Curtis Tyrrell, CGCS MG, considers himself a superintendent from a bygone era. So it might come as no surprise that he is retiring at year's end as director of agronomy at Desert Highlands Golf Club in Scottsdale.
After all, what more does Tyrrell (at right) have to prove? Throughout his 30-year career, Tyrrell, a graduate of the two-year turfgrass management program at Penn State, has restored and rebuilt the equivalent of almost 10 golf courses at stops that include Desert Mountain and Medinah Country Club, where he was host superintendent for the 2012 Ryder Cup Matches.
Although he no longer will be a working superintendent, Tyrrell is not exactly leaving the golf business behind for a life of fishing in the Florida Keys. Instead, Tyrrell, 54, is focused on the next phase of his career under a new boss — himself — as the principal of Molasses Kings, an organic fertilizer business he launched, and his consulting firm that operates under the Canon Golf label.
At each stop throughout his career, Tyrrell used a molasses-based nutrient product pioneered by legendary superintendent Gary Grandstaff to help him produce the best possible playing conditions.
"I'm an old-school superintendent," Tyrrell said. "I still believe in core aerification, amending the soil and filling holes with a quality organic fertilizer material, like manure and molasses."
People like it, and it's starting to grow. It's time to pivot and focus on that.
After Grandstaff retired and that product no longer was available, Tyrrell began experimenting with his own molasses-based plant nutrient, and for the past year he has been busy putting the finishing touches on launching his own commercial entity — Molasses Kings.
The company offers a line of sugar cane molasses-based organic nutrient products that currently includes three products — Sweet Heat, Mojo and Sea Sugar — and programs for warm-season golf turf, cool-season golf turf, athletic fields, houseplants and gardens as well as custom program options.
"I went back to the drawing board," Tyrrell said.
"I found a reliable supplier of molasses and put it in the mix tank and made my own."
According to the company's web site, short-term effects are improved plant strength and color. Long-term benefits can include deeper rooting, denser stand of turf with improved color, consistent yield, reduced supplemental inputs, improved resistance to drought and pests, he says.
He made enough of his products through the Beta period to share the concoctions with colleagues, and the reception has been so positive that he is ready to go out on his own in this new venture.
"People like it, and it's starting to grow," Tyrrell said. "It's time to pivot and focus on that."
Before being named director of agronomy at Desert Highlands where he succeeded longtime superintendent Phil Shoemaker in 2019, Tyrrell was head superintendent at Bonita Bay Club in Florida, Medinah Country Club, Lake of Isles Country Club in Connecticut, Anthem Country Club near Las Vegas and Desert Mountain in Scottsdale.
A 1983 Jack Nicklaus design, Desert Highlands is on the threshold of a $10 million renovation by Nicklaus Design that will include coring out and rebuilding all putting surfaces, rebuilding bunkers and tweaking at least two holes from tee to green. Tyrrell will help find his replacement and has agreed to stay on and consult on the project if needed, a service he offers through his other business, Canon Golf.
Through Canon he offers project management, project development and agronomic master planning services. Some of his large-scale works so far include restoration projects at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, California, and Great Hills Country Club in Austin, Texas. He specializes in helping manage projects for superintendents who might not share his level of experience when it comes to renovations, handling details like permitting and ensuring all the proper players are in place.
"I've built 140 USGA greens in my career. This project is pretty similar to projects I've done at Medinah and in L.A.," he said. "I'm here to help navigate through the project as much as they might need me. I really do enjoy that."
