There is no denying Tom Kaplun’s passion for being a golf course superintendent. A graduate of Cornell University in Ithaca, Kaplun has been a head greenkeeper at golf courses in New York for 17 years.
While maintaining playing conditions at some of New York’s top golf courses, Kaplun is equally dedicated to promoting his profession, the golf industry as a whole and the careers of colleagues throughout the state by serving in government relations roles for industry associations for more than a decade, including as a founder and board chair for the newly formed Empire State Golf Alliance.
With 833 courses stretching from Niagara Falls to Long Island, golf is a $12.9 billion industry that provides 89,000 jobs in New York, according to the New York Golf Economic & Environmental Impact Report that was driven largely by Gina Rizzi and her Reno, Nevada-based Radius Sports Group that partners with a variety of groups to help drive economic growth.
The Empire State Golf Alliance advocates for and provides education about the golf industry in New York on behalf of a group of allied associations from across the state that represent owners, managers, superintendents and golf professionals. Years in the planning, the group held its inaugural Golf Day in Albany in May, was incorporated in June and held its first field day event later in the month.
Taking on such an initiative would be a lot for anyone. It is especially challenging for a superintendent in his first year in a new job.
Kaplun has been director of golf and grounds at Huntington Country Club on Long Island since October. Prior to that, he he was superintendent at North Hempstead Country Club in Port Washington, New York for 16 years.
He is a past-president of the New York State Turfgrass Association and past vice-president of the Long Island GCSA Chapter. Currently, he co-chairs, along with Bob Nielsen, CGCS, director of grounds at the Bedford Golf & Tennis Club in Bedford, NYSTA’s government relations committee.
“You know, it’s a lot to balance, but you have to try,” Kaplun said. “I’m fine with doing that. I’ve done it my whole life.”
As dedicated as Kaplun is to advocating for his industry, profession and fellow turfgrass managers throughout the state, he also is dedicated to advancing the careers of the next generation of superintendent. To that end, he worked alongside Tyler Bloom, principal of Bloom Golf Partners, faculty from SUNY-Delhi and the New York Department of Labor to develop the New York Turfgrass Apprenticeship Program.
“Tom is as passionate as they come about moving the needle for the golf course management profession in New York,” Bloom said. “He’s been a key driver for workforce development, environmental stewardship and cross-industry collaboration initiatives. He’s helped develop a model for other associations to follow, and he deserves recognition for his efforts. I enjoyed numerous conversations over the last few years, discussing developing the next generation of professionals as much as his own or other golf facilities in New York.”
The inaugural New York Golf Day brought together industry leaders, golf association representatives and state legislators in Albany to illustrate the game’s impact throughout New York.
The alliance’s first field day event on June 23 at Mohawk Golf Club in Schenectady presented another opportunity to educate legislators, environmental leaders, educators and others about the positive environmental and economic impacts of the state’s golf industry.
As a longtime superintendent in New York, Kaplun is intimately aware of the scrutiny the golf industry is throughout the state, which is intensified exponentially for golf courses on Long Island. As a result, he became entrenched in government advocacy work in 2015 with the advent of the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan.
In 2024, Kaplun went to bat for the industry in general and superintendents specifically in an attempt to carve out an exemption for golf in New York’s Birds and Bees Protection Act that resulted in a ban of neonicotinoids.
“The work I do is New York State for New York State,” Kaplun said. “And that’s something that I take dear to heart.”
