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USA Today
06-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Meet the woman behind Hobe Sound's tough course conditioning at the U.S. Senior Challenge
Julie Williams Special to Golfweek Jackie Byler puts a lot of stock in the quality of a golf course's greens. They have been her primary focus these past two years as superintendent of Hobe Sound (Florida) Golf Club, a private facility with a small membership that sits amid some of South Florida's most prominent courses – Medalist and McArthur to the north, Jupiter Island Club to the east. This is something that Byler, 38, picked up from Dick Gray, the former head greenskeeper at PGA Golf Club in St. Lucie, Florida, who became an important mentor for her as she navigated her way to the superintendent position at Hobe Sound. 'When I first started, my biggest focus was the greens and just kind of start getting my program figured out on what products I wanted to use and the timing of all of it,' Byler said, 'and I felt like just with my experience working with Dick Gray, he was kind of always known for his greens also. 'Kind of sticking with the program that was very similar but knowing that the greens are the most important anywhere and that if you have good greens, that's the thing – sometimes you'll have a little bit more forgiveness in other areas. But the greens are the things that make or break people's careers.' Hobe Sound doesn't often open its doors to outside events, but the course welcomed 26 four-man teams of senior amateurs – including several nationally ranked players – on April 28-30 for the U.S. Senior Challenge. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle 'Our interest with this was we just felt that bringing some of the best senior amateurs to the club and putting our course to the test was something that was very interesting to us,' Hobe Sound general manager Jason Hayes said before the tournament. And truly, it was a test. Players raved about course conditioning on a challenging layout that never offered a break. Having come from PGA Golf Club, Byler knows something about putting a course in tournament condition. Byler is a former field hockey player who graduated high school in 2005 knowing she wanted a job outdoors. She attended Penn State for the turfgrass science program and stepped into the golf industry by way of a pair of back-to-back internships at Disney's golf facility. 'That's when I realized being in Florida during the winter is a lot better than Pennsylvania,' said Byler, a Pennsylvania native. 'So that's where learning to work with the warmer season grasses started.' Byler transitioned to PGA Golf Club at the beginning of 2012 as a second assistant/irrigation tech. Over the course of 11 years, she worked her way up the ladder. As a kid, Byler loved helping her mom with the flower beds every spring and summer – picking out plant material, putting down mulch and generally spending time outside. She dabbled in golf with her father, Jeff Byler, from the time she was 11 years old. First she would just hit a shot or two, then she'd drop a ball by the green and play in and eventually, she could put together a full round. The combination drew her to a career in golf, even though she very nearly bailed on that idea after a foray into athletic field maintenance that began with a quest for Penn State football season tickets. After missing the online ticket sales window because she was working at the university's Valentine Turf Research Center, she decided to approach some of the stadium grounds crew while working in a shared wash area for equipment. 'If you guys need somebody for the fall to work on staff, let me know,' she told them. That led to a grounds crew job in which Byler pitched in on jobs like maintaining the perimeter of the stadium, the parking areas and the intramural fields. 'That was a great trade-off because then doing that, yes we had to do some work early in the morning on game days but we got paid to sit on the sideline and watch the games,' she said. 'For awhile, I thought I wanted to get into athletics because I really enjoyed that side of things and really enjoyed college football.' Alas, golf won out. Throughout her time at Penn State, Byler, as a woman in turfgrass science, was in the minority. Often, her classes would include 30 to 50 students, and she'd be the only female. As her career progressed, she sometimes felt brushed to the side or like people would discount what she was saying simply because she was female. Just as often, though, people were welcoming and gender wasn't a factor. Word of Byler's skillset traveled, and ultimately, it's what afforded her the chance to take the next step from PGA Golf Club in 2023. When the Hobe Sound job came open, Byler's name seemed to be coming up over and over again to the course's greens chair. Byler got a call one Saturday that he'd like to meet with her and when that went well, Byler found herself driving the golf course two days later with the outgoing superintendent. By Thursday, she had a job offer. 'I didn't necessarily know if I would ever have a chance to work at a private club,' said Byler, who is eager to continue building up Hobe Sound. She's making the most of the one that came her way.
