Dave Waymire has come full circle, and everyone at Mission Trails couldn’t be more excited. Humbly, he gives his crew all the credit for the turn around in the course condition, but his leadership has been instrumental in saving this golf course.
It was not a difficult decision for Waymire when he found out that the superintendent job was available at Mission Trails in the fall of 1998. He started his career as an assistant professional at Mission Trails (Navajo Canyon in 1972). His father, Claude Waymire, head professional at Tecolote Canyon at the time, told his young son, “ If you want to make a decent living in the golf business, be a superintendent, grow grass.” Waymire took his father’s advice and started working on the course instead of in the pro shop. Waymire was hired to be the superintendent at a course in Riverside. He spent six years there before accepting the superintendent’s job at Warner Springs in 1990. By November of 1998 he was the General Manager of that facility. “I spent a couple of years as the Director of Golf, and a couple years later I found I was the General Manager of the entire facility. Returning to Mission Trails, and being back in San Diego was part of the reason he jumped at the opportunity, but it was also the pull of “growing grass” again. “I missed the city and I missed being outside. The decision to return to Mission Trails was really a no-brainer. Due to the poor condition of the course, no matter what I did I would be the hero.”
Now that the initial transformation has taken place (grass on the greens and fairways), Waymire admits that they still have challenges, and it won’t be easy to improve the condition in a dramatic manner. “When I first got here I had to set the priorities. The course condition on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being excellent, was a 2. Now it is about a 4.5 or 5. My goal is to raise it to 7. My first priorities were greens and bunkers. Bunkers we could fix immediately, provided we had the financial resources, but greens would take seasons before we could see improvement. I arrived in November and with Bermuda greens in winter, it wasn’t an overnight success. It was summer of 1999 before we could see any visible differences,” Waymire explains.
Waymire wanted to see modifications and improvements in two specific areas. First, were the cultural practices such as airifying, spiking and irrigation control. The second was traffic control because even in its’ worst shape Mission Trails was getting 50,000 – 60,000 rounds per year. This year they are on pace for upwards of 90,000 rounds. Waymire’s third priority was tree trimming. “We desperately needed to cut back trees. The trees needed to be trimmed and shaped so that the mowers could go under and around them. This would also make the sprinkler system work more efficiently”, said Waymire.
Currently, like most other Southern California courses, many Eucalyptus trees are being damaged by the Lerps Psyllid insects. Waymire is hoping a certain mosquito, which is the natural predator of the Lerps Psyllid, will quickly multiply so hundreds of the beautiful Eucalyptus trees on Mission Trails will survive. Recently, a hundred of the specific mosquitoes were released into this area to combat the Lerps Psyllid insects.
Waymire’s next project for Mission Trails is to rebuild the tee boxes. Waymire pointed out, “With poor maintenance over the years, the tee boxes tend to lose level playing surface.” Next on the wish list is a new irrigation system, but he does not see that happening any time soon.
Waymire is not only the superintendent for Misson Trails, but he is also the Regional Superintendent for American Golf, which basically means he helps the superintendents at four other properties in the San Diego area. He visits Tecolote, National City, Eastlake, and Chula Vista, at least twice every month and is responsible for hiring the superintendents at these facilities. “I get all the credit and my guys do all the work. I have a great crew and I have a great support staff in the golf shop. Walt Willows, the Head Professional, Todd Garwood, the General Manager, and Jim Svoboda, my assistant at Mission Trails are an awesome team. It is definitely a group effort at this facility”, applauds Waymire.
Dave Waymire has adopted a philosophy over the years – one that has obviously served him well. “Everything that’s right with the course is because of my crew. The bad stuff is my fault – I take full responsibility. I must not have done my job communicating what needed to be done.”
Jacqui Nicoletti McSorley is co-author to the book Golf Guide for Parents and Players (Mansion Grove House), along with Johnny Gonzales. Additionally, Jacqui played professionally on the Japan LGPA Tour, and is currently a sought-after LPGA Teacher and started an LPGA-USGA Girls Golf site in northern San Diego county.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Health South
So you just finished reading the latest golf article telling you how to get those extra 20-25 yards? Be careful you may become a golf statistic - and not the kind you read about in the newspaper with multi-million dollar earnings, but the kind Health South looks at to realize it needed to have a therapist that specializes in golfer evaluations.
Health South is a company specializing in physical therapy and is most familiar with sports injuries. It has rehabilitation centers all over Southern California. At the San Diego Kearny Mesa center, golfers can find a specialized program just for them.
