

I oversee the Superintendent and Director of Golf. We have 190 acres of maintained turf. This includes 27 holes of golf, six putting greens and one nursery green, along with a 30-acre practice facility. We have over 40 employees when we are fully staffed and are owned by Campbell University. I am also an adjunct professor at Campbell University where I teach Turfgrass Management to the Professional Golf Management students, and I am taking classes online myself at the moment.

What is one challenge you face?

Balancing the needs of our members and students. We have men’s and women’s golf teams, a PGM program, members, and public play.

That’s a lot of different needs to fill. How do you manage it?

Communication is always the largest factor in managing people and a business. Communication to your customers, employees, peers and supervisors is the most important thing. If you do not communicate, people do not know where to set their expectations.

Very well said! What is one thing you wish people knew about our industry?

I wish people knew how hard people in our industry worked. The guys that go out and trim, mow, blow, lay sod, fertilize, spray, and more are really putting in a lot of work. These guys have families, and they work hard to provide for them.

We love that you call that out. What is something you’ve seen change in our industry over the years?

The change from cool-season greens to warm-season greens on golf courses has been very swift in the past 10 years. I worked on bentgrass until we converted our last nine holes in 2016. This has given everyone more free time and more freedom to experiment and push their greens.

Lastly, why do you choose to be a TCNC member?

TCNC was important to my mentor (and Past-president) Damon Dean. He was always very involved. I think there is no better voice for our industry than TCNC. In the past two years however, the real reason is to further the education of our industry. I am very eager to work on the education of future turf industry professionals.