Photograph: Point Judith Country Club #1 - Courtesy of Lambrecht Photography
Biography
Eric grew up in the heart of mid-Michigan where he developed a great love of the outdoors. His mother worked in education at Michigan State University and his father was an electrician at General Motors. In addition, his family owned and operated a cash crop and dairy farm comprised of 50 Ayrshire cows.
Eric’s experiences instilled in him a deep sense of moral values and a strong work ethic, and it also helped shape his career goals. After high school, Eric headed for Michigan State University and chose a field of study tied closely to his agricultural roots. He earned two bachelor's degrees, one in Landscape Horticulture and the other in Turfgrass Management.
Eric began his career as an assistant golf course superintendent at Prestwick Village Golf Club in southeastern Michigan. Eric assisted with the grow-in of this new golfing community which was nominated for Golf Digest’s “1997 Best New Private Golf Course.”
In September of 1998, Eric jumped at the opportunity to learn from the highly renowned superintendent, Paul R. Latshaw at Congressional Country Club just outside of Washington, D.C. Eric began as an assistant of the Blue Course and was later promoted to superintendent of the Gold Course. During this time Eric managed the renovation of the Gold Course with golf course architect Arthur Hills. Eric was very fortunate to gain invaluable experience at a Top 100 Club, mentored by two leading professionals in the industry including Mr. Michael Giuffre who joined the club after Mr. Latshaw’s departure.
In 2003, Eric moved to New England and became the superintendent at Point Judith Country Club, a historic seaside Donald Ross design in Narragansett, Rhode Island. There he raised daily maintenance practices and improved course conditioning for a very discerning membership. He led the renovation of ten grass tennis courts, oversaw the construction and furnishing of a state-of-the-art maintenance complex, and aided in the development of a Master Plan. In 2004, Eric earned his GCSAA certification.
In 2011, Eric landed the head position at Omaha Country Club, host of the 2013 U.S. Senior Open. Many projects were tackled in the short time period prior to the Championship. Eric recruited a tiered-level management team, raised daily maintenance practices on the course and at the maintenance facility, implemented an aggressive aeration program, undertook a property-wide rough renovation project, refurbished all 74 bunkers, oversaw a course-wide irrigation reparation project, and supervised the construction of a new pump station with tie-in to a new main line. Eric managed the preparation, maintenance and post-Championship course recovery of the very successful U.S. Senior Open in 2013.
In the fall of 2018, Eric oversaw a major course renovation to include the re-grassing of all greens to Pure Distinction, recontouring fairways, and the complete renovation of all bunkers using the Better Billy Bunker system. The golf course was poised to host another incredibly successful U.S. Senior Open Championship in 2021. Eric and his team received rave reviews on course conditioning from players, press and the membership as they managed the event through the limitations presented by the pandemic and a devastating storm on Friday night.
Eric currently resides in Omaha with his wife Stephanie and their Brittany, Riley.
