Alan Bean, Superintendent of The Ridge at Back Brook

JUNE 2021 • VOLUME 1 • ISSUE 4

The Ridge at Back Brook

Talking Ocean Organics with Alan Bean, Superintendent of “The Ridge at

Back Brook”

This 4^th edition of the “Talking Ocean Organics” Newsletter takes us to Ringoes, NJ. It’s home to one of the finest private golf courses in the state, “The Ridge at Back Brook.” Our article will focus on Alan Bean who’s been at “The Ridge” since 2011.

We’ll talk about Alan’s personal and professional

journey, the special property he looks after, and how

he’s incorporated Ocean Organics products into his agronomic programs.

About Alan:

Alan grew up in Norway, ME. “My parents weren’t well off financially,” Alan remarked, “but they instilled a work ethic in me that has helped me on my journey. When I was a kid you had chores. There was no TV watching or video games. I was always outdoors, always doing something.”

While attending nearby Oxford Hills HS, Alan was introduced to golf during gym class in his junior year. He was immediately hooked. “I loved playing golf,” Alan smiled, “I got a job at a local 9 hole public course, Norway Golf Club, on the maintenance crew. I remember my mom Linda would get up early to drop me off at the club at 5am so I could walk mow all 10 greens. After the greens were done I would play golf all day, sometimes 45 holes. My mom would pick me up later in the evening. So, I got into the maintenance side of the business only because it afforded me the opportunity to play as much golf as I wanted. And they paid me too.”

After high school Alan moved down to Melbourne, FL to experience the game of golf outside of Maine and got a job on the maintenance crew at Bay Tree National Golf Links. “I saw this as a great opportunity to play more golf,” Alan laughed, “but I did start to get more interested in the maintenance side of the business, the art and science of it.”

“Since I’ve been here I’ve used very little nitrogen. The course was grown in with a lot of organic fertilizer. When the soil temps warm up and we get a little rain everything would blow out of the ground. Now I am at the point where I have great control over growth at any point of the year.”

Alan Bean, The Ridge at Back Brook

Alan’s next stop was Myrtle Beach, SC. “An old high school buddy from Maine was attending Coastal Carolina and invited me to live with him. They had just finished building a course on Pawley’s Island, True Blue Golf Club, and I started working there the first day it opened. I was able to meet the architect who designed True Blue, Mike Strantz, and saw his crazy artistic ability and vision for the course. For me, Mike was one of the best architects around and had an impressive array of designs. I loved that part of the business. He had a big influence on me. Sadly, he passed away from cancer in 2005. At that moment, I knew what I wanted to do with my life.”

Alan enrolled at Horry-Georgetown Technical College to get his degree in Turfgrass Management. “I went to school part time and worked on the crew at True Blue full time,” Alan recalled, “It took me three years to complete the degree. I had to do an internship to graduate and was lucky enough to land in Westchester County in New York working for late and great Dave Mahoney at Siwanoy CC. It was a high-level program with a cutting-edge approach to managing the course. I loved it. I knew at that point that I was going to be heading back to Westchester County because that’s where the best golf courses were.”

“If you can manage cool season turf here, you can manage it anywhere.”Alan remarked, “The climate here in the summer is hot, humid, rainy, windy, you name it.”

And that’s exactly what Alan did. He landed a 2^nd Assistant’s position at Wykagyl CC in New Rochelle, a stone’s throw from Siwanoy CC in lower Westchester County. “I worked for Mike Scott. He was tough but Mike was the best thing that ever happened to me. I remember when I started I made $30,000/year and worked 80-90 hours a week in the summer and 50-60 hours a week in the winter. We really transformed Wykagyl with the crazy amount of trees we took out and a Coore and Crenshaw renovation. I spent 8 years working for Mike and if I had to do it over again I would in a heartbeat. Mike taught me how to be a great leader and get the most out of our employees.”

In 2010, after eight years at Wykagyl, Alan secured his first superintendent’s job at “The Cliffs at Glassy” in Landrum, SC. “The course was located on top of a mountain in the South with all cool season grasses. It had bluegrass roughs, bentgrass greens, tees, and fairways. After one month at “The Cliffs”, the club filed for bankruptcy. The Glassy is the oldest of the seven “Cliffs” properties and so was all of the equipment. When the money ran out we had to figure out how to maintain with not so much. All in all, it was another great experience,” Alan remarked.

Alan added Ocean products to his agronomic

programs a few years ago.

While at “The Cliffs” Alan met Joel Moore, the owner of “The Ridge at Back Brook.” “Joel and his wife Pam had property behind the 17th green and from time to time I would see them around. I remember working late one night and Mr. Moore introduced himself to me and asked if I would cut down a bunch of trees so he could have a better view. I told him we would cut them for the health of the green, not for his view. I think he respected that answer and when the position at The Ridge opened up I received the call to interview.” Alan travelled to NJ and walked the golf course with Joel and on the next morning Joel placed a contract in front of Alan and the rest is history.