USA Today
01-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Shaw Pritchett leads Alabama-Georgia team to U.S. Senior Challenge win
Shaw Pritchett leads Alabama-Georgia team to U.S. Senior Challenge win Shaw Pritchett recognizes that his U.S. Senior Challenge-winning foursome may look, on the outside, like a bit of a mishmash. The team, captained by Pritchett's good golf buddy Michael Arasin, from Auburn, Alabama, included players from both sides of the Georgia-Alabama line. Montgomery, Alabama, resident Pritchett hadn't even met one of them, Georgian Danny Nelson, until the practice round at Hobe Sound (Florida) Golf Club this week. 'Maybe it was a little bit of a hodgepodge of putting a team together,' said the newly-55 Pritchett, 'but it was nice that it worked out.' Three of the four members roomed together in an Airbnb for the week and generally enjoyed the rare team event in senior amateur golf. And that produced good results for all. Pritchett, who has won the Alabama Senior Amateur the past two years, got the recruiting call from Arasin early in the season to play the national senior team event that rotates to venues around the country. And Pritchett turned out to be a good recruit: He contributed a score each round in the play-four-count-three format. In fact, Pritchett very nearly locked up individual honors in the Senior division. With consistent rounds of 73-75-74, Pritchett finished just one shot behind winner Charlie Stevens of Wichita, Kansas. Pritchett stayed in the game even as winds picked up in the final two rounds and wreaked havoc on a difficult Hobe Sound layout that features several sandy, native areas. 'I think each day the pin positions got a lot harder,' Pritchett said. 'Today they were really, really hard and then the other thing, probably the second and third day, the wind blew about 15 mph consistently, the whole time. It was a grind out there the last two days, just to get the ball in the hole. You hit one in the middle of the fairway and normally you say I've got this, this should be an easy par, let me go find a birdie. That was just not happening on this golf course.' One key indicator of strength of venue stands out on the U.S. Senior Challenge leaderboard: The amount of scoring fluctuation among the top players in the field. Arasin, a talented player who perennially contends in senior amateur tournaments, backed up opening rounds of 72-73 with a final-round 80 and finished T-5 in the Senior division. Stan Humphries, who had been a key player on the Louisiana team that had a six-shot second-round lead, logged rounds of 71-74-83 and was T-11. Hobe Sound is a private course that doesn't often open its doors to national events, and Pritchett found the conditioning excellent though the challenge constant. 'I cannot say enough about the conditioning,' he said. 'The holes were really challenging, pretty much every hole was a challenge. You didn't really have a breather on the entire course.' Thanks in part to Pritchett's consistent play, the Alabama-Georgia team finished at 25 over and just one shot ahead of the Louisiana team captained by Grady Brame, who posted a final-round 73 that was one of the best rounds of the day. It just wasn't quite enough to keep his team in the lead spot, though it did secure Brame a top-5 finish in the Senior division. Team Michigan finished third two shots behind Louisiana and the Florida team captained by William Boockford, which had led after the first round, finished fourth, 10 shots behind that. Led by Charlie Stevens, the Senior division medalist, Team Kansas rounded out the top 5. Donny Phillips of Suwanee, Georgia, claimed the Super Senior division title in a playoff with Memphis resident David Apperson after both finished at 14 over. Chris Hall of Acworth, Georgia, the final member of the winning Georgia-Alabama team, was fourth in that division. Lee Sandlin of Dallas won the Legend division title at 4 over, which was three shots better than Boockford, of nearby Tequesta, Florida. Gary Jeffreys, of El Paso, Texas, was the top Super Legend player at 14 over. That was five shots better than Skip Tellefsen of Jupiter, Florida.
