October Goodbyes

Happy trails to Sam!

(Birdbrained)

This blog will be slightly different than the ones I normally write. It also has a small sting to it. Swope's superintendent since 2017, Sam Bailey, has taken another job and is leaving us. Sam is taking the Superintendent position at Fred Arbanas Golf Course in Lee's Summit. Arbanas includes an 18 hole normal course, a 9 hole par 3, and a driving range, and no one is more deserving of this position than Sam.

(Big ole Chiefs fan.)

Sam started his KC career down at Heart of America in 2012, previously he was managing a 9 hole course in Nebraska. When the position for Swope opened up in 2017 he was an easy decision to replace the previous super. Each year, Swope continued to show improvement. Greens that were notorious for dying each season became playable again. Tree's were removed to create better airflow on certain greens. And to the disdain of many golfers, he grew out some bunker faces to pay homage to Tillinghast.

(Still not sure if he shot this.)

(Sam's family) 

Sam has been an amazing mentor to myself, and I owe everything I've learned about this industry to him. He's an integral part of our team/family out here and  all of us here at Swope wish nothing but the best for Sam. He will always be welcomed back to play 18 holes, enjoy a cold beer, and lose a couple balls in the tall grass.

Goodbye and Goodluck, Sam.

Don't forget to fix your divots at Arbanas.