If there were such a thing as royalty in the turf management business, Eric Greytok is one of those guys who might have been a monarch. During his 15-year career as a head superintendent Greytok gained fame for being the youngest host superintendent of not one, but two U.S. Open Championships. With a resume that includes stops at places like Merion, Congressional, Riviera, Pebble Beach and Winged Foot, Greytok today is trying to bring a fledgling company in the T&O business to similar heights. Recently, he was named national sales director for Macro-Sorb Technologies and SMS Additive Solutions. The former manufactures and markets a line of amino acid-based fertilizers, while the latter's portfolio includes surfactants, adjuvants and additives. In other news, John Haguewood, former research specialist at the University of Missouri, was named as technical manager for both companies.
Greytok, who most recently served as golf course superintendent at Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, N.C., stepped away from golf last year when he said chronic back pain prevented him from giving his all to his job.
He first became familiar with the current Macro-Sorb product line in 1996, then under the Nutrimax label, when he worked for Paul R. Latshaw, CGCS, at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. Since then, Lance Seeton bought the former Nutrimax ag line in 2013 before launching Macro-Sorb last year. Throwing his support behind a product he was familiar with and believed in was a natural fit for Greytok, who turns 42 on January 9.
"This was not a hard decision," Greytok said. "I like helping people on or off golf course. I believe in the product line. My end goal is to help people and give them the tools they need. The role suited me."
Greytok will oversee all sales initiatives for both companies, implementing agronomic programs, strategic planning and new product development, as well as provide assistance and product training for golf course superintendents and sports turf managers nationwide. Greytok now is based in Chico, California, where his wife of 13 years, Kelly, has family. The couple has two children, Joe, 11, and Kendall, 9.
"I've moved them around so much," he said. "It's time to hunker down and be near family."
A 1996 Penn State graduate, Greytok began his turf career in 1996 as spray tech at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. He followed up with brief stints as an assistant at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland and Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, before being named superintendent at Pebble Beach Golf Links in 1999, the following year, at age 27, became the youngest superintendent to host a U.S. Open.
A year later, Greytok's career journey took him to Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, site of the 2006 U.S. Open. At age 33, he was the youngest superintendent to oversee the Open twice. He has since been the grow-in superintendent at Remington Ranch in Powell Butte, Oregon, followed by Belfair Plantation in Bluffton, South Carolina, and Eagle Point.
Greytok says the secret to the effectiveness of the Macro-Sorb line of amino acid-based fertilizers is glucosamine, the same stuff pharmaceutical companies market to relieve joint pain. The glucosamine, he said, helps turf recover quicker during times of stress, increases drought and stress tolerance and helped him reduce not only fertilizer applications, but plant growth regulator apps as well since there was no flush of growth.
"What makes it unique is the way it is produced," he said.
"They are free amino acids that are immediately available, so the plant can use them immediately."