USA Today
30-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
U.S. Senior Challenge: Louisiana on top after second-round leaderboard shuffle
U.S. Senior Challenge: Louisiana on top after second-round leaderboard shuffle After a second-round leaderboard shuffle at the U.S. Senior Challenge, there's a lot to be said for consistency. That's how the four-man squad from Louisiana found itself at the top of the team leaderboard with 18 holes left to play at Hobe Sound (Florida) Golf Club. On a day when scores rose across the board, Louisiana players managed to match their 6-over effort from the first day to not only climb from the third-place spot into the top spot, but build a six-shot cushion over the next-closest team. In the play-four-count-three team format, Louisiana used rounds of 1-over 73 from Claud Cooper, 2-over 74 from Stan Humphries and 3-over 75 from team captain Grady Brame on Tuesday. Scores: U.S. Senior Challenge While one team champion is crowned at the U.S. Senior Challenge, individual champions will be named in each of the four age divisions: senior, super senior, legends and super legends. World Amateur Golf Ranking points are also awarded. Humphries, at 1 over for the tournament (71-74), is tied for first in the Senior division with Michael Arasin, who is captaining an Alabama-Georgia team that, entering the final round, is closest on Louisiana's heels. Cooper is another two shots back in a tie for third with Charlie Stevens, a member of the fifth-place Kansas team. The day began with the Florida team captained by William Boockford, the reigning Legends champion of the Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions, in the lead. Hobe Sound native Rich Buckner helped greatly in that team effort with an opening 70, but Buckner fell to 82 in the second round as the team slipped to fifth. Boockford, for his part, is 4 over individually (73-75) and trailing by only two shots in the Legends division. Donny Phillips, at 5 over, leads the Super Senior division. His Ohio-Georgia team is in a tie for eighth on the team leaderboard. Gary Jeffreys, a member of the Texas team also in a share of eighth, is 9 over and at the top of the Super Legends division.
USA Today
29-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Team Florida takes the early lead at U.S. Senior Challenge
Team Florida takes the early lead at U.S. Senior Challenge With a local in the lead at the U.S. Senior Challenge, it's no wonder a Florida squad is also setting the pace in the team competition. Thanks in part to Hobe Sound, Florida, resident Rich Buckner's four birdies on the opening day of the senior team event at Hobe Sound Golf Club, his Florida four-man team has a two-shot lead after the first round. The U.S. Senior Challenge is a unique – and rare – team event in senior amateur golf. Players compete as part of four-man teams representing their home state or region. While one team champion is crowned, individual champions will be named in each of the four age divisions: senior, super senior, legends and super legends. World Amateur Golf Ranking points are also awarded. Buckner, winner of last year's Florida Azalea Senior and also a past champion of Golfweek's Senior Tournament of Champions, fared well enough with his 2-under 70 to lead the Senior division individually while also playing the lead role for his team. To help matters, teammate William Boockford of Tequesta, Florida, the team captain, contributed a 1-over 73 and leads the Legends division. Boockford won the Legends division at the Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions in December. Scores: U.S. Senior Challenge The U.S. Senior Challenge features a play-four-count-three format, and Doug Clapp contributed the third score – a 3-over 75 – for the leading Florida team that left them with a combined score of 2 over. That was two better than the Michael Arasin-captained team from Alabama and Georgia. Arasin's even-par 72 left him part of a tie for fifth in the Senior division. A team from Louisiana, captained by Grady Brame, is third at 6 over. Teams from Kansas and Michigan are tied for fourth another shot back. Hobe Sound, a private golf club in South Florida, rarely opens its doors to outside events, so the venue certainly upped the intrigue for the U.S. Senior Challenge – both in terms of exclusivity and challenge. Hobe Sound underwent a 2019 redesign by Tom Fazio II and as part of that renovation, several native, sandy areas were restored. Those areas, plus undulating greens, can present a challenge for players.'We're on a sand ridge that runs through this area – through several prominent golf courses up here,' general manager Jason Hayes said before the tournament. 'So we have a lot of areas of those exposed native areas, of native sand, which can be very challenging if (players) don't find the fairway because they're in soft, sugar sand.'
