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 From the News Desk...Adventure of a lifetimeby John ReitmanGolf might be an emerging sport in many parts of Asia, but course conditions on all parts of the continent have not kept up with the game’s rise in popularity. Count Bhutan as one of those places where the supply of good golf courses has not kept pace with growing interest in the game. The Himalayan country wedged between India and China has just seven courses, none of which are longer than nine holes, according to the Web site www.golfbhutan.com. In fact, 28-year-old Josh Adrian remembers a time about four years ago when he read about an accomplished junior golfer from the central Asian nation who grew up playing rough-hewn golf courses in his home country but struggled when he played on better-conditioned tracks elsewhere in the world. Although he’d never before heard of Bhutan, Adrian was intrigued by the story and dug deeper into the subject. The mountainous countryside he saw on Internet Web pages caught his eye and his imagination. Fast forward a few years and his interest in Bhutan led to an employment opportunity after worsening economic conditions in this country led to layoffs at the Pebble Beach Co., where he had been working as assistant superintendent at Del Monte Golf Course. “I’m just young enough that I’m dumb enough to do this. It helps that we don’t have kids. This is just the right time to do something like this for six months or a year, however long it ends up working out.”Adrian, 28, and his wife, Cassie, are scheduled to embark Aug. 15 to Bhutan where he says he will serve a minimum of six months as a true ambassador of the game. His job will be that of superintendent of Royal Thimphu, one of the country’s few golf courses, and part-time instructor to an emerging junior golf population eager to learn the game. And they are going site unseen. “I’m just young enough that I’m dumb enough to do this,” Adrian said. “It helps that we don’t have kids. This is just the right time to do something like this for six months or a year, however long it ends up working out.” Nine-hole Royal Thimphu was built in the 1970s by the country’s military. Today, the 2,800-yard, par-34 layout is owned by its members, but little has changed since a band of soldiers carved it out of the mountainous countryside more than 30 years ago. That is where Adrian fits in. Adrian had grown somewhat familiar with the state of golf in Bhutan when his job with the Pebble Beach Co. was eliminated in 2008. Through his research Adrian learned that Royal Thimphu was closely associated with the Bhutan Youth Golf Association, an initiative led by Sports Illustrated golf writer Rick Lipsey that introduces the game to young aspiring golfers in that country. He also learned that conditions at the course were modest at best, so he contacted Lipsey to learn whether there was a need for a professional superintendent. And Lipsey and others involved with the project know that their chances to enjoy and succeed at the game are directly related to golf course conditions. “This course has never had a real professional (superintendent),” Lipsey said. “There is someone there who works as the superintendent, and he does a good job, but he doesn’t have any formal training or expertise. “(Adrian) contacted me out of the blue. Here was the final piece of the package that just fell out of the sky. Now all I had to do was convince the golf club to bring him over.” The position is full-time, temporary with a minimum commitment of six months. As superintendent he not only will be trying to improve conditions on the golf course, but in that tight timeframe he also will be challenged to teach those currently working at the course to become self-sufficient after his tenure there is over. He also will be on the ground to help complete a renovation project drafted by American golf course architect Ron Fream. That plan, which is being implemented by club head pro David Havens who has previous construction/renovation experience, includes bunker work and reseeding the course. "Sending someone with Josh Adrian’s background to Thimphu introduces modern education, current state of the art turf maintenance into a world that only received television a decade ago," Fream said. "The Royal Thimphu course has existed with minimal budget and minimal turf management expertise. Hand labor at perhaps $2 per day is an ongoing situation. Access to correct machinery has been difficult due to cost of equipment and costs to obtain overland delivery. Josh will not be expected to perform miracles or wonders. He is not going to duplicate maintenance standards at Pebble Beach or Pine Valley. He will be able to demonstrate proper methods, sequences of work, up to date practices unknown or unused by the local maintenance staff." Bhutan is a tradition-laden country, and it is rare that any foreign workers are permitted to stay for an extended period. “He’s not going to be there forever," Lipsey said. "His job is to train (the current staff) to be self-sufficient and maintain the golf course to a higher standard.” However, if Adrian and members of the golf club are pleased with the arrangement, then after six months there is a chance his stay could be extended. “At six months we’ll re-evaluate that we want to be there, that my wife wants to be there and that they want us there,” Adrian said. “This is not a full-time job forever. It’s to jump-start what they have going on there.” Although he has not been to Bhutan yet, Adrian knows he will be challenged to improve conditions at the nine-hole, member-owned golf course located at an elevation of 8,000 feet. Common Bermudagrass dominates the landscape, and Adrian is seeking input from industry professionals about grasses that would thrive at that altitude, as well as companies or individuals willing to donate seed. “I know growing grass at 8,000 feet is going to be different,” he said. “I’m not sure what is going to work best: We’ll see.” Making the challenge even more daunting is the equipment “fleet” Adrian will inherit. That collection includes three or four mowers and what he has been told is an aged, towable gang unit. Parts supply in Bhutan is a problem, and the crew lacks the ability to keep equipment in top shape. “I don’t know how old everything is,” he said. “It would be an estimate at this point.” He tells the story of how the course received its first and only golf cart in the 1980s. It was driven for two days before breaking down and was never repaired because no one there knew how to fix it. Besides providing Royal Thimphu’s staff with agronomic know-how, Adrian, whose start in golf came as a wrench-turner, should be able to help keep equipment running as well. A 2005 graduate of Kansas State, Adrian first taught high school agriculture courses in Kansas, and got his start in the golf industry as an equipment tech at Dark Horse, where he worked from 2006 to 2007. When budget restrictions forced efficiencies within the maintenance department at the Manhattan, Kan. course, he eventually, he took over many of the traditional maintenance duties as well. Adrian’s gig includes a one-bedroom flat. And although neither he nor wife Cassie have yet been to Bhutan, Adrian feels reasonably safe in assuming the standard of living will be somewhat different to that on California’s Monterey Peninsula. “There are a lot of things that take place in other parts of the world that we consider dangerous. Bhutan is an oasis in a jungle of craziness. It’s not perfection, but it is a peaceful, culturally rich place.”Once isolated from advancements common in other parts of the world, such as Internet and mobile phone service, Bhutan is becoming more modernized in areas other than golf. Although the country’s economy has transitioned from one of the world’s smallest to one of the fast-growing, residents and visitors alike are encouraged to boil water before drinking it. “It’ll be interesting to see,” he said. “We have been told that we will be expected to hire a (local) maid to take care of the apartment. That will be different for us.” New York-based Lipsey has been to Bhutan several times, and described the country as calm amid turmoil. In 1972, then-king Jigme Singhye Wangchuck coined the term Gross National Happiness in an attempt to quantify the country’s quality of life. It’s a term that still permeates the country today, Lipsey said. “There are a lot of things that take place in other parts of the world that we consider dangerous. Bhutan is an oasis in a jungle of craziness,” Lipsey said. “It’s not perfection, but it is a peaceful, culturally rich place.” The challenges that Adrian and his wife face have not deterred from their sense of adventure and willingness to expose themselves to new experiences. Not to mention that getting by in today’s trying economic times often requires unique thinking. “We are really excited for this opportunity,” he said. “Pebble Beach was great. I loved it and hope to go back there some time. I know this is pretty backward from anything anyone else in this business. But I got laid off and now I get a chance to take hold of this opportunity.” Said Fream: "Josh will learn more than he will teach. But improved turf conditions and appearance are beneficial for Royal Thimphu Golf Club and also for Bhutan Youth Golf Association." |
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