“It’s different working for a single owner. I had always worked at member-owned clubs, so it was difficult for me here at the beginning. Once I figured out that it was Joel’s golf course and not the members, our association grew into a father/son type of relationship. At the end of every day I know exactly where I stand with him.”

“When I got here I mostly focused on greens, tees and fairways and being fast and firm. Mr. Moore quickly changed that focus and opened my eyes to the big picture. It’s expected that we keep the course firm and fast, but green enough to sell memberships and outings. We constantly focus on the details and keeping the property weed free”.

“I use Nautilus on my

greens. It has changed

the way I water."

“In the last 10-years we’ve done a lot of projects. We’ve expanded greens, built new tees, rebuilt all the bunkers and installed two ponds. The work I am most proud of is the rock walls in front of #9 and #12 greens. They look natural to the property and provide a dramatic look to the hole.”

Ironically, Alan’s mentor Mike Scott grew in the course in 2001/2002 and now Alan, Mike’s protégé, is continuing the work.

Having a strong and positive relationship with Joel has been paramount to the course’s success. “My first call in the morning is to Joel. I let him know what’s on the schedule to keep him in the loop. If he has anything he needs me to do for him that day, he lets me know. It’s important to be on the same page.”

"I spray XP pretty much

year-round and love the color it gives the turf on my greens.”

All photos appear courtesy of Alan Bean.

About "The Ridge"

Joel Moore and his wife Pam had a dream. After belonging to a succession of local clubs they knew that the only way to find a club that had everything they wanted, they’d have to build it themselves. Their quest began in the late 1990’s.

Joel began walking parcels of available land within driving distance of his and Pam’s eastern Pennsylvania home and his accounting practice in Princeton, NJ. And it was discouraging. Joel could not find land that wasn’t flat and dull and he almost abandoned the hunt.

And then it happened. He found a 300-acre property like no other. “There were woods, streams, elevation changes, and huge specimen trees,” Joel marveled, “I found a natural red-rock wall nearly 100 feet tall that’s now behind the 8^th green. I ran home and told Pam, I think I’ve found it.” He was able to buy the four parcels including the 30-acre property with the exposed red shale.

The next step was hiring the architect. Joel had stated that if he couldn’t get Tom Fazio to design the course, he wasn’t going to move forward. It took months to close the deal with Fazio but it finally happened.

Tom Fazio’s quest was to make every hole on the course special.

In late summer of 2002, the course opened. The members loved it and word slowly spread beyond the confines of the county and the state. “The Ridge at Back Brook” was a gem. Golf Digest named “The Ridge” the best new course east of the Mississippi in 2003 and the sixth best new course in the country. In 2006, the New Jersey Course Owner’s Association named “The Ridge” NJ’s course of the year. Other accolades have followed including Golf World naming it the eighth best private club in the country in 2010.

Tom Fazio’s quest was to make every hole on the course special. And he kept his promise. Providing the definition and framing are fields of flowing fescue, stands of tall trees, a lake, and two ponds. There is really a “Back Brook” and its tributaries come into play on nine holes. Not a lot of bunkers but those that exist are large, deep, and well positioned. The fairways are wide but many are sloped so golfers have to negotiate a least a few uphill, downhill, and side-hill lies. And the outcroppings of barn-red shale appear behind the 5^th green and then dramatically rises out of the earth in the middle of the 7^th fairway. A 100-foot-high red-rock wall backstops the 8^th green.

Joel and Pam also wanted something different when they built the clubhouse so they constructed a mountain chalet, built of timber and stone, a taste of the Rockies in the Mid-Atlantic. Here members can enjoy casual fare as well as gourmet cuisine or just a quiet drink after a round.

Ocean Organics at "The Ridge"

“If you can manage cool season turf here, you can manage it anywhere.” Alan remarked, “The climate here in the summer is hot, humid, rainy, windy, you name it.”

Alan added Ocean products to his agronomic programs a few years ago.

“I use Nautilus on my greens. It has changed the way I water. We used to only hand water, but I’ve changed over to deep and infrequent irrigation cycles. When I spray Nautilus, I water it in with a ½”. Depending on the weather that application will keep us hydrated for 3-4 days. Once we see the greens starting to pull the dew in the morning we will go with another ½” and continue to do so as needed. By doing this our roots have never been better and our hand watering is very limited.”

“I use Privateer on my tees and approaches. Over the years we have always been hydrophobic in these areas and Privateer has eliminated that problem.”

“I use Helmsman on my fairways. It does a great job breaking surface tension so water will infiltrate into the soils.”

Alan has also added three Ocean bio-stimulants to his programs.

“I spray one ounce of Guarantee Natural on every weekly fairway application and love the results. I spray XP pretty much year-round on my greens. I feel like it has provided our greens with better roots and I love the color we get from it. When the weather becomes stressful, I add Stress RX to keep the turf going. I’ve been thinking about adding Stress RX to my greens programs earlier.”

So, there you have it. Our thanks go out to Alan for his time and his insights.