19th Hole: Catching up with Wisconsin CC’s Adam Suelflow

Adam Suelflow

Superintendent // Wisconsin CC, Milwaukee

Adam, what are you having?

I’ll have a brandy old fashioned.

I should have seen that one coming. But not a Spotted Cow?

Sometimes!

Tell me about Wisconsin CC.

It was built in 1928, designed by Harry Smead. It’s a great private club for the area. We were recently purchased by Concert Golf Partners; that’s been a great partnership and has opened some doors for us.

What got you into the industry, and what do you like about it?

I grew up on a golf course — I’ve been a golfer my whole life. I worked in the pro shop for a while, seven or eight years. Then I decided to go to Rutgers and got the two-year program. I think it’s rewarding to put all the hard work in, and you can always see a good reward from that work at the end of the day.

What’s your favorite tool to get the job done?

Lately, it’s been our VGR TopChanger from Stec. We’re able to do sand injections that we historically had contracted out. Being able to do it in-house on greens, or when we find weak spots in fairways, has been great. We get a lot of use out of it.

Anything you saw at the Golfdom Summit that stands out?

A lot of the autonomous mowers. I’ve known guys who have used them, and I saw some different options. Seeing the lease options and the yearly plan options some of the companies offer has been awesome. That’s a great way to get your foot in on those.

Tell me about your family, and what do you all do for fun?

My wife, Jennifer, and I have two young kids, Charlee and Grayson, so they keep us on our toes. We love spending time outside, visiting local parks and farmers markets and taking family trips around Wisconsin whenever we get the chance. Our Catahoula leopard dog, Raynor, usually tags along too and makes sure every adventure is a little more entertaining.

Next time I’m in Milwaukee, what’s one thing I have to do?

Go to DanDan. It’s an Asian fusion restaurant downtown, and it’s a great experience.

What teams do you root for?

Packers, Brewers, Bucks — all the Milwaukee standards.

Who has the best nickname on the crew, and how’d they earn that nickname?

I’ll answer this one at my own expense. As an intern, I earned the nickname “Garza,” which is Spanish for heron. I was cleaning a pond overflow when one of the assistants took the boat back to shore and left me standing in the middle of the pond. Apparently, I looked enough like a heron that the nickname stuck.