The 19th Hole: Kevin Hicks

Kevin Hicks
Superintendent // Coeur d’Alene (Idaho) Resort

What can I get you?
Any beer I can’t see through.

Are you married, kids?
I’m married, 23 years (Julie). We have three boys, ages 18, 16 and 10.

What are your teams?
Gonzaga basketball, the local team. And I’m a big golf nut.

What about your oldest son’s baseball team?
Michael plays for Yavapai College in Prescott, Ariz. They’re good. He’s a freshman, just getting started, he plays a lot of designated hitter. He graduated high school on a Friday, then got drafted by the Yankees the following Wednesday. He wisely decided to go to college for a few years. He’s 6’7” 260, a power hitter. We’ll see what happens.

If you were to write a book, what would the title be?
I’m in the process — I’m actually writing it. I ran a course in Boise that hosted the Boise Open, a Nationwide Tour event. There was a term one of the tournament set-up team guys used all the time, because his life was always in turmoil… he called his life “Asininity: The Art of Being Asinine.” That’s what my book is going to be called. It’s a compilation of ridiculous experiences I’ve had with people, owners, members and employees. I’ll have to be unemployed or retired when I finish it. But I’ve been writing it for 25 years.

March is almost here, what’s your biggest concern?
Getting the course ready. We regrassed greens last fall, we need to be ready for April 15th. Being a resort, we try to give the same experience to the April 15th golfer as we do the July 15th golfer. We had a great winter, we’re getting there.

One person in history you’d like to meet?
I like political history, so I think Ben Franklin.

Do you have any tools in the shop you want to brag about?
My equipment tech, Dave Woodall, he’s the best asset in our company. Every year he tries to raise the bar. He bought a pipe bender, called a JD Squared. But it’s not just a pipe bender, he’s building frames for trailers and such. It’s opened a whole new horizon… for instance he built from scratch, a new frame for our GPS sprayer… superintendents would be drooling over this thing.

Last good movie you saw?
The new Star Wars.

Favorite thing about living in Idaho?
Good people. And the outdoor opportunities are unbelievable. We have a sailboat, great golf weather, and I’m outside at a lot of baseball games.

If you won the lottery, what kind of car would you buy?
Corvette Stingray.

How tall are you? Would you fit?
I’m 6’5. I’ll make sure I do.