Firestone CC adds new general manager and director of golf

Jay Walkinshaw (Photo: Firestone Country Club)

Firestone Country Club welcomed Jay Walkinshaw as general manager and Tommy Moore as director of golf.

Walkinshaw arrives to Firestone with a decorated career in golf club management. He’s had stints as a golf professional at both The Olympic Club (San Francisco, Calif.) and Pebble Beach Golf Links (Carmel, Calif.) in the 1980s. In the 1990s, Walkinshaw transitioned into the director of golf operations position at Brookside Country Club (Stockton, Calif.) prior to several general manager and executive director positions at clubs such as San Jose Country Club (San Jose, Calif.), Pasatiempo Golf Club (Santa Cruz, Calif.), The National Golf Club of Canada (Woodbridge, Ont.) and Frenchman’s Reserve Country Club (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.).

“My time at Firestone has exceeded all expectations I might have had prior to arriving to this historic club,” Walkinshaw said. “With much of my time spent on the golf-rich coasts and Canada, Firestone is the perfect place to begin my time in the Midwest and in particular, the great state of Ohio.”

Tommy Moore (Photo: Firestone Country Club)

Moore comes to Firestone from The Hawthorns Golf & Country Club in Fishers, Ind., with an impressive amount of experience from courses all around the country. From 1998 to 2008, Moore held director of golf and head golf professional positions at Harbor Links Golf Course, The Links at Shirley and Pine Ridge Golf Club in New York. Moore then took an opportunity in New Mexico to be the head professional at The Golf Club at Rainmakers in 2009 prior to making his way back to Pennsylvania in 2012 for head professional positions at Regents’ Glen Country Club and Applecross Country Club.

“Everywhere I have been has gotten me ready to lead golf operations at Firestone Country Club, and it is an honor and privilege to be here,” Moore said. “I am not only looking forward to working with the professional team already assembled here, but everything we have planned to bring this world-class facility to new heights.”

Firestone Country Club is also amid a project to enhance its Fazio Course, formerly the “West Course.” Spearheaded by Fazio Golf Design, the project will include the removal of 18 bunkers and renovating the remaining 51. Several bunkers will be reshaped, and the Better Billy Bunker system will be employed in all for optimal drainage and reduction of washouts during inclement weather.

The bunker enhancement project started in October, and completion is slated for spring 2021.

Since the 1950s, the club and its famed South Course has annually hosted the biggest names in professional golf. In addition to being the site of three PGA Championships, Firestone was the long-time venue for the PGA TOUR’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and its predecessor, the World Series of Golf. It currently hosts the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship on the Champions Tour.

Firestone is conveniently located only 45 minutes from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and less than 15 from Akron-Canton Airport. It is also within easy driving distance of other major metropolitan areas such as Chicago, Columbus, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Detroit. Nearby off-course attractions include the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton and the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.