SUPER IN THE SPOTLIGHT
A MAN OF
MANY VIEWS
Brad Coleman brings multiple perspectives to his position as Golf Course Superintendent at The Club at Pasadera—as a golf fanatic, an accomplished and experienced agronomist, and a former member of the club where he now works. By Jeff Bollig, Contributing Editor
SINCE HIS FRESHMAN YEAR IN high school, the golf course has been the refuge of Brad Coleman, the Golf Course Superintendent at The Club at Pasadera in Monterey, Calif., both as a turf manager and in playing the game. “I joke that no golf course superintendent plays more golf than me,” the Centerville, Ohio native says. “I enjoy playing and I love being outdoors. I play with my friends, I play with my wife, I play with my boss, I play with our members, and I play with strangers. It’s in my blood.” That was not always the case. Coleman primarily played baseball in his youth. He did not pick up a golf club because he considered it to be a “nerdy” sport. But needing a summer job, he and some friends approached Larry Wimmers, the Golf Course Superintendent at Sycamore Creek Golf Course in Centerville, to work on his crew. And that’s when Coleman also decided to pick up the game. 58
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Wimmers saw that Coleman had an aptitude for the job and began to give him more responsibilities each summer. But he was also planting the seed for his pupil to consider a career on the golf course. The message stuck, as Coleman decided in the summer following his junior year in high school to pursue a degree at Ohio State. After graduating from Ohio State with an Associate’s Degree in Turf Management in 2002, Coleman secured a foreman position at Eagle Springs Golf Course in Wolcott, Colo., about 30 miles west of Vail. It was familiar territory, as he had completed an internship there the previous year. As much as he loved Eagle Springs and the Rocky Mountains, however, there was just one problem. The golf season there lasted only about five months. He could not make it through a seven-month offseason without playing golf. And that started his search for a more intimate relationship with the game. www.clubandresortbusiness.com