Brad Crossley, a native San Diegan and former San Diego junior golfer has been specially trained by Health South to do golf evaluations. Crossley graduated from San Diego State and is both a certified Athletic Trainer and a licensed Physical Therapist assistant. “The golf program is designed to help identify your weaknesses and your strengths. I do an anatomical evaluation to determine what physical limitations one might have that is either 1) causing pain, or 2) preventing someone from swinging properly” Crossley explains. For $65 Crossley will compute a history evaluation including areas of pain, range of motion testing, and manual muscle testing of the cervical lumbar, shoulder, thoracic and hip areas. “Posture is key to healthy golf. We educate golfers on how to properly set up and how to keep their back straight. Typically, men tend to hunch while ladies have better posture.” Once Crossley finds limitations he can set up exercises designed to increase range of motion, strength and flexibility. “Most golf injury problems stem from back problems. Almost 8 out of 10 clients come in with back problems, but these are also the easiest to help with therapy.” Shoulder, elbow and wrist problems are also common for the avid golfer. “Most amateurs or weekend warriors develop bad posture and coupled with bad mechanics it is usually only a matter of time before they will sustain an injury” Crossley explains.
Health South publishes a pamphlet called “15 minutes to healthier golf” highlighting several proper warm up exercises that help prepare the muscles, tendons and joints of your body to maximize performance and to help prevent injuries. All exercise can be preformed with a golf club, a broomstick, or PVC pipe, and can be done in 15 minutes before practicing or playing golf. Crossley’s three most highly recommended exercises for healthier golf are 1) to do some hamstring flexes, 2) to do some sort of rowing motion, and 3) to engage in some kind of cardiovascular workout such as a treadmill workout. “Most injuries are caused by golfers trying to do things in the swing that their bodies are incapable of doing. After a big name player has a big win we get a lot of copy cats trying things they shouldn’t be trying because their bodies are no where similar to that of their favorite new champion. When your physical build doesn’t match what you are trying to get it to do you are asking for trouble. “Most of the time it is a combination of too much body, legs, or arms-injuries occur when you are overdoing it!” says Crossley.
Health South is also dedicated to the professional golfer and it has fitness vans on the PGA, LPGA, and the Senior PGA and this is probably where they learn what works best for golfers. Although the injuries for the professional are mainly from over use instead of bad mechanics the vans are not unlike most college training rooms. The vans can be used by the Pros for workouts and conditioning, but most of the Pros utilizing the vans have some sort of aliment. Just like any of the other Health South rehab centers there are hands on exercise and table exercises that the therapist use to help restore proper function. Health South is right on as it promotes it’s customized exercise programs.
The game is a lot more fun when you can swing painlessly, and with less effort you can have longer and more accurate drives.
Jacqui Nicoletti McSorley was a professional on the Japan LPGA Tour, and is now a sought-after LPGA Teacher and started an LPGA-USGA Girls Golf Site in San Diego. She is co-author of the book Golf Guide for Parents and Players (Mansion Grove House).
Health South is a company specializing in physical therapy and is most familiar with sports injuries. It has rehabilitation centers all over Southern California. At the San Diego Kearny Mesa center, golfers can find a specialized program just for them.
Brad Crossley, a native San Diegan and former San Diego junior golfer has been specially trained by Health South to do golf evaluations. Crossley graduated from San Diego State and is both a certified Athletic Trainer and a licensed Physical Therapist assistant. “The golf program is designed to help identify your weaknesses and your strengths. I do an anatomical evaluation to determine what physical limitations one might have that is either 1) causing pain, or 2) preventing someone from swinging properly” Crossley explains. For $65 Crossley will compute a history evaluation including areas of pain, range of motion testing, and manual muscle testing of the cervical lumbar, shoulder, thoracic and hip areas. “Posture is key to healthy golf. We educate golfers on how to properly set up and how to keep their back straight. Typically, men tend to hunch while ladies have better posture.” Once Crossley finds limitations he can set up exercises designed to increase range of motion, strength and flexibility. “Most golf injury problems stem from back problems. Almost 8 out of 10 clients come in with back problems, but these are also the easiest to help with therapy.” Shoulder, elbow and wrist problems are also common for the avid golfer. “Most amateurs or weekend warriors develop bad posture and coupled with bad mechanics it is usually only a matter of time before they will sustain an injury” Crossley explains.
Health South publishes a pamphlet called “15 minutes to healthier golf” highlighting several proper warm up exercises that help prepare the muscles, tendons and joints of your body to maximize performance and to help prevent injuries. All exercise can be preformed with a golf club, a broomstick, or PVC pipe, and can be done in 15 minutes before practicing or playing golf. Crossley’s three most highly recommended exercises for healthier golf are 1) to do some hamstring flexes, 2) to do some sort of rowing motion, and 3) to engage in some kind of cardiovascular workout such as a treadmill workout. “Most injuries are caused by golfers trying to do things in the swing that their bodies are incapable of doing. After a big name player has a big win we get a lot of copy cats trying things they shouldn’t be trying because their bodies are no where similar to that of their favorite new champion. When your physical build doesn’t match what you are trying to get it to do you are asking for trouble. “Most of the time it is a combination of too much body, legs, or arms-injuries occur when you are overdoing it!” says Crossley.
