MEMBER SPOTLIGHT ON
DAN JOHNSON
GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENT Jackson’s Old Hickory Country Club Old Hickory, Tennessee
Dan with his family
D
an Johnson is a current TTA Board member and has previously served as MTGCSA president. He invited us to visit him at Jackson’s Old Hickory Country Club and shared some great insight about the industry, building and keeping a great crew and the highlights of working as a golf course superintendent. How did you decide to become a golf course superintendent and what was the path to your current position? I’ve been working in this industry for 23 years now. I started at age 14 weed-eating and changing cups at my local country club. I grew up in upstate, northern New York. I have always done golf in some capacity from outside on the grounds to picking up range balls to working in pro shops and ultimately as I got closer to college it was 100% out on the course. I played golf for two years in college down in Louisiana and worked at a couple of clubs there. After Hurricane Rita I came to MTSU and finished my last two years of my business degree there. I took an assistant superintendent job down in Dalton, Georgia at The Farm Golf Club. I worked there for four years. During that time I did the two-year online Penn State Turf degree. I’ve had the privilege to work under some really great superintendents here in Tennessee and also in New York. I worked for Michael Brownlee at Stone River for a year and a half, and Tim Parsons, who is one of the best friends I’ve ever had. I worked for him for a year and a half at Riverbend Country Club. Then I worked for Trey Cutshall – four really valuable years for me down in Georgia. I owe a lot to all three of those in different ways – me growing as a professional and quite frankly, me growing up. I’ve been here ten years. I’m just incredibly blessed to be here, I’ve seen the lowest of lows and truly it’s been special to be part of something that’s on the way up. I’ve worked for some really great people here at this club, I owe a lot to the people who hired me here. Joey Hickman, the golf professional who’s no longer with us, was one of the guys who hired me. Another gentleman named Ron Graham, who’s also part owner at Champion’s Run down in Eagleville, Tennessee. We were always broke or struggling and then that’s where Steve and Leah Smith and their other business partner who’s now deceased, Allen Ross, bought the club three and a half years ago and transitioned it into something great. Their vision is great. It’s a process, construction is ongoing, every day year-round, so we’re always under construction and will be for a number of years to come. I want to be here a long time.
Dan with his crew
What is the history of the club, and where is it going from here? It was founded in 1926 by Dupont and it’s President Andrew Jackson’s piece of property. It’s always been known as a blue collar, working man’s country club. The membership here, the people are great. They treat me well, they treat my staff well, there’s no uppity-ness. My first day here, Jim Hickman said to me, “Welcome home.” That was our member slogan back in the day, and it truly was like one giant family.
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TENNESSEE TURFGRASS APRIL / MAY 2022 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org
