19th Hole: Aaron Fankhauser
Aaron Fankhauser
Assistant General Manager/ Director of Agronomy; The Club at Rolling Hills, Golden, Colo.
Aaron, we just wrapped up on the golf course — what are you having?
Probably straight to a transfusion … a double, based on how I played!
Tell me about Rolling Hills.
The Club started back in the mid-’50s at what is now Applewood Golf Course. Coors Brewing made a land swap and agreed to build the new Club in our current location in 1968. We’re nestled into South Table Mountain just down the street from Coors Brewing Co. and still have several wonderful members from the Coors Family. I’ve been involved for a little over 20 years and currently, I am helping the Club as the Director of Agronomy and the Assistant General Manager.
Are you from that area?
No, I grew up in northeast Kansas, about 15 minutes from Manhattan, in Wamego.
I know Wamego, that’s not far from me! Who are your sports allegiances?
K-State football; we had season tickets as a kid. I was a big basketball player, so KU basketball is home to me. The Chiefs were terrible when I was young, so I never got into the Chiefs. I’m a Broncos fan. It’s really hard, because my family is all Chiefs fans. My seven-year-old, especially. I think he wears a Chiefs T-shirt almost every day to school. It’s a hard place to be when your seven-year-old tells you how trash the Broncos are and how great his Chiefs are.
Tell me about your family, and what do you all do for fun?
My wife and I have three kids, ages 14, 12 and 7. I feel like our life right now revolves around everything that they’ve got going. We’re playing basketball, we’re running track and cross country. Our oldest just started high school this year, and it’s been a lot of fun watching that transition. And our youngest is driving him crazy all the time. Our daughter, she’s just a pistol, she’s a lot of fun. I think she read 145 books last year.
What’s your favorite tool to get the job done?
My moisture meter. We use the Pogo. I love the way that it maps the greens for our guys. I think that’s the biggest thing that my assistants and I talk about right now, is this technology. I talked to a couple of colleagues around the country, and they’re hiring assistants who are just data managers. I’ve been in the industry now for 23 or 24 years, and I don’t feel like I’m that old yet. But the technology changes that I’ve seen and that we still see coming with autonomous and drones? It’s just a cool spot to be in.
What’s the best thing about having your job?
The location and the members. We’re on the west side of the Denver metro area, right there in the foothills … it’s outstanding. You never take it for granted. You look up at those mountains every day, and you get excited. It’s just a great spot.
As interviewed by Seth Jones, Feb. 4, 2025.
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