Health South is also dedicated to the professional golfer and it has fitness vans on the PGA, LPGA, and the Senior PGA and this is probably where they learn what works best for golfers. Although the injuries for the professional are mainly from over use instead of bad mechanics the vans are not unlike most college training rooms. The vans can be used by the Pros for workouts and conditioning, but most of the Pros utilizing the vans have some sort of aliment. Just like any of the other Health South rehab centers there are hands on exercise and table exercises that the therapist use to help restore proper function. Health South is right on as it promotes it’s customized exercise programs.
The game is a lot more fun when you can swing painlessly, and with less effort you can have longer and more accurate drives.
Jacqui Nicoletti McSorley was a professional on the Japan LPGA Tour, and is now a sought-after LPGA Teacher and started an LPGA-USGA Girls Golf Site in San Diego. She is co-author of the book Golf Guide for Parents and Players (Mansion Grove House).
The Life of a Caddy
Great tour players have great support teams. PGA players must make the shots and ultimately play the game by themselves, but they are wise to surround themselves with people who can help them succeed. Just as a supportive loving spouse can free up a player’s mind, an experienced and competent caddy also can help in many ways.
In the 2001 Buick Invitational, having a good caddy may have ensured Frank Lickliter his first tour victory. A caddy is instrumental in helping a player slow himself down, and to keep things in the proper perspective. Lickliter should have been hitting an iron off the 17th Tee at Torrey Pines and playing for bogey on his third sudden death playoff hole ….. under the circumstances a driver was the last club his caddy should have “allowed” him to hit. This article, however, is not about that situation – only to highlight the importance of a professional and experienced caddy.
Jeff Burwell would never have let that happen. Jeff is a 27 year veteran of the PGA Tour, and this article is about him and the evolution of his profession over the years. Jeff Burwell has caddied for many great players over the years - Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Roger Maltbie, Jerry Pate, Ben Crenshaw, Curtis Strange, Bruce Lietzke, John Cook, Tom Purtzer, Jay Haas, Billy Andrade, and Billy Ray Brown - to name a few of his employers.
Burwell was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. Although he played very little golf, he started caddying at Firestone Country Club while still in high school. Little did he know back then, that three decades later, he would still be traveling the world packing the clubs of the best golfers on the planet.
In the early 1970’s regular tour caddies were not allowed to caddy at Firestone Country Club during the PGA Tour stop, and players drew numbers for house caddies. “ I was picked by Player and, at the time, he was one of the top players on tour”, Burwell remembers.
Burwell didn’t win that week, but he has “won” several times over the years. Burwell said, “Every win is great, and you never take them for granted, but the most special victory for me was my first one with Roger Maltbie at the Memorial Tournament”. Although his favorite tournament is at Hilton Head in South Carolina, he also enjoys the historic tournaments such as the British Open and the U.S. Open. “One of my favorite memories in a major was when Roger Maltbie was in the final group at Augusta. I don’t think you can truly describe the feeling you get being in the last group and walking down those final holes on Sunday. We didn’t win, but that was a very exciting day.”
Jeff Burwell, who followed the tour and used to travel the country by car, admits that the life of a tour caddy has drastically changed over the last several years. Today, good caddies can make a good six figure income. “There is so much more money out there now. The new kids coming out expect way too much and so do their caddies. Very few of them realize what we went through, and there are only a handful of us left. Most caddies fly from one PGA Tour stop to the next, and only a handful will drive. It used to be that almost everyone drove together.”
Basically, caddies are self employed, and get paid a salary for the week averaging anywhere from $700 - $2,000. They can also earn from 5% - 10% of the purse should their player win. They must pay all of their own expenses, except when required to travel cross-country or internationally - only then do the players pay for their airfare. Burwell attributes his longevity in this exciting but different career to a motto most good tour caddies must master. “If you are to survive out here you must SHOW up, SHUT up, and KEEP up. You must ALWAYS be on time!”, Burwell says. Burwell also emphasized that you can’t get caught up in all the hoopla, “You must treat your job seriously and remember it is a job that requires you to wear many different hats. It is my job to help my player stay under control in difficult conditions. Depending on the player, I am a psychologist and at other times I am a valet. These players depend on us to be where we are told to be, and if you are not, you won’t last long on tour. You must be accountable and trustworthy.”
Burwell only works 20 – 21 events a year these days. He has the luxury of setting his own schedule about a month in advance. When he is not on the fairways, Jeff enjoys being on the sea. He loves fishing and to work as a first mate on a friends boat. He is looking forward to caddying more on the Senior Tour next year, where he gets to use a cart and there is no cut. He is also hoping to be chosen as one of the caddies for the Ryder Cup. “I would like to go with Curtis Strange to this event – it’s part of history!” When Burwell started caddying, only 40% of the players out on tour had full time caddies, but about 90% of the players coming out on tour these days have them, predominantly hiring their college friends or relatives.
