19th Hole: Steve Sarro

Photo: Park South Photography

Steve Sarro

Director of Grounds // Pinehurst Country Club, Denver

What can I get you?

In the words of my good friend Rob McKinney, retired superintendent at the Broadmoor, “free and cold.”

Tell me about your family.

I’ve been married to my wife, Lindsey, for 13 years. She was a beverage cart girl at the Broadmoor. We have three daughters, 4, 9 and 11. We’re doing the whole home-school roller coaster ride like many parents.

Give me the scouting report on Pinehurst CC.

Pinehurst is a great club. It’s the largest club in Denver. We’re on the southwest side of town; you can see Red Rocks Amphitheatre from the first tee on our nine-hole course. We’ve got 27 holes of full regulation golf. Built in 1959 by Press Maxwell, it’s a beauty of a course, a fun course to manage.

What’s going on with the wildfires in Colorado?

August was the toughest time. We had four major fires going in the state at the same time. Denver was in the top five of poorest air quality in the world. Today has been bad, but the wind direction should change. With what’s going on in the west, I don’t see any end in sight. It doesn’t make for the most enjoyable golf round when you’re sucking in smoke for four hours.

Can you believe it was 15 years ago that you invited me to come with you and a bunch of Colorado and Wyoming guys to volunteer on golf courses in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina?

Probably the hardest week of work in your life, huh, Seth? It’s crazy to think it was 15 years ago. What a trip. I always knew this industry had a great band of superintendents and golf course employees. When I reached out, I was never concerned that people would say no, but when we got to New Orleans, the most memorable thing to me was how important golf is to people. Those people had their worlds turned upside down, but golf was a release, a chance to forget about life for a while. That’s how great the game can be. You can be in nature, be yourself and relax.

What’s your favorite celebrity encounter?

Back in ’99, I worked at the Country Club in Brookline. It was a couple weeks after the U.S. Open, and we were preparing for the Ryder Cup. I was in a bunch of juniper bushes pulling weeds. I heard some golfers coming up onto the 15th tee box. I stumbled out, knowing I probably shouldn’t be in these bushes while the guys are hitting. I pick my head up, and it was Payne Stewart right in front of me. I was always a big fan of his. He complimented me on the conditions of the golf course. Every time I think about him, it’s so sad that he’s gone.

As interviewed by Seth Jones, Sept. 17, 2020.