USA Today
26-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
U.S. Senior Challenge will feature record number of teams at Hobe Sound GC
U.S. Senior Challenge will feature record number of teams at Hobe Sound GC Outside of two-man best-ball tournaments, there aren't many opportunities for an amateur to compete in a team event. That's what makes the U.S. Senior Challenge, a national senior team event happening this week at Hobe Sound (Florida) Golf Club, so unique. The tournament, which dates to the mid-1980s, ends up feeling a lot like a college golf tournament. State teams are made up of four individuals, with the best three scores counting toward the team total in each of three rounds. While one team champion is crowned, individual champions will be named in each of four age divisions: senior, super senior, legends and super legends. World Amateur Golf Ranking points are also awarded. Hobe Sound, a private golf club in South Florida, rarely opens its doors to outside events, so the venue certainly upped the intrigue for the U.S. Senior Challenge. 'We do select them very carefully,' general manager Jason Hayes said, 'and our interest with this was we just felt that bringing some of the best senior amateurs to the club and putting our course to the test was something that was very interesting to us.' Hobe Sound underwent a 2019 redesign by Tom Fazio II and as part of that renovation, several native, sandy areas were restored. 'We're on a sand ridge that runs through this area – through several prominent golf courses up here,' Hayes said. 'So we have a lot of areas of those exposed native areas, of native sand, which can be very challenging if (players) don't find the fairway because they're in soft, sugar sand.' The renovation also opened up the golf course more than it had been previously, which brings the elements into play. 'If it gets windy, due to how open the golf course is, it can get pretty challenging,' Hayes said. The other challenge lies in undulating greens that, at tournament speed, can be tricky for any level of player. Hobe Sound really gets interesting, Hayes said, on the back nine – especially by No. 13. 'You have a couple long par 3s and some challenging holes there with very large native areas to navigate,' Hayes said. Hobe Sound was certainly a draw for the U.S. Senior Challenge field, particularly East Coast teams. The tournament typically bounces around the country giving teams made up of players from the same state the opportunity to travel together and to feel a regional advantage when the tournament comes to their area of the country. 'As we move, there's a core of about eight to 10 teams that no matter where we bring the event, they will travel with us,' said Mike Quinlan, president and executive director of the U.S. Senior Challenge organization. Each year before the tournament, a Challenge Man of the Year is named in an effort to recognize a person whose life has been exemplary in family, business, and golf. This year, Quinlan was that man. The 72-year-old from Albuquerque, New Mexico, who also currently serves as the president of the Sun Country Amateur Golf Association, has done much to elevate the U.S. Senior Challenge into a national event, largely by drawing in the help of other associations. The Sun Country Amateur Golf Association, in cooperation with the U.S. Senior Challenge Board of Directors and Golfweek, handles tournament operations. 'The partnership we created four years ago has really blossomed to the point where this year is the first time the tournament has completely filled since probably 2009,' Quinlan said. 'We have 26 teams, from all over the country, and it's just – really looking forward to this year's event because it's a wonderful venue that we were very fortunate to be able to partner with. Great time of year in Florida and it should be really an exciting event.' Those 26 teams are made up of 104 players, with 22 states represented. Before this year, no more than 18 teams had ever competed in an event. In this year's field, the farthest player will come from Seattle. That's another interesting wrinkle to the U.S. Senior Challenge: The majority of teams are formed by a state captain representing participating states, but in some cases, teams may not meet until they show up for the practice round. That's because individuals who are not part of their state's team can also compete in the tournament, and organizers work to group them into teams from the same state, when possible, or regionally. A team winner and runner-up will be crowned as well as an individual champion for each age division. The 54-hole event begins April 28.
