The 19th Hole: Jeff Wetterling

CGCS //  Greenacres CC, Lawrence Township, N.J.

So what’s your drink of choice?

Well, a cold beverage of almost any kind will do. An Amstel Light, but if alcohol is not an option, a tall Arnold Palmer.

How long have you been at Greenacres?

I’ve been here for 21 years as superintendent. I left for 15, and I was here prior in high school and college for nine. My wife and I are both Central Jersey, born and bred.

Tell me about your family?

My two kids are 34 and 31. They both have two children each, both doing well. For 39 years I’ve been married. We got married in 1974. That’s a long time! Nancy is retired from IBM. She constantly reminds me she’s retired!

Are you looking forward to retirement?

Oh, absolutely. We see ourselves retiring at the 62-year timeframe. A year and a half to go. We’re going to stay put, we have a 5-and-a-half acre parcel on a flag lot, and we own a beach house down in Long Beach Island.

What’s the best thing on TV right now?

I like Wicked Tuna. I’m an avid fisherman. They’re off Massachusetts bluefin tuna fishing. Take a look, it’s pretty neat, they’re catching 300-, 400-pound fish.

What turf maintenance tool has the potential to really grow?

You know, I think the thing that is coming in the next two years… the agronomic benefit in our business is going to be in the chemical industry — herbicides, fungicides. Poa controls in our neck of the woods is going to be critical. I think the chemical end of the business is going to come a long way. They’ve come a long way in the last 20 years already — I think back to when we were spraying thiram and PMAS out of a gun, you know?

So I bumped into you this year at Augusta National. How many times have you been to the Masters?

I think this was our 18th year. I missed two, just scheduling conflicts, when the kids got married. I always tell people you go to the Masters for three things: the course, the tournament and the people you meet. It’s a special place, as you know. It’s just a cross section of the golf society.

What’s the gossip with the boys in the shop these days?

The boys are talking about the amount of clippings on fairways if we don’t spray enough Primo out there! That makes the job a lot more difficult. That’s the topic of conversation; the grass is growing too damn fast.

What is the wildest weather event you’ve experienced firsthand?

I was about 100 feet from a lightning bolt. This was 30 years ago. It blew a tree apart. It sounded like dynamite, like a bomb, when you’re that close. I thought I had great respect for lightning, but boy, I got a lot more that day.

As interviewed by Seth Jones, June 3rd, 2013.