EW Podcast - Kevin Hicks with Brian Boll

This week’s podcast features a conversation with Brian Boll and Kevin Hicks. Brian leads a great team at the venerable Interlachen Country Club in Minneapolis. As a high school kid, I had the chance to play it several times with my golf team, and it’s been a treat to re-visit the club so many years later and play a small part in an upcoming renovation at the famous club. One of the many things that has gained worldwide notoriety for the club was the 1930 US Open where Bobby Jones skipped his second shot on the par-5 ninth hole off the water, making an up and down birdie. My high school coach (a real golf history nut) stopped each of us at the plaque marking the famed shot so we could appreciate it.

We discussed the upcoming renovation and the scope of the project, including soils, sands and amendment plans, along with the decisions he’s made on turf selection, while preserving the history and architecture of the storied layout. The one thing that struck me in my last visit was the premium the club has put on team member “buy-in” and really treating the entire staff as the most valuable asset. By approaching hiring, staff benefits, and retention efforts, they identified staff satisfaction as the key to creating a great member experience day in and day out. The investment in the staff has certainly paid the membership back many-fold and I recognized it as a model that all clubs should strive for, regardless of their stature. It’s a fun conversation with a very engaged superintendent who is 100% bought in to the process at Interlachen CC. We hope you enjoy the conversation and don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast for weekly updates.