SUPER IN THE SPOTLIGHT
CAREER AUDIT After 20 successful years as a course superintendent, Jeff Eldridge tried his hand as a tax-service franchisee—but the pull of the turf quickly brought him back to the industry and eventually his current position at The Clubs of Cordillera Ranch. By Jeff Bollig, Contributing Editor
UNSURE ABOUT HIS CAREER PATH as a golf course superintendent, several years ago Jeff Eldridge decided to join a friend by investing in H&R Block Tax Services franchises and managing several offices himself. It wasn’t that Eldridge wasn’t successful. To the contrary, he had quickly climbed among the hierarchy of golf courses in Kansas City. He was recognized by his superintendent chapter for excellence, and PGA Senior Tour players ranked his course conditioning among the top five on tour. It wasn’t even that he was necessarily burned out. He had been in the profession full-time less than 20 years, and liked the work. But Eldridge was looking down the road. He had a young family and wanted to be around and involved in their lives. He knew but one speed—run fast with your head down. Something had to give. “I just didn’t like where I was,” Eldridge says. “It was not like it used to be. It seemed like a change would be good for me.” 39
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Club + Resort Business
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November 2020
Fast-forward some 10 years later and Eldridge is now the Director of Agronomy at The Clubs of Cordillera Ranch, located 25 miles northwest of San Antonio in Boerne, Texas. In the end, it was back to the golf course management profession, and Texas won out over taxes. C+RB How did you first become a golf course superintendent? ELDRIDGE I graduated from Emporia (Kan.) High School in
1983 and decided to study pre-engineering at Emporia State University. I liked the chemistry and the physics courses, but the calculus not so much. I decided to move to Colorado because we had used to live there, and I liked the area. I wanted to establish residency and then go back to school. I spent a year pouring concrete foundations. It wasn’t fun work, but I enjoyed being outside. I knew I wanted to pursue a career that allowed me to be outdoors. www.clubandresortbusiness.com
