As he leaves Big Cedar Lodge, agronomy director Todd Bohn sees ‘a rebirth’ for the golf courses there and the sport.
It could have been a disaster.
In four years, Big Cedar Lodge had grown from 27 holes on two golf courses to 77 holes on five — just in time for a global pandemic.
Former agronomy director Todd Bohn says things were tense for a few weeks, but it quickly became obvious that golf was the solution to a lot of COVID-19’s challenges.
(L to R) Todd Bohn, superintendent at Wolf Creek, World Golf Hall of Famer Tom Watson, and Golfdom EIC Seth Jones, pictured last Friday. Photo: Golfdom Staff
“This pandemic brought golf back,” Bohn says. “It was kind of like when Tiger Woods was in his prime playing. Who would have thought that a pandemic would be what golf needed? It’s gotten people outside together as a family.”
Watching Big Cedar and golf courses around the country thrive gives Bohn a content feeling as he prepares for his upcoming challenge — agronomy director at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Ariz., a community with 126 holes on seven golf courses.
The country is coming back to life, things are getting back to normal and people will remember the central role golf played in keeping them physically and mentally fit during lockdowns.
“The positive momentum has continued into the beginning of this year,” Bohn says. “In spring, our numbers are way above budget. It’s awesome to see all these people out here coming out to play golf and experience our work.”
Massive expansion
Big Cedar Lodge and Bass Pro Shops Founder Johnny Morris hired Bohn in 2016 to develop his fast-growing Ozarks resort in Ridgedale, Mo. At the time, the resort owned Top of the Rock, a nine-hole, Jack Nicklaus-designed par three and Buffalo Ridge, a Tom Fazio-designed, 18-hole golf course.
Photo: John Deere mower on Big Cedar course
“(Morris) was finishing up some course cosmetic things, exposing some rock features and adding some water features. So, I got down here right at the very beginning of the big onslaught of development,” Bohn says.
Next came Mountain Top, a Gary Player-designed, 13-hole par 3.
“Then, we moved down over across the hill and built Ozarks National, our Coore/Crenshaw 18-hole golf course,” Bohn says, referring to Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore.
Then came Payne’s Valley, a Tiger Woods-designed, 18-hole championship golf course finished in late 2019. As construction wrapped up, the top concern at Big Cedar was launching the golf course with a splash. Bohn hoped for a massive tournament with big crowds, lots of press and global attention to a beautiful set of greens that used the hills and cliffs of the Ozarks to challenge and delight golfers.
COVID-19 made that impossible.
The inaugural Payne’s Valley Cup held last September, however, featured Woods and Justin Thomas teaming up against Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose, but no press or spectators.
“We still had a big event, but it wasn’t with the people on site like we were wanting,” Bohn says.
‘Nothing short of fantastic’
One thing the crews at Big Cedar didn’t have to worry about throughout the past 18 months was equipment. Part of that was good preparation, the rest was teamwork between Bohn’s crews, John Deere and Deere distributor Van Wall Equipment.
“All the stuff for the new golf course was done before COVID-19 hit,” Bohn says. “I had the stuff for Payne’s Valley in storage, which looking at hindsight was the best decision.”
However, as golfers returned to Big Cedar, staffing remained very lean. Cancelled H-2B visas for workers, higher workloads from more traffic on the courses and challenging weather conditions made 2020 and early 2021 difficult for Bohn’s team.
“When you increase your golfing rounds, and you have a cold winter and a cold spring where the turf really didn’t start growing until late in the season, that presents a challenge with trying to keep up with the traffic stress and the play, all the with short staff,” Bohn says, adding that support from Deere and Van Wall were critical.
With all of those personnel and traffic challenges, lack of equipment or delays for replacement parts could have been catastrophic.
“We’ve been very blessed and had a very good support from Van Wall Equipment and John Deere nationally. The teamwork that we’ve gotten from them has been nothing short of fantastic,” Bohn adds.
Looking back, and ahead
During his final days at Big Cedar, Bohn says the pandemic taught him a lot about golf and management, maybe as much as the rapid development years that preceded COVID-19.
“This place has taught me that with perseverance and hard work and dedication, you can overcome anything,” Bohn says. “I’m so grateful to Johnny Morris and to Big Cedar’s leadership team for trusting me to do this.
“I mean who gets to come to a place and work with Tom Fazio, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw, Bill Coore and then cap it off by working with Tiger Woods and his team on building golf courses? I’ve always said that I was a luckiest grass grower in the in the country.”
More than anything else, though, Bohn says he’s happy to see the way the world embraced his sport when it needed solace during a crisis.
“There’s kind of a rebirth in the whole world going on right now,” Bohn concludes. “I’m sure some people have gotten used to spending more time outside, more time on the grass, and they’re going to want to keep that up.”
To see what John Deere can do for your course, go to JohnDeere.com/Golf.
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Header photo: John Deere; Big Cedar
