19th Hole: Kyle Harrigan

Kyle Harrigan (Photo: Kayla Walter)

Kyle Harrigan

North Course Superintendent // Silverado Resort, Napa, Calif.

Kyle, it’s my treat — what can I get you? I’m a craft beer guy. But since you’re buying, I’ll have a whiskey (laughs). But my favorite brewery out here is HenHouse Brewing Co. Their big thing is fresh beer. They have a beer festival this weekend called “The Freshtival”. They have 110 breweries from the Bay Area and Nevada. All the beer is less than 7 days old.

Sounds awesome! Tell me about Silverado Resort. It’s awesome. It’s a big property with two different courses. We have about 200 acres of irrigated turf on both courses and then another 130 acres of resort grounds, so 330 acres total for the whole property. The great thing about Silverado is there is always something going on. It’s always exciting. But that’s also the most frustrating thing — if there’s a wedding with 300 people, you don’t want the backup beeper going off on the dump truck.

I know summer can be hard on you guys, but are you looking forward to anything this summer? Actually, yes. My wife and I are going on our honeymoon. We got married at the end of February. I feel bad because it’s so close to the (PGA Tour’s 2023 Fortinet Championship), but at the same time, you go on your honeymoon only once. We’re going to Paris, Amsterdam and Belgium. My wife has been before, but this will be my first trip to Europe.

You live in a well-known area, but as a local, what would you suggest a visitor do? Besides wine tasting?

Yeah, I’m not much of a wine guy. There are a lot of cool things. Oracle Park, where the Giants play, is a nice stadium. There are a lot of good craft breweries here. My wife and I went on the Sonoma Zipline Adventure … you’re like 200 feet up in these giant sequoias and redwoods. It’s pretty cool.

You’re volunteering at the Wells Fargo Championship this week. Do you know how you’ll celebrate Cinco de Mayo there in Charlotte? The main thing is, I’ll be on the East Coast and my mom’s birthday is May 5. I always try to be the son that calls first. I think this year I’ll definitely be the son that calls first.

Not only will you be the first one to call, but you’ll also be the only one to mention your mom in a magazine article. Yeah! My brother and I used to fight all the time. When he became a senior in high school, we started getting along — I think he realized he was leaving soon and I really wasn’t that bad. Now we’re really good friends. We just went to a music festival in San Francisco to celebrate his birthday.