Kinsale GC names Rusty Mercer as director of agronomy ahead of 2024 opening

Kinsale Golf Club, a Gil Hanse and Jim-Wagner-designed course set to open in the fall of 2024, in Naples, Fla., named Rusty Mercer as its director of agronomy. Mercer holds a degree in agronomy with an emphasis in golf and turf management from Mississippi State University.

Rusty Mercer

Mercer, most recently the director of agronomy at the Streamsong Resort in Lakeland, Fla., has nearly 35 years of experience in golf course maintenance. He has also served in agronomy leadership positions at Hot Springs (Ark.) Country Club and The Golf Club at Cuscowilla in Lake Oconee, Ga.

During his time at those facilities, he worked with prominent golf course architects in new construction projects including Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw at Hot Springs CC, Cuscowilla, and Streamsong Red, Tom Doak at Streamsong Blue and Hanse and Wagner at Streamsong Black.

“I have a passion for the game and I believe what separates great golf courses from simply good ones is optionality in how one chooses to attack every golf hole,” Mercer said. “Working with Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner again as they build the course with the philosophy of Macdonald and Raynor will make sure that ground game will be alive and well at Kinsale.”