The 19th Hole: Scott Ramsay

By |  March 1, 2013

ramsayWhat’s your drink of choice after a round at a new course?

I usually ask if there is a house cocktail. Lots of clubs have signature sandwiches and drinks. But my standard is a tall Absolut and tonic, plenty of ice.

You’re at Yale Golf Club. Is it safe to say that some of the smartest college kids on any golf course crew can be found working for you?

I’m continually amazed with the Yale students. Each year I hire a dozen students for the summer, but I usually only have four to six at any one time since they’re so busy with other opportunities. One month they’re hover-mowing bunker banks, the next they could be in Washington D.C., on Wall Street or at an NHL training camp.

You’re always taking great photos with your iPhone. Can you give us a tip?

I use a macro lens made by Olloclip (www.olloclip.com), which slips onto my iPhone for close-ups of turf for disease diagnosis. It’s a fish-eye lens, a wide-angle lens and a macro lens all in one body. Anytime we get a disease, they want a picture… it’s hard to get a macro photo. The macro (lens) is what I use the most.

You guys have had some crazy weather lately.

This past year we were on the very eastern edge of Hurricane Sandy. We lost 264 trees on the golf course and we are still cleaning them up. Connecticut didn’t get the news coverage that New York and New Jersey did, but golf here took a hit.

But spring is here! Ready for March madness?

yalelogoGo Yale! Currently ranked No. 13. Hope they make the regional in Providence, R.I., and ultimately the Frozen Four. You meant hockey, right?

Uh, no. Tell me about your family?

I married Meg, a superintendent’s daughter, 26 years ago. Our son Bennett is at the University of South Carolina. Meg is a registered nurse and manages two Ambulatory Medical Centers.
Wait, you married a superintendent’s daughter?

My father-in-law (Roger Turcotte, Montaup CC, Portsmouth, R.I.) is a longtime superintendent, nearly 50 years at the same golf course. My wife and I were both in college — her roommate was my roommate’s girlfriend. I had no idea I was going to be in the business. I didn’t know of him until our fourth date. She pulled out a Golf Course Management magazine from my 1972 Volkswagen Beetle, and she goes, “Golf course management? That’s what my father does!”

So she must have sympathy for the hours you keep, then?

It’s probably why I’m still married.

As interviewed by Seth Jones on February 19th, 2013.

This is posted in People

About the Author: Seth Jones

Seth Jones, a 25-year veteran of the golf industry media, is Editor-in-Chief of Golfdom magazine and Athletic Turf. A graduate of the University of Kansas School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Jones began working for Golf Course Management in 1999 as an intern. In his professional career he has won numerous awards, including a Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) first place general feature writing award for his profile of World Golf Hall of Famer Greg Norman and a TOCA first place photography award for his work covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In his career, Jones has accumulated an impressive list of interviews, including such names as George H.W. Bush, Samuel L. Jackson, Lance Armstrong and Charles Barkley. Jones has also done in-depth interviews with such golfing luminaries as Norman, Gary Player, Nick Price and Lorena Ochoa, to name only a few. Jones is a member of both the Golf Writers Association of America and the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association. Jones can be reached at sjones@northcoastmedia.net.


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