19th Hole: Mike Bellino

(Photo: Mike Bellino)

Mike Bellino

Superintendent // Heathrow CC, Lake Mary, Fla.

Mike, what can I get you? Rum and Coke for me.

Tell me about Heathrow CC. It’s a Ron Garl design, built in 1985. Water comes into play on 16 of the 18 holes. It was the first course Concert Golf bought; they’re up to 26 clubs now. Their corporate office is just across the street. I’m finishing my eighth year here, and with any luck, this will be my last club.

Do you have a family? Yes, my wife, Debbie, is in the insurance business. I have two kids, a daughter, Sophia, and a son, Nicholas. My son works with my wife in insurance. The building they work in is off our second fairway. I get to see them all the time, drive my golf cart over and have lunch with them.

GCSAA Conference & Show comes to Orlando next year. Any recommendations for the area? My advice is shorts and flip-flops — that’s our uniform all year round. If I had one recommendation, it would be ICON Park and the Wheel; it’s super-close, almost in the shadow of the convention center. Top Golf is right there. There’s all sorts of stuff to do.

How do you judge a good golf season? Our season is from Thanksgiving to Easter. After Easter, everyone goes home; it’s too damn hot. If we get through the spring and summer and I don’t have to buy any sod, that’s a successful season, in my opinion.

How did you get into motorcycles? Probably my dad. When he passed, I got his bike. But my wife bought me my first motorcycle. Now I have four. I keep my dad’s old bike at work; it’s a ’74 CB 350. I just rode it to Home Depot this morning. Then I have a 1972 CB 750, an ’86 Rebel that my son rides and a ’99 Harley Road King. If I could find a way to fit another one, I’d get it, but the garage is getting full.

Do you have a day at work that stands out in your mind? Yes. I was an assistant at the time. We had just finished overseeding greens, and a helicopter landed on our sixth green, dead center. I walked over to the paramedic and said, ‘Geez, you could have landed anywhere! On the approach, on the fairway. I got all of these places you could have landed. Why did you have to land on the middle of the green?’ And he said, ‘Because a man’s life is at stake.’ A guy was roofing nearby and fell off the roof. All I’m thinking about is the brand new Poa trivialis coming up. I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ It all worked out.