Turf

Fall 2014 25 Beginnings McPherson developed a great love of the outdoors in mid- Michigan, exploring every corner of his family's 200-acre farm. His mother worked in education at Michigan State University and his father was an electrician at General Motors. In addi- tion, his family operated a cash crop and dairy farm comprised of 50 Ayrshire cows. "I grew up on a dairy farm," McPherson said. "I love being outside. I love working with the soil. I knew about golf, but I never thought about taking care of golf courses until sometime in high school. My older brother worked at a golf course in the area, where we lived. "That's kind of my introduction to it. It wasn't until I was in college that I actually worked at a club. It was a club that hosted an LPGA event just outside campus. Those tournaments to me are very exciting. I kind of got drawn to it. I was lucky in the beginning. I worked for some very good people who helped me Fall 2014 25 understand that this can be a career." McPherson went to Michigan State University and chose a field of study tied closely to his agricultural roots. He earned degrees in Landscape Horticulture and Turfgrass Management. "It kind of fit into my background," he said. "It's kind of like farming to some degree. There is a lot of correlation between what we do and what my background was. It was kind of an easy fit. To me growing grass is usually the easy part. It's every- thing else that comes along with it that can raise the stress level from time to time. Helping everybody else understand that sometimes things are completely out of our control, like the weather and the impact it can have. Sometimes those are the challenging parts." After graduation he began his career as an assistant golf course superintendent at Prestwick Village Golf Club in south- eastern Michigan. McPherson 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 1998, he moved to Congressional Country Club just outside of Washington, D.C. He jumped at the opportu- nity to learn from the highly renowned superintendent, Paul R. Latshaw. McPherson began as an assistant of the Blue Course— host of the U.S. Open in 1997 and again in 2011—and was later promoted to superintendent of the Gold Course. During this time Eric managed the $2,400,000 renovation of the Gold Course with golf course architect Arthur Hills. In 2003, McPherson moved to New England and became the superintendent at Point Judith Country Club, a historic seaside course in Narragansett, R.I. There he raised daily maintenance practices and improved course conditioning, renovated 10 grass tennis courts, oversaw the construction and furnishing of a state-of-the-art maintenance complex and aided in the develop- ment of a Master Plan. Omaha Country Club "It's a Perry Maxwell design renovated by Keith Foster," McPherson said. "Maxwell greens have some very gentle rolls throughout. There is a lot of motion on the surface of the greens. Omaha Country Club is very hilly, a lot of elevation change. It's a pretty stern test of golf. It's only 6,800 yards from the back. But it plays strong. It was a great test for the 2013 Senior Open the way that the course was presented by the USGA. It's a hilly walk. Throw in the 95-degree temperatures OMAHA COUNTRY CLUB Omaha, Neb. • 6,801 yards (back tees) • 5,149 yards (front tees) • Par 71 • 1,090 feet (elevation of Omaha) • 427,872 (population of Omaha) www.omahacc.org Precision Mowing The maintenance crew preps the fairway for next day's play.

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