Talking Ocean Organics with Tom Colombo (CGCS), Superintendent of the Hyannisport Club
We are wicked excited about our 2nd ever Ocean Organics Newsletter Superintendent profile. Our subject today is Tom Colombo, Superintendent of the Hyannisport Club in beautiful Hyannis Port, MA.
After presenting Tom with a freshly baked chocolate chip and walnut banana bread, he broke down and agreed to an interview (every man has his price). I thought about bribing Tom with my homemade meatballs but they don’t travel well.
We’re going to talk to Tom about his professional journey, the iconic golf property he maintains and, of course, how Ocean Organics’ products fit into his agronomic programs.
The Journey:
Tom was born in Attleboro, MA, which is a stone’s throw from Cape Cod.
“I got an early start in the turfgrass industry,” Tom laughed. “I grew up across the street from Buncie’s Pitch & Putt in West Bridgewater, Mass. I used to ride with my next-door neighbor Buncie Schwartz, on his Toro tractor turning the irrigation heads on and off to water the property. I could barely see above the steering wheel on the tractor.”
Tom’s family moved to the Cape and settled in South Yarmouth when Tom was in the 2nd grade. Directly across the street from the Colombo home was the Bass River Golf Course.
“I worked on the crew at Bass River from the 8th grade all through my high school years,” Tom recollected. “After that it was on to UMass Stockbridge for my turf education. I completed the required turfgrass internship at Bass River despite Dr. Joe Troll’s pleas to go out to Westchester County or Long Island. The reason I didn’t choose a more prestigious club was because I had a thriving landscape business in my home town and didn’t want to pass up that income.”
In 1982, at the tender age of 20, Tom’s first assistant’s job began at The Club at New Seabury, a 36-hole private resort in Mashpee, MA.
“I worked for Superintendent Mark Klimm. New Seabury was pretty much a private course until the resort component was added in the mid-1980s. I spent 4 years as Mark’s assistant and became superintendent in 1986.”
In 1999 Tom pulled up stakes and was hired as superintendent at The Ridge Club in Sandwich, MA. “The Ridge” is a gated community with some famous residents including Bobby Orr, NHL Hall of Famer and iconic Boston Bruins defenseman.
“I spent nine years at The Ridge. In December 2007, I was hired to run the show at Hyannisport.”
It’s been a busy last 13 years. Under the auspices of Architect Ron Force’s Donald Ross inspired master plan, the golf course underwent an extensive restoration. Hyannisport Club had the benefit of the Ross’s original hole by hole blueprints.
“In 2009/10, we added 17 new bunkers missing from the original Ross plans, many of them fairway bunkers. We rebuilt/relocated 53 existing bunkers and tweaked a number of greens complexes,” Tom remarked. “In addition we added a 2nd floor to our existing turf center for new office space, locker rooms, and a break room. We also constructed a second storage building and mechanic’s bays.”
Tom is keen to mention some of his golf mentors, friends, and protégé’s that have had a profound effect in his career.
“Bob St. Thomas of Hyannisport and Professor Joe Troll at UMass steered me in the right direction. Of course, so did Mark Klimm GCS at New Seabury C. C. I’m proud of the assistants that have worked for me and moved on to superintendent positions, Joe Felicetti at Pine Hills, Scott Nickerson at New Seabury, and Ryan Walsh at Woods Hole, to name a few.”
On a personal note, Tom met his bride-to-be, Leanne, at New Seabury. Leanne would summer in Mashpee and worked in the Pro Shop. Their 31-year union has produced 3 great kids. Tom and Leanne’s two older boys, Ryan and Tom, are getting married this year. Ryan is a Biochemical Engineer and Tom is a Mechanical Engineer. Daughter Emma is studying to be a Dietician and keeps an eye on Tom to make sure he eats right.
