Golf Course Superintendent

The Old Collier Golf Club is an exclusive, private club located in Naples, Florida. It is truly a golf club with no homes or any other amenity other than golf. It is for the golf enthusiast with very high expectations for the best course conditioning. The Old Collier Golf Club is the first Audubon International certified Gold Signature Cooperative Sanctuary golf course. As with other Audubon International designations, Gold Signature Sanctuary status carries with it a commitment to merging wildlife conservation, habitat enhancement, resource conservation, environmental improvement, and sustainable development. Then, experts from the Audubon International Institute prepare an Environmental Master Plan for all aspects of the property, including very detailed, site-specific strategies for natural resource conservation and management, architecture, infrastructure, landscaping, and community outreach. The success of any program can be measured by the degree of correlation between initial stated objective and end result or outcome. Regarding the objectives of the Audubon Signature Program, The Old Collier Golf Club exemplifies and validates the concept of co-habitable “common gr...ound” for sustainable economic development and long-term environmental quality. Environmentally sensitive factors such as regional hydrology, wetlands, and threatened species habitat make this parcel unique and strongly influenced the project design and implementation. The entire Old Collier property consists of roughly 267 acres of mixed upland and wetland habitat bounded to the north by the Cocohatchee River, and to the east, south, and west by major thoroughfares servicing commercial, residential, and institutional development. Prior to construction the parcel was undeveloped except for a storm water management system servicing surrounding residential and commercial properties, and it had been zoned for a planned, 800-unit development. Of the 267 total acres, approximately 53 acres of mangrove and wetland habitat bordering the Cocohatchee River were set aside and remain untouched. The golf course is superimposed on the remaining 214 acres of primarily upland habitat. The project consists of an 18-hole “golf-only” facility (i.e., no pools, tennis courts, or residents) with 77 acres of irrigated turf; 28 acres of surface water distributed over 11 wholly contained, man-made lakes; and approximately 109 acres of connected native habitat.