Remember, an experienced caddy can be an incredible asset though ..…. just ask Frank Lickliter.
Jacqui Nicoletti McSorley played professionally on the Japan LPGA Tour, and is now a sought-after teacher. She avidly supports the growth of golf in San Diego area, as she started an LPGA-USGA Girls Golf site in northern San Diego county. She is co-author of the book Golf Guide for Parents and Players (Mansion Grove House).
In the 2001 Buick Invitational, having a good caddy may have ensured Frank Lickliter his first tour victory. A caddy is instrumental in helping a player slow himself down, and to keep things in the proper perspective. Lickliter should have been hitting an iron off the 17th Tee at Torrey Pines and playing for bogey on his third sudden death playoff hole ….. under the circumstances a driver was the last club his caddy should have “allowed” him to hit. This article, however, is not about that situation – only to highlight the importance of a professional and experienced caddy.
Jeff Burwell would never have let that happen. Jeff is a 27 year veteran of the PGA Tour, and this article is about him and the evolution of his profession over the years. Jeff Burwell has caddied for many great players over the years - Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Roger Maltbie, Jerry Pate, Ben Crenshaw, Curtis Strange, Bruce Lietzke, John Cook, Tom Purtzer, Jay Haas, Billy Andrade, and Billy Ray Brown - to name a few of his employers.
Burwell was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. Although he played very little golf, he started caddying at Firestone Country Club while still in high school. Little did he know back then, that three decades later, he would still be traveling the world packing the clubs of the best golfers on the planet.
In the early 1970’s regular tour caddies were not allowed to caddy at Firestone Country Club during the PGA Tour stop, and players drew numbers for house caddies. “ I was picked by Player and, at the time, he was one of the top players on tour”, Burwell remembers.
Burwell didn’t win that week, but he has “won” several times over the years. Burwell said, “Every win is great, and you never take them for granted, but the most special victory for me was my first one with Roger Maltbie at the Memorial Tournament”. Although his favorite tournament is at Hilton Head in South Carolina, he also enjoys the historic tournaments such as the British Open and the U.S. Open. “One of my favorite memories in a major was when Roger Maltbie was in the final group at Augusta. I don’t think you can truly describe the feeling you get being in the last group and walking down those final holes on Sunday. We didn’t win, but that was a very exciting day.”
Jeff Burwell, who followed the tour and used to travel the country by car, admits that the life of a tour caddy has drastically changed over the last several years. Today, good caddies can make a good six figure income. “There is so much more money out there now. The new kids coming out expect way too much and so do their caddies. Very few of them realize what we went through, and there are only a handful of us left. Most caddies fly from one PGA Tour stop to the next, and only a handful will drive. It used to be that almost everyone drove together.”
Basically, caddies are self employed, and get paid a salary for the week averaging anywhere from $700 - $2,000. They can also earn from 5% - 10% of the purse should their player win. They must pay all of their own expenses, except when required to travel cross-country or internationally - only then do the players pay for their airfare. Burwell attributes his longevity in this exciting but different career to a motto most good tour caddies must master. “If you are to survive out here you must SHOW up, SHUT up, and KEEP up. You must ALWAYS be on time!”, Burwell says. Burwell also emphasized that you can’t get caught up in all the hoopla, “You must treat your job seriously and remember it is a job that requires you to wear many different hats. It is my job to help my player stay under control in difficult conditions. Depending on the player, I am a psychologist and at other times I am a valet. These players depend on us to be where we are told to be, and if you are not, you won’t last long on tour. You must be accountable and trustworthy.”
Burwell only works 20 – 21 events a year these days. He has the luxury of setting his own schedule about a month in advance. When he is not on the fairways, Jeff enjoys being on the sea. He loves fishing and to work as a first mate on a friends boat. He is looking forward to caddying more on the Senior Tour next year, where he gets to use a cart and there is no cut. He is also hoping to be chosen as one of the caddies for the Ryder Cup. “I would like to go with Curtis Strange to this event – it’s part of history!” When Burwell started caddying, only 40% of the players out on tour had full time caddies, but about 90% of the players coming out on tour these days have them, predominantly hiring their college friends or relatives.
Remember, an experienced caddy can be an incredible asset though ..…. just ask Frank Lickliter.
Jacqui Nicoletti McSorley played professionally on the Japan LPGA Tour, and is now a sought-after teacher. She avidly supports the growth of golf in San Diego area, as she started an LPGA-USGA Girls Golf site in northern San Diego county. She is co-author of the book Golf Guide for Parents and Players (Mansion Grove House).
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